Writing Samples
Being a small-scale entrepreneur isn’t just about running a business. Implicit is the notion of risk. When an entrepreneur goes to work in a developing country, they take a leap of faith. The possibility of failure is constant. But they keep on because they believe the risk is worth the reward. Read about iDE-trained entrepreneurs in our annual report, (I've written iDE's last three.) As iDE's global communications director, I often travel to field to develop content on our operations, spread across Africa, Asia and Latin America, interviewing our many entrepreneurs, describing their successes and sharing their experiences with a global audience. My stories on Zambia, Mozambique, Vietnam and Bangladesh can be found on iDE's global website.
iDE 2022 annual report
In 2023, I had three long-form guest articles run on Next Billion, a leading open forum website dedicated to publishing stories on business solutions within international development. One of my stories explains why women are key to adapting to climate change. Another looks at Cambodia's floating villages.
annual report for UN
I wrote this 2019 annual report for the UN global fund, Education Cannot Wait. ECW is headed by Gordon Brown, former British prime minster, and is the world's biggest donor to education programmes in conflict and disaster settings. It was a huge piece of work which took several months to complete. I worked closely with ECW's monitoring and evaluation section to articulate the current situation and describe ECW's achievements in 2019. The report was released in August at an event featuring Brown, UNICEF head Henrietta Fore and Norweigian Refugee Council boss Jan Egeland.
In 2022, I ghostwrote several articles for McKinsey & Company on healthcare and other issues. Click through to these stories on nurse shortages, virtual hospitals, public health challenges, and 'rules as code' when it comes to writing legislation.
I wrote this piece about my son Jack, after learning he had autism. As I say in the piece, I had to give up the urge to "fix" Jack and accept him for the wonderful person he is. The good news is Jack is doing great and has every chance to lead a productive and independent life.
My apartment was only about 15 blocks north. Having just joined the New York Post, I called the assignment desk and said I was close. I got a one word response: go. I was the first reporter for the paper to get down there. When the south tower fell, I managed to get inside a building and find a phone. As I told the story down the line, tape recorder in hand, I could hear the reporter at the other end typing as fast as he could. My byline ran at the top of the front-page story that afternoon and the next day. It was a day I will never forget and never get over.
top byline on 9/11
Here's an op-ed I ghostwrote for UNICEF on malnutrition and stunting in Africa. It ran in the Huffington Post in 2013.
book on a mafia don
I spent a year writing an investigative piece on New York's last Mafia boss -- and then turned it into this book. It's about the head of Bonanno clan, Joey Massino, who ran his world with an iron hand --until he got hit with a murder rap, and turned on his own people. This is a glimpse inside the world of organized crime you may never see again. (See me being interviewed about my book.)
While working for Time Magazine, I was sent to western Pennsylvania to find miners who'd been trapped underground, a year after they'd been rescued. Only one had gone back to work in the coal mine that almost killed him. I spent a week with him and his family.