Growth. Purpose. Exploration. Love. These are key themes in my work, especially my award-winning memoir The Voluntourist (William Morrow). The book shares my adventures as a volunteer in six countries and my search for meaning as I cope with my father’s death and attempt to live a life that matters.

In 2020, my Washington Post Magazine story on an orphanage in Kenya was selected for The Best American Travel Writing (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). I’ve written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, NationalGeographic.com, Smithsonian, Travel + Leisure, Departures, The Chicago Tribune, CityLab, McSweeney’s, Huffington Post, Thrive Global, and many more. I also write the “Everyday Heroes” column for The Saturday Evening Post.

For 15 years, I was an editor with AARP The Magazine — the world’s largest circulation magazine with 35 million readers — including stints as health editor, travel editor, and executive editor. My work as editor of the magazine’s Navigator section was nominated for a National Magazine Award in 2005 and I continue to write frequently for AARP.

I’ve made 100+ appearances on TV and radio, including NBC’s Today, CBS This Morning, ABC News Now, CBS’s The Early Show, CNBC’s Street Smarts, C-SPAN 2’s Book TV, National Geographic Weekend, and radio networks such as Martha Stewart Living Radio, USA Radio Network, Voice America Radio, and New Zealand public radio.

As a volunteer, I blogged for Medical Missions Foundation in India in 2018 and I volunteer weekly with Capital Caring Health, a D.C.-area hospice organization. My volunteer work has taken me to locations such as China, Kenya, Ecuador, the West Bank, and Costa Rica. I’m a board member for George Mason University’s library and its Fall for the Book festival; I’m also a co-founder of the Robert and Sandra Budd scholarship endowment at Mason. I have donated all of my earnings from The Voluntourist to the places and organizations where I volunteered.