Guerrilla Gardens

There’s a 10-foot-wide stretch of land cutting diagonally through North Side’s Bellevue neighborhood. It rests in the middle of Fauquier Avenue, separating lanes of traffic. Some might call it a median, but here? Residents might call it their front yard.

About 10 years ago, Erin Wright, who owns Little House Green Grocery, planted her first vegetable garden on Fauquier. Over the years, the grassy patch has been home to dinner-plate dahlias and a field of sunflowers. One year she grew so much lettuce she planted a “Pick Me” sign and donated the rest of her bounty to a food pantry. Even the herbs for sale in Little House come from the median, arriving on shelves with the tiniest of carbon footprints.

Further up Fauquier, others have added their spin on urban gardening, stocking the median with herbs and vegetables, towering bushes, and flowers tumbling out of wheelbarrow planters. The annual planting is a community event as neighbors coordinate their plans and chat with passersby while tending to their seedlings.

Throughout the city, neighbors have taken undeveloped patches of land — some in medians and intersections, others in alleyways and city parks — as their own. They’ve turned graffiti-covered concrete into playgrounds and dog runs. 

And in the process, they’ve created impromptu community centers.

Feature originally appeared in R-Home magazine.

Common lessons for the common good

This was my first assignment with The Frontier Project, a Richmond-based organization dedicated to changing workplace culture. I've been fascinated by their mission, and was excited to get an assignment that breaks my own mold. So often, I'm writing profiles or interviewing experts about complex subjects. This time, I got to do some of my own research into inspiring nonprofits for an activism themed issue of their publication, Dispatches.

Nonprofits aren't known for having endless money and resources. They have to do a lot with a little, and prove the value of every investment, big or small.

Some of the most powerful forces for good are masters at marrying shoestring budgets with grit, determination, and creativity--and any company can borrow from that playbook.

Here, we share a few lessons from nonprofits at the top of their game.

Keep your mission simple.

It's easy for mission statements to turn into lengthy lists that read like a thesaurus, obscuring inspiring and admirable goals in long-winded jargon.

In just one sentence, charity: water communicates their focus to bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries. From there, any number of benefits can follow, like education, income, and health--but water frames them all.

That simplicity can breed creativity. When you have a mission that's open-ended, yet specific, you build a framework with space for innovative ideas. It becomes a rallying cry that helps everyone involved understand their role in the bigger picture.

Connect smart people.

Direct Relief spans the globe to bring medical supplies and healthcare providers to underserved communities. Only they're not necessarily the boots on the ground. Instead, they build a collaborative network of medical companies and professionals, and leverage those relationships to strengthen local health systems Take their partnership with Pfizer, which brought medicine to HIV-positive patients in more than 60 countries.

Shift your focus to bringing the right people to the table and enabling them to do what they do best.

See the problem; own the solution.

For nearly 25 years after the first successful organ donation in 1954, doctors had no way to connect a donor at one hospital with a patient at another. That is, until a group of people seized on budding technology to create a computerized matching database called United Network for Organ Sharing. When the federal government caught up in 1984 and called for a national network to allocate organs, guess who won the contract?

Today, an average of 92 organ transplants take place every day in the U.S.--and UNOS coordinates every one of them.

When you spot a challenge in your industry, don't be afraid to take the lead. You might just become the place that everyone else turns to for answers.

Never stop evolving.

For decades, The Stop was a basic Toronto food bank. Volunteers in cramped quarters distributed whatever food they could find to needy neighbors.

When Nick Saul took over, he saw the problems ran deeper and the solutions more complicated. He set out to rethink what a food bank should be. He started by bringing in higher quality, fresh foods. The Stop now has gardens and a greenhouse, kitchens and cooking lessons, farmers' markets and community action programs.

Saul left The Stop after 15 years--but for good reason. He now brings his social justice and community empowerment approach to a network of food banks throughout Canada.

Never stop looking for innovative ways to expand and evolve your core mission.

