This page focuses on bylines from my earliest days as a journalist to present. I used to keep a dented Bankers Box in my garage overflowing with old newspaper and magazine clips spanning more than three decades. I just went through the box and discarded most of the sheets of yellowing pulp. Reminiscing over my bygone columns, news briefs, profiles and reader service pieces was refreshing. It’s a worthwhile exercise to review past work and see how you have grown.
For a quick review of my “modern” work which still has a life online, please check out my Authory page. If you have some moments to spare now, here is a timeline of my bylines through the years:
My first byline was with The Burbank Leader (ceased publication April 2020). It was a paid internship and with that first paycheck, I had my sights on a lime green beach cruiser. That purchase ate up my entire check, but it was so satisfying. I was still a J-school student at CSUN and would drive my yellow Datsun pickup truck with my new cruiser in the bed to my sorority house. There, I would ride my bike over to campus which eliminated me paying for the exorbitant campus parking fees. It was my DIY park and ride in the San Fernando Valley.
My post-college years were focused on freelance writing, with brief turns as a full-time newspaper reporter and magazine editor. I remember I used to dread the day after our community newspaper issue printed, because residents would call to complain about the story they just read. Today, readers just post these same sentiments online. I don’t know what is worse. 🤷♀️
As an editor at San Diego Parent magazine, I developed regional content for a national magazine chain, while also handling editing, photography, and managing freelancers. It never felt like a job. I had the privilege to interview Tony Hawk in my final national profile for the publication. Another favorite interview was Father Joe Carroll. He’s the namesake for Father Joe’s Villages in San Diego and passed away in 2021.
In the early 2000’s, freelancing opportunities were abundant. I wrote articles for Kids’ NewsDay, which was a fundraiser each October for Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego. Meeting the families and children was phenomenal. I can’t express how powerful these assignments were, hearing and writing about the journey these families and brave patients face.
Stringing for the San Diego Union Tribune, with magazine supplements and business news, kept me busy. I was raising four children during this era, which was a whole other level of busy, too.
Other freelance articles have appeared in The Southern Cross, the official newspaper of the Diocese of San Diego. An exhilarating assignment was meeting Sr. Helen Prejean at the University of San Diego. Another memorable story had me interview a San Diego relative tied to Saint Andre, the first Canadian to receive this honor. The article got picked up by the Catholic News Agency, now under the EWTN News umbrella.
Current bylines can be read here:
Sunsets, Wildlife and Limited Care: Challenges of Aging in Place in Rural America | The Daily Yonder
What Every Grant Professional Wants Nonprofit Executives to Know (blueavocado.org)
Journey of a Comic Book Master
Project saves 200 lives in 20 years – Scripps Ranch News
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