Boston-based independent journalist covering cities and urban policy with a solutions lens. Contributor to CQ Researcher, Reasons to be Cheerful, Shelterforce, HealthCity, Next City and the Bay State Banner, a longstanding weekly covering Boston’s communities of color. Other bylines: The New York Times, The Guardian, Exhale magazine. Topics include food security, housing and foreclosure, health equity, early literacy, trauma-informed practices, transportation, worker cooperatives and community economic development.
Recent work includes two long reports for CQ Researcher. One (August 2023), on disparities in homeownership, traces historical and continuing lending discrimination, exclusionary zoning and other barriers that have hindered households of color in gaining the benefits of homeownership, as well as today’s barriers to first-time buyers, including low supply, competition from investor purchasers and student loan debt burden. The other (March 2024) is on the U.S. foster care system and the charged debates about when to remove children from their families, who should take care of them and in what settings.
For Shelterforce, for a 2022 “Under the Lens” series I profiled five successful tenant organizing efforts across the US, and I continue to report on housing, health, racial equity and other issues.
As a GSA/New America Media Journalists in Aging fellow, I wrote a multi-part series examining housing challenges for Boston’s low-income elders. With support from NAM’s Climate Change in Communities of Color fellowship, I reported on the disparate climate change impact predicted for Boston neighborhoods. As a graduate policy fellow at MassINC, I co-authored a report on supporting immigrant entrepreneurship in Massachusetts’ gateway cities.
I hold a bachelor’s degree in conservation biology, a master’s in journalism and a master’s in urban and regional policy (now urban planning and policy) from Northeastern University’s School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs.
Selected stories:
[ Jump to Shelterforce | Reasons to be Cheerful | Next City | Bay State Banner | HealthCity | Exhale ]
LATEST
Foster care: Can the system be reformed to better protect youth? (CQ Researcher) [subscriber access only – please contact me for more info]
Neighborhood Birth Center plans move forward in Roxbury (HealthCity)
Helping healthcare providers process grief after overdose deaths (HealthCity)
Barriers to homeownership: Can the U.S. achieve equitable access? (CQ Researcher) [subscriber access only – please contact me for more info]
Black churches in CA lead the way to quality end-of-life care (Reasons to be Cheerful)
Boston organizers protect tenants while trying to change the system (Shelterforce)
COVID cast a light on health disparities: How can we build resilience before the next pandemic? (Bay State Banner)
CQ Researcher
Foster care: Can the system be reformed to better protect youth?
[subscriber access only – please contact me for more info]
Barriers to homeownership: Can the U.S. achieve equitable access?
[subscriber access only – please contact me for more info]
The New York Times
Together, parents boost their children’s early learning
The Guardian (Guardian Cities)
Come for the pizza, stay for the power: Why Boston lets teenagers set its budget
Shelterforce
Boston organizers protect tenants while trying to change the system
Tenant protections take a step forward in MD
How Portland, Maine passed rent control
All tenants get right to counsel in Kansas City
How Miami-Dade organizers won a tenant bill of rights
Crisis responses that avert police calls (long-form feature)
Easing stress of eviction for those with mental health challenges (long-form feature)
How much time does trauma-informed community building take? It’s complicated (long-form feature)
Fannie Mae financing initiative encourages healthier design, stronger resident services
Trauma-informed practices help deliver better care to clients, staff (long-form feature)
Housing organizations pivot to provide COVID testing, vaccinations
What’s different when the community collects the data?
Getting Philly’s competitive health systems to work together for the community (long-form feature)
Filling the affordable housing financing gap in the Gulf Coast: Getting MCOs on board
Insights for health and community development partnerships from those who’ve crossed sectors (long-form feature)
Reasons to be Cheerful
Black churches in CA lead the way to quality end-of-life care
At on-campus retirement communities, seniors & ‘seniors’ forge deep bonds
At this grocery store, shoppers pay what they wish
Next City
Framingham, Mass. makes strides toward inclusive civic engagement
How Chicago could build equity into transportation
Children’s savings accounts help families eye college, vocational goals
NPS aims to engage local residents in Boston’s Charlestown Navy Yard planning
Accessibility, better infrastructure, ‘destination playscape’ slated for Boston’s City Hall
In Boston, interactive exhibit brings redlining impact home
Can employee ownership preserve legacy businesses in communities of color? (long-form feature)
A diverse network of ‘place leaders’ launches in Boston
Boston city councilors eye pension fund divestment, reinvestment
‘Atlas of Inequality’ maps where rich, poor do and don’t mix
Making space for worship in the 21st century
Can employee ownership help preserve Durham’s legacy of black businesses?
Taking steps toward a community-controlled economy in Boston
Worker co-ops catch on in Philadelphia (long-form feature)
Fed tax credits, local dollars keeping Akron downtown lively
Eau Claire, WI has a plan to fight climate change, unlike governor
Boston vocational HS program opens multiple doors
Montreal’s iconic subway cars becoming creative spaces
Job training synced with child care gets Boston mothers into new careers
In two years, Boston goes from 5,000 questions to a 15-year plan
Outside Boston, park offers multi sensory experience for all
Risk-taking architecture for the playground set
Land trust network launches in Boston
Bay State Banner
COVID cast a light on health disparities: How will we prepare for the next pandemic?