Cole's race

I came across this story by chance. I was assigned a quick, 250-word write-up for an annual report about two students' summer internship. It's the kind of thing I've written countless times. I showed up at Sheltering Arms to interview the internship supervisors, thinking I'd be in and out in 10 minutes. But 10 minutes in, they said, "Hold on, do you know Cole's story?" I didn't. An hour later, we were still talking, and that afternoon, I was setting up time to talk to Cole and his internship partner, Ethan.

Cole's story is one of unbelievable resilience. It took a while to get it published, and in that time, it came full circle.

On a warm summer afternoon in August 2011, Cole Sydnor, ’17, was out on the James River with three friends. He was 16 years old, enjoying the newfound freedom that came with the driver’s license he got the day before.

The friends crossed the river at one of their favorite spots, the pipeline near 14th Street.

“It’s kind of isolated,” Sydnor said, “and there are a couple of rock features that are a lot of fun.”

“Don’t people get hurt out on the rocks?” Sydnor’s mom, Kelly, had asked that morning. “Haven’t people died down there?”

Sydnor, full of teenage swagger, reassured her. “Mom, I’m a great swimmer. I’m gonna be fine,” he told her before he left.

After lounging in the sun, the group started to make its way back toward downtown. Sydnor dove into the water, hoping to get enough momentum to push through the swirling rapids. Instead, he struck his head on a submerged rock.

He knew a set of rapids were swirling just a few yards downriver. He started kicking his legs to swim out of its path. Only his body didn’t respond.

Sydnor was a lifelong swimmer, completely at ease in the water. Confusion set in. He opened his eyes — something he never did in the murky waters of the James. He saw his arms floating in front of him and the water surrounding him quickly turning a cloudy red.

His only friend who hadn’t yet crossed the river saw Sydnor drifting downstream toward the rapids and snapped into action. A Boy Scout with water safety training, he jumped in and pulled Sydnor from the water. Another friend grabbed his cell phone — something the boys almost never brought to the river — and called 911. The third, a high school track star, raced to meet the paramedics at the road, feet bare and bloodied from running on the pipeline grates.

All Sydnor could think was, “Damn it. Mom was right.”

This feature originally appeared in the autumn 2017 issue of University of Richmond Magazine.

No water required

It's awesome when you have crazy talented friends -- and even better when you get to write about them! I met Carrie Walters when I wrote about her and the first 804ork cookbook. I wrote her after the story published and asked if she might need some editorial help on the next edition. Lucky for me, she said yes. I learned so much from Carrie, about freelancing, and branding, and doing what you love.

This super savvy entrepreneur is now the brains (and hands) behind Paper Rose, a line of stunningly realistic paper flowers, and I got to write about Carrie again. And bonus, her amazing photos landed her on the cover of the autumn 2017 issue of University of Richmond Magazine.

April showers bring May flowers — unless you’re Carrie Fleck Walters, ’00. Then you just need some crepe paper, a little creativity, and a bushel of talent.

Walters first started making paper flowers when she was looking for a way to use her hands and unwind after a day working in graphic design.

She was a painter in college but doesn’t have the space for a studio at home. She tried knitting, but that wasn’t right, either. Then, she stumbled on a paper flower kit in Martha Stewart Living magazine.

“Working with paper was just a natural thing,” she says. “It’s malleable. There are a lot of different weights and textures to crepe paper, and they each have their own ability to be molded. I can sculpt the petals and position them so they’re more real.”

The case for clemency

This feature was part of my first issue as editor of Richmond Law magazine. Talking to Mary Tate about her and her students' work on this clemency case helped me better understand the nuances of writing about the law, and the complex nature of these cases.

In 2014, Dujuan Farrow, an inmate in a Pennsylvania prison, received a letter from Mary Kelly Tate, a law professor at the University of Richmond.

President Barack Obama’s administration had just announced its Clemency Initiative, inviting qualified federal inmates to petition to have their sentences commuted. Pro bono organizations around the country were banding together to help submit petitions — including the Institute for Actual Innocence at the University of Richmond School of Law.

