United States
I combine a rigorous, active journalism practice with full-funnel content strategy to transform complex audience data into high-converting campaigns, digital products, and inclusive brand narratives. Whether reporting for elite publications or steering editorial strategy for health, tech, and lifestyle leaders, I design culturally respectful and sophisticated digital experiences that scale. My work bridges the gap between editorial trust and commercial performance for organizations including The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, One Medical, and Houzz.
How did Cognac become a sippable symbol of sophistication, luxury and wealth in Black culture? The oft-repeated story of adopting it during wartime service overseas felt incomplete, so I dug deeper.
On an early trip to Portland, Oregon, I noticed a preponderance of Japanese cultural businesses and experiences. I started looking into why, and this story was the result.
Exploring the elements that made Claude Rouas' Auberge du Soleil a legendary Napa Valley destination that inspired an immersive modern approach to luxury hospitality.
CASE STUDIES - Solving business challenges with editorial strategy, journalism and content marketing.
How I built a Shop Houzz content marketing email newsletter that drove engagement, clicks and revenue in just 10 months.
How inclusive storytelling and practical content increased engagement while improving patient experience and freeing up staff time.
How educational content built trust and supported acquisition, conversion and retention.
MENOPAUSE + WOMEN'S HEALTH
After having trouble accessing patches, and seeing complaints on online forums, I pitched and wrote one of the first articles on the issue and how to manage it.
Most women know estrogen and progesterone are major hormones. Estrogen typically gets top billing, with progesterone playing a supporting role. However in reality, the two hormones are equally important, and progesterone balances estrogen and does much more in a healthy body than many women realize. "Progesterone is
Ghostwritten piece based on very recent research, about why eating many plants each week is important for gut health, especially after age 40.
Pitched, reported and wrote (unbylined) piece on how menopause looks very different for women depending on their ethnic background. Many women don't get needed treatment because they're not having classic symptoms. First article in a 5-part series.
One article in a five-part series I pitched, reported and wrote for menopause influencer Dr. Mary Claire Haver of The 'Pause Life.
"We say Black don't crack. That's on the outside," says Morgan, chief medical officer for Hello Heart, a digital company based in Northern California. "On the inside, we may have more advanced age than our counterparts."
BRAND CONTENT STRATEGY + SOCIAL COPYWRITING
Collaborated with the Total Wine & More team remotely from 2019 to 2022 to create a comprehensive national customer education content program featured online and in-store. The assets included wine education articles, producer and region highlights , signage and top wines lists to spur sales.
Identified relevant designers, conducted interviews and wrote this piece on California designers who use nature to inform and enhance their work in this brand content series for House of Rohl.
Timed to coincide with the 2015 Academy Awards ceremony, I created this collection inspired by the home of Hollywood celebrity stylist Mara Roszak, along with her tips on how to create the look.
Secured interview with Australian celebrity designer Kate Walker on how to create a timeless luxury kitchen for this brand content series for House of Rohl.
As lead social copywriter, I dreamed up the “Destination Hydration” concept and tagline which drove our visual and social messaging campaign to promote Active Hydration, the biggest product launch of the year to 150,000 consultants in US, Canada and Australia.
A senior copywriter, wrote script launching Active Hydration Bright Eye Complex to an internal audience of 200,000 consultants.
Dry farming isn't a new concept, but it has taken on renewed significance in the last decade. Plants can't talk. But any gardener knows that if you listen and pay attention, your plants will tell you what they need.
When it comes to finding the next investment wines, many collectors, and Master Sommelier Will Costello look to the Napa Valley Wine Auction.
A good tiki cocktail is like a vacation in a glass. With their colorful ingredients, special glassware, and fanciful garnishes, a Mai Tai or Hurricane sends your imagination on an adventure before you even take the first sip. According to cocktail historian Jeff Beachbum Berry, the tiki movement started in the early 1930s, right after Prohibition ended.
HEALTH + WELLNESS
Dr. Jenna Lester's TED Talk on dermatology healthcare disparities went viral. This article shared the history behind this disparity and how Lester's approach and training of UCSF residents is creating change.
Noticing that Black people were disproportionately dying from COVID-19, I started asking why. I learned that most dark skinned people are chronically deficient in Vitamin D3, leaving them vulnerable to many serious, preventable conditions.
As senior editorial manager collaborated with senior medical team to develop a Knowledge Center to help educate patient audience on common diagnoses, treatment and lifestyle management strategies.
Biophilia is the idea that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature, and it can help us to transform the way we live.
Are you sheltering in place and cleaning everything in your home with a vengeance? It's a natural response to a pandemic like the novel coronavirus.
