When I’m workin’…
I’m the co-author of and illustrator of Americapedia: Taking the Dumb Out of Freedom, with Jodi Lynn Anderson and Daniel Ehrenhaft. The New York Times called the book “Jon Stewart for young adults,” which was a very nice thing to say at the time.
I used to write two weekly newspaper columns for Creative Loafing.
When I’m shirkin’ . . .
I write, read, listen to music, practice photography, write annoying letters to my elected officials, and post jokes to no one on Bluesky..
I lead a team of writers who help raise more than $350 million annually for my employer. I’m a business consultant for several businesses and non-profits. I’m also writing a book.
Some enjoyable clips . . .
As director of communications for the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI), I produced this wild video about snake anti-venom using footage we had on file. Editing video recorded in a language I do not speak was an adventure.
For several years I directed digital engagement for CARE. I led the digital team that built the organization’s social fundraising program from zero-to-six figures-per-quarter. I directed audience and content strategy for CARE’s most successful ever video fundraising campaign, #DreamWithHer. The campaign doubled CARE’s gift catalog revenue and, more importantly (to me, anyway) asked CARE’s supporters to consider the aspirations and talents of children and parents in Malawi rather than retreading tired and destructive stereotypes of helplessness and misery. A fleet of talented people made these videos and you should watch them.
When you Google me . . .
I’ve been extremely online for a long time. To Google my name is conjure a list of strange things that mostly aren’t that embarrassing.
- I’ve gone viral twice (1,2) on Twitter pointing out the dangerous shortcomings of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s leadership during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. I deleted my Twitter account when the N@z1 bought it, but you can still find related news articles.
- I once raised thousands of dollars for CARE singing Toto’s “Africa” in Africa. For the record, I beat Weezer to the ironic revival “Africa” by two years.
- When Georgia Republicans made it legal to carry guns almost anywhere, I wrote a story for Creative Loafing Atlanta about what it was like to carry a gun on my belt in stores and restaurants. The story prompted a writer from the libertarian magazine Reason to refer to me as a “vaguely liberalish sensitive guy” which is the worst thing I’ve been called.
- I used to write and illustrate a humor column about American foreign policy. The 500 or so illustrations I made for it show up when you search my name and it’s strange to me to me I was writing and illustrating so much so fast that I’ve forgotten what a lot of it means or was supposed intended to mean.
- The Washington Post once wrote about how I like to watch birds from my window.
- A member of a church choir in Kayesa, Malawi once caught me eavesdropping on their rehearsal from outside the church. He invited me in. It’s one of the best non-family things that has ever happened to me.
- If you want to know way more about me than even I want to know, you can watch me talk about some of my records and musical memories with David Hepworth and Mark Ellen of the Word In Your Ear podcast.