In the letter, Farrow read that this law professor he didn’t know had reviewed his case and believed he stood a chance. She asked to take on his case and submit a petition on his behalf.

She offered no promises, but this was Farrow’s last hope, his last shot at a life outside the prison walls that had surrounded him for 12 years.

He decided to take it.

A tiny house with twins

When Lindsay and Jared Knight decided to build a 310-square-foot house, they wanted to have more time and money for adventures, like travel and parenting. They got their wish when twin babies arrived in March 2017.

In the spring/summer issue of University of Richmond Magazine, I talked to them about how to do more with a whole lot less for an expert's guide on tiny house living.

Then, after the twins were born, I followed up to see how their expectations met reality.

When friends come by with toddlers, Lindsay and Jared sometimes wonder whether their tiny house will still work when the girls are more active. “Long-term, when they’re a little more grown up and walking around and getting into everything, it may not be as sustainable,” Jared says. “But for now, it’s a good option.”

Living in a tiny house with tiny humans wasn’t an unexpected situation for the Knights. They found out a few years ago that they couldn’t have children unless they used in vitro fertilization. Down-sizing was part of the master plan to afford the procedure. It’s also how Lindsay and Jared plan to spend so much time at home during the twins’ early months and years. To them, that out-measures any amount of square-footage.

A practice for new parents

I've been practicing yoga for more than 15 years. But last year, during the most monumental shift of my life, I had trouble finding the time and space for this much-needed steadying influence.

I had a chance to write for Project Yoga Richmond's blog about the experience of re-envisioning my yoga practice after having a baby. I'm also an ambassador for the nonprofit studio, which is dedicated to making yoga accessible to all in the Richmond community. Bonus: the post is chock full of adorable photos of yogis practicing with their littles.

There’s a Zen proverb that tells us to let go or be dragged.

Parenthood is one of the great lessons in proving that statement. At a time when your life changes overnight, it’s hard to let go of the comfort and routine you found in your practice.

What is acro yoga anyway?

Once a month, I teach an acro yoga workshop for Project Yoga Richmond. The partner acrobatics and yoga hybrid can be hard to explain and, sometimes, even harder to convince people to give it a try. In this blog post for PYR, I tried to break down some of the barriers and encourage people to get off their feet and onto someone else's.

Maybe you’ve seen photos of people doing some acrobatic yoga and you’re wondering, what’s this class all about? Or maybe you’ve seen it on the schedule, and have wanted to try it, but you’re nervous to make the leap. We get it! That’s why we’re tackling some common questions and misconceptions.

John Moeser

Photo: Dean Whitbeck

It started with a simple request: What data has been collected about poverty in Richmond?

It was 2005, and John Moeser, fresh in his role as a senior fellow at the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, wasn’t entirely equipped to answer. It wasn't the subject matter — he had spent decades researching and studying and teaching about race, power, and politics. Rather, he knew that a few numbers scribbled down on a piece of paper or listed in an email didn't have the depth and nuance to explain the state of poverty in the city.

So he got to work.

After 12 years at the University of Richmond, John Moeser, a senior fellow with the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, is retiring. Through the lens of his Unpacking the Census project, this profile shows the breadth and depth of his research and teaching on race, power, and politics in the city of Richmond.

The tales we tell

Victoria Charles, ’16, remembers being a first-year student and feeling, in her gut, out of place.

While the University has made strides since first admitting black students in the 1960s, it’s still a predominantly white institution, and that means mostly white students surround Charles, whether she’s in class, grabbing lunch at D-hall, or studying in the library.

“I’m not saying I was treated differently, but to not see yourself in the people around you is different,” she says.

This profile appeared in the winter 2016-17 issue of University of Richmond Magazine.

What We Think We Know

Imagine you’re sitting outside, taking in the scenery. You notice a small animal flying through your sight line.