Exploring how and why matcha green tea became a popular wellness drink and if there are real benefits behind the hype.
For National Walking Day, I partnered with Fitbit and a local fitness expert for a giveaway to capture new leads. More than 200 people entered and shared insights on where they find health information.
Not many people make a doctor's appointment to talk about the pros and cons of smoking joints vs. vaping, or whether it's OK to mix Mary Jane with merlot. Maybe more of us should.
You may not know it, but if you're a fan of live-edge tables, swirled Panda White marble, or plant-filled rooms with natural light, you're feeling the lure of biophilic design. Biophilia is based on the belief that humans need a connection to nature to thrive.
I pitched this story after realizing that I, and many others, where smizing like contestants on America's Next Top Model. But were these real smiles? Got a retweet from Tyra Banks.
Wine labels rarely list ingredients, but the words "contains sulfites" are often prominent. Explore why sulfites are a hot-button issue.
It's true the brain changes as we get older - what doesn't? And a normal part of that is getting a bit more forgetful.
BOOKS
The Bubbly Bar led the way with capturing the bubbly 365 zeitgeist, and sharing recipes for many styles of cocktails made with international sparkling wines and champagne, as well as a buying guide and wine term glossary.
A wine travel guide to Napa Valley that covers where to taste wine, sleep and eat along with history and geography.
Served as researcher, co-author and editor with focus on historical passages, Black farmer and food maker profiles, headnotes and book organization by season.
TRAVEL
Served as lead writer and curator for the ultimate guide to exploring the best and most beautiful luxury experiences in Napa Valley and Sonoma County for the debut issue.
From spas overlooking expansive vineyards to stately mansions, Maria C Hunt explores some of the best Napa Valley hotels for wine lovers
My pilgrimage to Alhambra, a pinnacle of Moorish design, filled me with pride and awe.
Your two-day guide to enjoying the ocean tranquility, blooming flora, and rare animals-without a crowd.
Welcome spring with these unexpected places to see fragrant pink and white sakura around the world, including Japan, Taiwan, the UK, France, and United States.
It seems like Brazil has turned into one of the fashionable places to travel; the South American country is on more than a few lists of the best travel destinations for 2014. And with the FIFA World Cup kicking off in June - and the 2016 Summer Olympics not too long after that - more people than ever are heading to cities all over Brazil.
One of the most interesting discoveries was that negroamaro doesn’t mean “black bitter” in Italian — it actually means “blackest of blacks.”
From fragrant fields to majestic forests and jagged coastline, this is a paradise that needs to be explored.
CULTURE
Historians estimate a quarter of settlers of the US west were Black, moving cattle on horseback, settling towns and keeping the peace
High-end wine tastings aren't always the friendliest places if you look young and Black. Standing in a scrum of tasters in San Diego about 20 years ago, I exclaimed over the aromas from my glass of pinot noir. A middle-aged white man with red hair and glasses snapped, "I'm not listening to a thing you have to say."
From the civil rights movement to the killing of Michael Brown, the deep orange dish has gained cultural power in the US - and comforted generations of Black families
While Southern fare like barbecue ribs, potato salad, and red Kool-Aid were part of my summer menu growing up in Chicago, I didn't learn about Juneteenth until I started writing about food 20 years ago.
It was like an expansive new vista on Southern rural life opened this summer, when I binged on the feast of stories and recipes in The Taste of Country Cooking, Lewis’s treasured cookbook and memoir
Fern Stroud got inspired on a later wine tour in South Africa, so after a pandemic layoff, she started her business, sip by sip
CULINARY TRENDS + HISTORY
Out on the sunny patio at Wahpepah's Kitchen, sizzling plates of bison and deer make their way down a table filled with Native American educators from across the country. The game meat joins other indigenous dishes on the kitchen's menu, such as leafy salads topped with striped red corn and blue corn mush sweetened with berries and maple.
Imagine a perfect grain that's gluten-free, cooks in a few minutes, and is just as tasty and versatile as oats, rice, or quinoa. Say hello to fonio (aka acha or fundi), an ancient grain that has nourished people across West Africa for 5,000 years.
As the Obamas were preparing to enter the White House, there was a lot of buzz in the national restaurant community over who the next chef would be. I pitched this piece to the CSM and then reached out to Danny Meyer, Alice Waters and Ruth Reichl for their thoughts.
Every time I make a clafoutis cake, a buttery French cake that I fill with gloriously ripe summer stone fruit, I think of Marion Cunningham. The prolific home cook turned author was known for updating the historic Fannie Farmer Cookbook, a classic that taught many Americans how to cook.
