He worked previously as a staff reporter at the Roseburg News-Review, covering city government and social services in southern Oregon, where he won awards from the Oregon Publishers Association and the Society for Professional Journalists. He recently returned to Oregon to become the legislative reporter for The Lund Report after several years in Chicago, where he reported on issues affecting the South Side black community. He was recognized with a Rosa Parks Transit Equity Award by Developing Communities Project, the grassroots organization founded by President Barack Obama. He also worked with Physicians for a National Health Program and the Medicare News Group. A native of Defiance, Ohio, he is a graduate of Miami University and has a master's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.