If you’re like most people, your brain categorizes what you saw — “bird” — and moves on to the next thing to catch your attention.

If you’re an expert bird-watcher — someone who’s spent years learning the subtle differences in calls, colors, and movement of birds in a narrow region of the world — you might discern a bright green and light gray plumage and instantly know you’re looking at a chestnut-sided warbler.

Our brains are constantly processing stimuli, often before we’re conscious of it. It’s a complex process that our brains manage by quickly categorizing the multiple pieces of information that come in. It saves brain power.

That’s why the brain of a novice bird-watcher might categorize only as far as “bird.” Another with a little more experience might notice a flash of red, go a level deeper, and register “cardinal.” The expert birders have trained their brains to move beyond broad categorizations and make fine-level distinctions — often in the same amount of time.

Cindy Bukach, a cognitive neuroscientist and associate professor of psychology, believes there might be something to learn from these variations in cognitive processing, particularly in the labels our brains generate when we look at each other.

“The way we interact with the world depends on how we categorize things in our environment,” she says. “And one example of that is the way we categorize faces.”

This feature appeared in the winter 2016-17 issue of University of Richmond Magazine. I also edited a video that accompanied the online version of the story.

For Future Reference

Walk into the Wright Library at St. Catherine’s School on any given day and you’ll be greeted by girls gathered around a table, laptops open and phones out, as they chat about a class project or just what’s going on that day. A student grabs a magazine from the racks on the wall and settles into a seat on a couch. On your left, the feet of a six-foot tall St. Christopher’s School student stick out from a nook under the stairs.

Directly ahead, librarians smile from a desk in the center of the room. It’s waist-high, nothing like the former circulation desk.

“By opening up the front of the library, we created a welcoming and productive atmosphere,” says Courtney Lewis, Director of Library Services and Innovative Research. “Our new location allows us to be easily accessible.”

From their new vantage point, the librarians have a 360-degree view of students working quietly at carrels, talking about banned books in a corner classroom, or searching for the next book in their favorite series.

They’re also looking out on a whole new way of experiencing the library at St. Catherine’s.

Physical to Digital

In the age of ebooks and digital publications, the need for libraries full of physical books may sound like a relic of days gone by. Audrey Church, president of the American Association of School Librarians, argues that’s not the case. The needs of patrons are just evolving.

“We’ll never move away from print materials,” she says. “But as we move into the virtual, electronic, and digital realm, we see a shift. There’s less shelving and more space for instruction.”

In other words, students working on research projects may trade large reference books and bulky microfiche machines for online databases, but they still need guidance on searching for information, evaluating and synthesizing it, and ultimately communicating what they’ve learned.

“Google does not have all the answers. Wikipedia does not have all the answers,” says Church. “Doing research in a college or university environment requires the use of those subscription paid resources. The library is the place and the librarian is the person that allows students to use those resources and gain those skills prior to stepping out into an academic environment at the higher education level.”

Even the communication aspect has changed. Traditional research papers are still a mainstay, but professors are asking students to think far beyond their final grade.

“Students no longer give their teacher a paper and get an A or a B,” Lewis says. “Modern-day professors want students to realize they’re part of a community of scholars. They’re part of a social network of people who are interested in a topic and who can inform research and give feedback that [helps you] get better.”

That means students may be asked to write for academic blogs and websites, or find more creative outlets to share their work. Familiarity with a wide spectrum of technology tools is a must, which is why the Wright Library’s old AV storage room, full of overhead transparency machines and film cutting equipment, is being upgraded with green screens, GoPros and drones.

“We asked and the girls said, ‘We want to know how to produce great YouTube videos. How do we interview each other? We need a room that’s soundproofed,’” Lewis says. “The ninth grade physics teacher, during his sound unit, is actually going to get different kinds of acoustical soundproofing foam and the girls will design the soundproofing of the room.”

Similar thinking also applies at the elementary level. Story time might still mean a group of children clustered around a librarian reading a book. Rather than straining to see the pages of a physical book, though, they might see an ebook projected on a wall.

