about me …

I am a Bay Area-based writer, having worked and freelanced for the San Francisco Chronicle and other newspapers in the region for more than a decade. Most recently, I held a multifaceted position in Stanford University’s central communications division that entailed writing, editing, media relations and management.

Since my layoff in May 2009, I have spent the ensuing months — and moderate amounts of a generous severance package — enjoying summer, catching up on life and becoming a more well-rounded, tech-savvy communicator. Besides this blog, I’ve also set up my own website, where I’ve collected a few of the features and news stories I’ve written over the years at the Chronicle and at Stanford.

I now live in Baltimore and work as a science writer at Johns Hopkins University, where my job is to garner coverage and recognition for the faculty experts and scholarly work affiliated with the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. Through an e-newsletter, blog and media-relations work, I aim to help the institute achieve its overall mission to inform society that important ethical issues are inherent wherever there is a bio-medical component — from everyday clinical practices to the national debate on health care.

So I guess I’ve succeeded in landing a job that will allow me to apply my experience as a professional writer and combine it with my passion for health and science … which means that my adventures in unemployment are technically over. A new adventure is about to begin, and it remains to be seen whether I continue to blog about that.

But over the past six months, I’ve hiked more than 60 miles of coastal trails, volunteered at a marine discovery center and savored every offshore breeze and intimate moment with the ones that I love. This blog is a testament to this joyous and indulgent period of my life, which I am sad to see ending — because I have truly enjoyed sharing every moment with you.

Thanks for following me,

Michael