I teach college-level writing courses, among them University Writing to first year students at Columbia University, and Grammar, Rhetoric, and Style for the Bard Microcollege. I have served as a writing mentor/workshop facilitator in the Clinical Composition Program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and taught fiction to medical students in Columbia’s Program in Narrative Medicine. I love helping students grow as writers.

Columbia University BA, MFA

I have written over twenty-five books for young readers, among them the middle-grade novels Nobody Was Here and The Pity Party (Scholastic Books.) As much as I love writing for young readers, I love working with young writers, in workshop settings and especially one-on-one. 

University of Chicago BA

As a professor at Westfield State University, I have taught writing to first-year students for 19 years, as well as worked as a professional tutor in the Reading and Writing Center. I hold an advanced certificate from the College Advising Program at Columbia University Teachers College. My past work as a journalist influences my approach to student writing. I love helping young people dig in and find their voices.

University of Virginia BA
Stanford University MA  
Northeastern University MA
Columbia University College Advising Certificate