This approach is evident in the Lower School Library, which is undergoing its own renovation. The first step was to create an open floor plan allowing for a variety of activities. Moveable tables and flexible space will accommodate small groups and station-based activities, as well as a recent partnership between Christy Irving, Lower School Librarian, and Ann Hamilton-Dixon, Lower School Technology Coordinator.

Beginning in the second grade, Irving introduces information literacy and research skills, such as the library catalog. In the third and fourth grades, a combined class with Hamilton-Dixon incorporates online encyclopedias and periodical databases, iPad presentation apps and a 3D printer.

“Technology and research and information literacy, they definitely go hand-in-hand, and having good research skills is so valuable,” Irving says. “I never expect the girls to leave the Lower School being experts, but we give an introduction to the resources that are available to them and a process for research.”

While technology and research may be front and center, the Lower School library is still a space for young girls. With the large nook gone and new paint on the walls, the room is now lighter and brighter, with plenty of room for movement — even when students are in their seats. New chairs will allow girls to wiggle and fidget without disrupting their neighbors; studies show that the more kids can move, the more they’re actually paying attention.

Back in the Wright Library, a handful of innovative Brody chairs also prove how every detail of your work environment can enhance productivity. The chairs are encased with a small wall to encourage quiet study, and some have attached lights and power outlets. They also have a stool, as psychology studies show technology-driven work is best accomplished with feet at an angle.

Upper School student Emma Walker is most excited about the improved seating options. “The Brody chairs provide more comfortable work spaces and are great for working at a computer for an extended period of time,” she says.

The strategic placement of Brody chairs, traditional study carrels, and collaborative tables in quiet and noisy zones also reflect the needs of girls at a rigorous school. Lewis says students at St. Catherine’s want to work near their friends, even when they’re completely focused on their work. “Two girls might pick Brody chairs right next to each other and be totally quiet and working, but occasionally send a text to the person next to them,” she says. “They want to be able to take a break from working alone, find a few friends, share how they’re feeling and get some empathy. It satisfies an emotional need and that level of openness, I think, is part of an all-girls school.”

Small Details, Big Wins

A workstation that looks like it was plucked from the first-class cabin on a flight to Dubai might catch a visitor’s attention, but many of the library developments are low-tech solutions to seemingly simple problems — like finding a book to read for the weekend.

Irving and Lewis refer to it as the “bookstore-ification” of libraries. Selected books are turned face-out on shelves to increase appeal among passersby. In the Lower School, picture books are moving to bins placed around the library’s perimeter, making them easier for little hands to manage.

“A lot of the local public libraries have transitioned to picture book bins because they allow the younger children to flip through the books,” Irving says. “It’s so hard, if you’re five years old, to take a book out and get it back on the shelf.”

The Upper School has incorporated genre and series labels to help students easily find what they’re looking for. Lewis estimates that library staff used to spend upwards of 45 minutes a day looking up the next book in a series. Now that information is at the girls’ fingertips.

Still other additions acknowledge the needs of high-achieving students neck-deep in midterms and college applications. Nineteen therapy dogs came in for a visit during spring break and hot chocolate days are planned for the winter. In the future, a library classroom may double as a meditation zone, complete with aromatherapy, soft music and coloring books.

“Eighth, eleventh, and twelfth graders, while they absolutely were doing homework and academic work, they showed higher rates of watching videos, sleeping, and things that were escapist behaviors,” Lewis says. “Obviously we have a great information literacy program, but girls need things outside of the classroom, too. It’s important for us to maintain that balance of what they need from us to help with their work, and here’s what they need, period.”

The Heart of a School

“It’s a pet peeve of mine when you go to an independent school that has a really strong sense of self and culture and you go into the library and you have no idea where you are,” says Lewis. “We wanted to show you’re at St. Catherine’s School, you’re at a girls’ school.”