State Bird Provisions, which just snagged the James Beard Award for the best new restaurant in the nation, may seem like a hipster spot with its offbeat name, string art decor and dim-sum-style service.
Remember that 1980s television show Fantasy Island, where a man dressed in white made visitors' every wish come true? Saison is the culinary equivalent ....
Even Julia Child was disappointed with the way the words "Caesar salad" were getting tossed around. "I think they like to use the name," said Julia Child, a woman who definitely knows her way around a salad bowl. So I went to Tijuana, Mexico to discover the true origins of this ubiquitous salad.
"Clemente said eating pan de sal makes him think of a sexy girl." -- Most people don't know it, but San Diego is an incredibly diverse city. I profiled seven traditional breads baked here in order to better understand the people who make and love them.
Cabernet Sauvignon is king in Napa, but these producers make a strong case for high-end Sauvignon Blanc. Learn about their bottles here.
Interior Design - Editorial and E-commerce
Growing up in New Mexico, Venancio Aragon (Diné) remembers that a Pendleton wool blanket was one of the most precious gifts you could give or receive. Though his family has been practicing Navajo weaving for generations, he puts on a Pendleton for special occasions.
Seven designers on why they believe Shaker-style cabinets will always be a good choice no matter the project.
Studio Thomas James interior designer on how color transforms a bath
Between sheltering in place for months because of the pandemic and followed by the ongoing anguish and unrest over the deaths of unarmed Black people like Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, maybe you're feeling like you could use some relief and psychological comfort.
Home to Pendleton wool and many a rainy day, Portland has been shedding its woolly and wet image to emerge as a burgeoning hotbed of sustainable design and environmental consciousness.
We asked five Experts to share their predictions for tile trends in 2023. Bookmark them for your upcoming renovation.
Aretha Franklin, Jackie Wilson, and B.B. King performed at Idlewild, Black resort destination in the 50s and 60s, which is now seeing a resurgence in interest.
And why activists are fighting to preserve Allensworth and its legacy.
On the centennial of the deadly massacre, locals recall the devastation of Black Wall Street's destruction-and what it might take to make it right.
WINE + DRINKS EDITORIAL
The NBA legend has been very hands-on with every aspect of Digits Bourbon, from tasting and blending to pasting labels on bottles. It's all hands on deck at the Savage & Cooke Distillery on Mare Island in Vallejo, California, 30 minutes north of Oakland.
The first time Peter Yi tried Basque cider, it hit him like a lightning bolt. His experiences as a wine buyer left him thinking ciders were sweet, simple and didn't pair well with food. But this one was different - aromatic, dry and complex, everything he expected from a fine wine.
In case you haven't heard, yuzu kosho and Bora Bora vanilla beans are so last year. The hot food flavoring on the scene is bourbon-and lots of it. Correspondent Maria Hunt has noticed creative chefs and food artisans across the country using the caramel-colored spirit to season foods ranging from ice cream to pigs' ears.
When you're born into a wine family with a name like Mondavi, Sokol Blosser or Barrett, you're stepping into a ready-made legacy before you've bottled a drop.
Before there was Rosé all day, CHÂTEAU D'ESCLANS wines including Whispering Angel gave wine lovers a reason to take the category seriously and see the world through rose-colored glasses.
What's your unique champagne personality? Perrier Jouet is giving 100 people the chance to find out -- and bottle it.
PROFILES
Derek Stevenson at The Four Seasons Napa Valley is paving the way for other Black professionals in the wine world
When Anthony Bourdain came to San Diego to promote his latest book, I gathered a roundtable of chefs—including the founding chef of Les Halles—and we all interviewed each other about life and what food means.
Drew Barrymore splashes into an unexpected new role with a wine brand and a cooking show. I sat down with her at Pebble Beach Food & Wine to learn more.
Though we spoke long-distance by phone, Mo'Nique and I created a real rapport and she opened up about her journey to self-acceptance and helping other women do the same.
When Ted Turner was the special guest at a friend's winery I jumped at the chance to do a short nterview with him about his favorite topic... saving the American bison.
Ann Noble, inventor of the Wine Aroma Wheel, discusses why she created the revolutionary sensory tool. Read the interview here.
I met the legendary businessman Sidney Frank—creator of Grey Goose—at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, and as we shared a lunch of delicacies from around the world, he told me about his work and passions in life.
After Vogue food writer Jeffrey Steingarten opined on San Diego's awful restaurant cuisine, I wrote a response in my newspaper column. We spent a couple days eating around the region, which yielded this profile.
With the high cost of living in San Diego, young enlisted families often run out of money for food and essentials, and rely on local charities. The spotlight on this problem eventually led Congress to increase the pay scale.