Published Work
In 2009, I started graduate school at the Columbia Journalism School, where I am a student in the Stabile Investigative Journalism Program. The Center has a partnership with the Huffington Post Investigative Fund, through which we recently had our investigation into the student loan industry published on The Huffington Post:
The basic point of our investigation was to show students that just because a lender has the word “nonprofit” in its name, that doesn’t make it a better choice for students. This is a very politically saavy, well-connected industry that often looks out for the bottom line just as much - if not more - than any regular for-profit lender. In 2010, we will continue our investigation and I look forward to having more of our work published.
Also in 2009 my Reporting and Writing I class started a website, The Green Standard, which focuses on environmental reporting in the New York City metro region. Below are links to a couple of my better pieces that got published:
- A profile of New York City Councilman James Gennaro, chairman of the Committee on Environmental Protection;
- An in-depth feature on the emergence and sustainability of “green” jobs in New York City;
- A piece on the lack of debate on the issue of energy conservation in New York City’s 2009 mayoral election.
In 2008, I joined PEI Media, a London-based publisher of news and magazines for the private equity industry, where I head their infrastructure investment news website, InfrastructureInvestor.com. When PEI published a 375-page book, Investing In Infrastructure, they gave me the opportunity to write the chapter on investing in the energy industry. The book is one of our best-selling titles:
Below are a few of my better pieces that made it to the printing press:
“Jak to sie robi w Stanach” - Forbes Polish Edition, September 2007 .
The title translates to “How it’s done in the states,” with the “it” being private banking. The article detailed trends in private banking in the United States. A synopsis is available here. An English translation is available here. .
“Green Globes certification rises as alternative to LEED” - PBJ, August 17, 2007
On the last day of my job at the Business Journal, my editor asked me, “Would you . . .” But before she could finish, I had already said yes. The assignment turned out to be a piece on green building in Philadelphia and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program; eventually it morphed into a piece about alternatives to LEED, ostensibly Green Globes.
.“Aggressive tactics by activist hedge funds furrows brows” - PBJ, May 18, 2007
Several activist hedge funds had targeted Philadelphia-area companies in the past year, so this piece detailed the trend and talked to hedge fund managers, consultants, regulators, lawyers and professors to get their view on whether or not hedge fund activism was a force for good. Luckily, the Wharton Economic Summit was being held a couple of blocks away from the office, so I had a chance to sit-in on a panel on the subject and meet a lot of great sources. .
“It felt like we came home” - PBJ, April 27, 2007
A question-and-answer with Richard Elko, CEO of Conestoga Bancorp - a local Philadelphia bank that made news in 2006 by announcing that it would acquire PSB Bancorp and its subsidiary, First Penn Bank, for $87.4 million in cash. It was a rare case of a start-up gobbling-up an established competitor, so much of the interview focused on that. .
“Green certification: fix it or nix it” - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 25, 2007
As part of The Next American City’s public outreach program, I wrote this piece for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to highlight some of the problems with LEED certification that had been detailed in an article on the subject in TNAC by Stephen Del Pericio. Pittsburgh had devoted significant time and energy into becoming America’s greenest city, yet it wasn’t getting due credit since many green buildings in the city and the metropolitan area were opting out of LEED certification due to the cost and cumbersome nature of the certification process. Hence, this topic was especially pertinent to a Pittsburgh audience and inspired some spirited letters to the editor. .
“Car or golf cart? Local dealer hopes it’s the start of a trend” - PBJ, April 20, 2007
A local Philadelphia car dealer - The Great Britains of Willow Grove - made news by importing the first of a new make of electric cars, the ZX40S, made by Miles Electric Vehicles of Santa Monica, CA. Since it was an unusual move for a high-end Saab dealer to do this, I made my way up to the Great Britains, test drove one of the vehicles and interviewed the staff to find out why they were doing this (answer: to capitalize on the green trend in automotive technology). Later I attended a press conference at a local park to get the impressions of the early adopters of the car. All the related traveling and interviewing made this a particularly enjoyable piece to write. .
“Pennsylvania is the leading state in K-12 cyber charter education” - PBJ, March 9, 2007
An interview with James Hanak, CEO of the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School - a cyber school based in West Chester, PA. Cyber schooling of children is a rising trend in the U.S., and Pennsylvania in particular has proven a fertile ground for them. But cyber charter schools certainly have their enemies, chief among them: public schools. Hanak was a very frank and insightful source, so the interview gives a good glimpse into the politics of cyber education. .
“Pa. to Md. hovercraft ferry seeks to get off the ground” - PBJ, Feb. 2, 2007
.
.
A front-page Philadelphia Business Journal story about a nascent business, the Mid-Atlantic Hovercraft Operators LLC of Mount Holly, NJ., which was planning to set up a Hovercraft ferry service between Baltimore and Philadelphia. Late in January, my editor had received a newstip about this company - which had not yet been written about by any of the local papers - and forwarded it to me for follow-up and, eventually, a story - a gesture of trust and confidence in my abilities that I will never forget. .
“Mixed economic forecasts hint of a late-blooming year” - PBJ, Jan. 26, 2007
A summary of views about the national, regional and local economy in 2007. It felt good getting my degree in economics in December 2006 and few days later being assigned this piece, which I think was a fair summary of what people were thinking at the beginning of last year about how the economy would fare in 2007. But as I reflected in a post in January, there was also the missed opportunity - connecting the dots raised in this piece about the weakening housing market and the rising yield curve - that could have given readers a bit more insight about what truly was to come. .
“‘On the Job’ Philadelphia Business Journal Interviews” - PBJ, various dates
One of my on-going jobs at the journal was interviewing local business leaders and politicians who had just accepted new jobs and highlighting their career moves in our “People” section. Writing this column was a great way to develop relationships with sources for future articles, which certainly came in handy later on.