Lewis is referring to design details, like a subtle daisy pattern on the couch upholstery, but every inch of the Wright Library reflects the ideas and input of the St. Catherine’s community.

In fact, the library renovations originated with the 2015 and 2016 graduating seniors and their parents who wanted a better space for the students they were leaving behind. The girls knew what they wanted in a library, and the Senior Parent Gift Committee raised the money to make it happen.

When Lewis came on board in 2015, she sent a survey to the entire Middle and Upper schools with a promise of fresh-baked cookies in exchange for their time.

An eighth grader might not be an expert in space design, but she is an expert in how she spends her day. To that end, students were asked to detail the campus spaces they use for collaborative work, quiet study and relaxation; their interest in ebooks, research databases and other tools; and even their furniture preferences.

More than three-quarters of the student body responded — and they didn’t hold back. The library staff learned that the original study carrels had to stay. Old rules banning food and drink needed to be rethought (after all, says Lewis, “you can’t learn if you’re hungry or thirsty.”). And student after student said quiet space was a must.

Once initial design concepts were in hand, they were plastered on the library walls with stacks of blank Post-Its, ready for feedback. Within days, hundreds of notes peppered the designs with thoughts on colors and space layout and everything in between.

The library staff also took notice of what was happening in the space and found solutions to problems students didn’t even know they had. For instance, after watching girls sketch out ideas on a whiteboard and text a photo to their group, St. Catherine’s purchased a whiteboard with built-in Bluetooth connectivity that allows students to view their notes in real time and share snapshots along the way.

Wright Library is still evolving, but it’s clear the changes are winning over students. Lewis says they were lucky to have 70 or 80 kids a day before the renovation, but they now see nearly 300 students voluntarily visiting the library every day. They’re not just hanging out, either; book circulation is up 329 percent.

Girls are also finding the library offers a cozy alternative to places like the Grove Avenue Starbucks for after-school study sessions. Wesley Wright, Governor Emeriti and the library’s namesake, is fond of saying the library is the kitchen of the school. It’s the informal gathering place at the heart of St. Catherine’s, the place where anyone feels at home.

Lewis believes they’re fulfilling that vision. “It’s almost left over from when it used to be a boarding school here,” says Lewis. “They don’t just leave at 3:30; they can continue to be in that library space. I love that.”

This feature appeared in the fall 2016 issue of St. Catherine's Now, a publication of St. Catherine's School.

Happy Halloween

The University of Richmond is the only spider in higher ed. For Halloween, we celebrated our creepy, crawly mascot with a video and custom stencil.

I worked with a team to develop the concept, contributed as a film production assistant, and developed a plan for distribution. Check out the video and you'll also see a bit of my work as a pumpkin carver.

Slow and Steady

On a warm June afternoon, Carly Sibilia, ’17, hopped in her Chevy SUV and drove down Great Bay Boulevard, a five-mile stretch of concrete along the New Jersey shore. Built in the 1930s to supply a never-completed fish factory in the bay, the road has become another kind of thoroughfare for researchers like Sibilia.

June and July are the prime egg-laying months for the northern diamondback terrapin. As sunset drew nearer and the tide came in, the turtles emerged from the ocean and wobbled their way across Great Bay Boulevard in search of a patch of sand or gravel in which to lay their eggs.

Sibilia drove, scanning the side of the road and, when she spotted a terrapin, pulled over and marked her location with a GPS point. She weighed and measured each turtle, recording these figures and noting whether it carried eggs. Then she made a series of divots in the shell with a file, each notch corresponding with a unique ID code.

This profile appeared on the University of Richmond website and the winter 2016-17 issue of University of Richmond Magazine.

Breaking the binary

It was August, but the air was chilly. Jah Akande, ’13, bundled up in his coat as he prepared to exit the plane. He had just arrived in London with that nervous excitement so many students feel as they begin a semester abroad.

Jah grew up in Richmond, just a few miles down the street from the University. These three months in London would be his first time not surrounded by the friends and family and places he had always known.

As he approached the airplane door, the pilot greeted him, “Welcome to London, sir.”

Jah paused briefly, thinking to himself, “That was nice.”

It wasn’t the pilot’s friendliness that caught him off guard. Rather, it was the first time in Jah’s life that anyone had ever referred to him using “sir,” or “he,” or any other masculine pronoun — and the first time he realized the terms fit.

About a year ago, I pitched an idea for a story about the experiences of transgender students at the University of Richmond. While we’re a co-ed university, we have a coordinate college system that still assigns students to a college based on their gender. I thought we might have a perspective that not many other colleges and universities would have.

The University doesn’t have all of the answers, and I know many of the people I talked to would like to see more progress. But I’m happy it’s also a place that’s willing to acknowledge, on the front page of its website, that there's still work to do.

I spent hours and hours talking to students, alumni, and staff and I wish I had endless room to share their full stories because this story barely scratches the surface.

Serious props to Katie McBride for the gorgeous artwork and Joedy Felts for the animation and Internet magic.

Talk to me

The day before I called Qasim Rashid, L’12, from my office on Richmond’s campus, a man named Christopher Harper-Mercer walked onto another campus, Umpqua Community College in Oregon, and opened fire on his writing class. He fatally shot a professor and eight students and injured nine others before turning the gun on himself. Media speculated on a hodgepodge of possible explanations and motives: the infamy of similar mass shooters, his own isolation, and racial and religious hatred.

Rashid and I planned to talk about the power of human connection to reduce cultural misunderstanding and the violence that can result from it — violence like what happened in Oregon just the day before. Our timing felt off. But was there a less volatile time this year to talk with him?

This profile appeared in the winter 2016 issue of Richmond Law magazine.

804ork, Vol. 2

A SERIES OF COOKBOOKS FEATURING RICHMOND'S MOST ADMIRED CHEFS, RESTAURANTS, AND CUISINE

804ork is more than a cookbook.

It’s a who’s who, a what’s what, and a local travel guide for the hungry, a book that will find a happy home on many kitchen counters, coffee tables, and bookshelves in Richmond and beyond.

804ork will help you learn about the food, the people, and the places that have won us over. You’ll find recipes for old standbys and new favorites, inspiring photographs, and words of victual wisdom from Richmond’s most admired chefs and restaurateurs.

The Dog and Pig Show

I was honored to be a part of the team that created the second volume of this beautiful book showcasing Richmond's foodie finest.

For the project, I interviewed more than 20 restaurant chefs and owners for profiles and Q&As that offered a glimpse into their personality. I also served as copyeditor for all book content, including chef profiles, recipes, directory, and chapter introductions.

The book is available online and at local retailers.

Flavor Profile

It’s Sunday morning and you’re making scrambled eggs. You don’t consult a recipe — you crack open some eggs, whisk in a little milk, and pour them in a pan.

But is there a better way? Souza has a few suggestions: Swap in half-and-half for more flavor. Add extra yolks for richness. Use a smaller skillet to get heartier curds. And try a combination of high and low heat to avoid a rubbery or custard-like texture.

But don’t take Souza’s word for it.

This profile appeared in the fall 2015 issue of University of Richmond Magazine.

All in a Day's Work

From sunup to sundown, our campus is humming with activity. See what goes into a typical day at Richmond.

This video was created as a way to thank University of Richmond donors by showing the everyday things their gifts support. I worked with a team to develop the concept and storyboard, and contributed as a film production assistant.

Emily Whitted

The first time Emily Whitted, ’16, picked up knitting needles, she was 10, maybe 11 years old, and almost immediately stumbling, struggling, and dropping stitches. But she pushed through on her own, finding her rhythm and finishing her first project — a navy blue scarf and hat she gave to her dad for Christmas.

Only then did she finally notice the instructions that came with the kit she’d bought at a local craft store; they were written for right-handers, and she’s a lefty. But it didn’t matter; by that time, she was hooked.

This profile appeared on the University of Richmond website.