Spotlight on police unions puts labor community in tough spot
City council examines admissions policy for Madison Park HS
Medical center partnership brings training, job opportunities to voc/tech students
Part of an age-friendly city: advocacy training for elders
Ujima Project launches community fund
Consumer scams proliferate, FTC urges caution
Community fights to save African Orthodox Church building
Coalition seeks solutions to work and childcare issues
Forum series examines racial wealth gap
Poor People’s Campaign puts focus on social issues
City councilor fighting discipline disparities – releases policy recs for schools
Business forum highlights economic inequality solutions
Report: MBTA is vital for economy, worthy of investment
Filling the gaps for Boston’s formerly incarcerated
A village of experts helps Dorchester baker grow her business
Ujima Project aims to put economic control in neighborhood hands
City seeks restaurateur tenant for prime Dudley Square space
Teacher-entrepreneur serves up fish in Uphams Corner
Ronnette Taylor-Lawrence charts a path from trades to entrepreneurship
Female entrepreneurs find woman-to-woman support
‘Memory Cafe’ takes aim at elder isolation, dementia concerns
Report charts persistent inequities in Greater Boston
Proposals are in for Roxbury Housing Innovation Competition
In Boston, who will bear burden of climate change? (sponsored by NAM Climate Change in Communities of Color Fellowship)
City studies changing Boston demographics
BPS open house highlights 10-year plan process
City teachers try to make do with fewer staff, supplies
Rev. Barber, in Boston, urges a moral lens on policy issues
Report shows Neighborhood Jobs Trust impact
Batter up! The BASE launches girls’ baseball program
Latinas Think Big forum tackles wealth gap
Advocates testify on millionaire tax
Local organizer shifts focus to transit equity
Home Funders sponsors ELI housing competition
BPS hires social-emotional learning expert
Bus Rapid Transit studied anew for Hub
Legislators advance racial profiling bills
Transit cost relief for Boston-area youth
Minority transit officials convene in Boston
JP, Roxbury elders feel effects of gentrification (sponsored by GSA/NAM fellowship)
Housing prices put squeeze on S. End, Chinatown elderly (sponsored by GSA/NAM fellowship)
When an elder loses a home (sponsored by GSA/NAM fellowship)
For older homeowners, it’s ‘buyer beware’ (sponsored by GSA/NAM fellowship)
For senior homeowners, repair costs loom large (sponsored by GSA/NAM fellowship)
Elder financial abuse a growing problem as population ages (sponsored by GSA/NAM fellowship)
Local AARP honors ‘nanas’ raising grandkids
Transit activists hopeful MBTA shutdowns will spur investment
Chinatown group forms land trust to fight gentrification
Mayors talk financial empowerment, inequality at UMass Boston forum
Program puts BPS students on path to Boston teaching jobs
Hundreds attend local Brother’s Keeper summit
Dismay, call to action after ‘sobering’ school report
Report details disparate educational outcomes for blacks, Latinos in BPS
Report shows Latinos underrepresented in local gov’t leadership
Coalition calls for wage guarantees for Roxbury construction projects
Roxbury workers stunned by hospital closure
Hub linkage fees fund $1 million in job training grants
Dorchester food production center expected to create 150 jobs
Mayor, Local Activists Break Ground on Roxbury Farm Plot
Family, Friendship Rule the Day at Roxbury Homecoming
Roxbury Forum Examines 1960s Anti-Highway Fight
Roxbury Neighbors Spar Over Affordable Housing
Dudley Square Retail Rents Rising as Area Undergoes Revitalization
Dudley Square Entrepreneurs Seek Retail Opportunities in Ferdinand Building
‘Inner City 100’ Honors Fastest-Growing Urban Companies
Mass Fair Housing Groups Receive $1.6 M from HUD
Melnea Cass Project Raises Resident Questions, Concerns
BUILD Preps Students for Entrepreneurship, College
Restaurants, Shops Anticipated for Ferdinand Site
Melnea Cass Blvd Redesign Plan Inches Forward
Protesters Demand More Local Jobs at Ferdinand Site
Cleaning Up Blue Hill Ave, Block by Block
City Council Hears Minority Contractor Issues
Volunteers Offer Help, Hope Amid Foreclosures
Developers Present Tremont Crossing Plans
City Seeks Strategies for Dudley Parking Woes
Jackson Square Project Officially Breaks Ground
Carrying the Momentum Forward – Rain fails to dampen Ferdinand celebration
Sweet! – Local baker to construct cake for Dudley groundbreaking
Ferdinand Design Proposal Mixes Old, New
City Seizes Buildings to Expand Ferdinand Project
City Council Honors Haley House – Resolutions praise food-based service model, transitional program for ex-convicts
Housing Activists Protest Award for Landlord Kargman
Journalist Chronicles Blacks’ Great Migration
Mayor’s Ferdinand Plan Stirs Hope for Dudley Revitalization
Mothers Unite to Transform Grief into Action
Science of Race – Museum of Science examines a social issue with a scientific lens
EPA’s Jackson strives to bring minorities to the table
Grand Opening for Thomas I. Atkins Apartments
Program Moves Homeless Families Out of Motels – but longterm housing stability still out of reach for many
Tenant Activists Rally to Keep Affordable Housing
The Boston Housing Authority Turns 75
First Lady Balances Work, Advocacy and a Little Campaigning – Profile of Massachusetts first lady Diane Patrick
State Initiative Offers Children Services
Groundbreaking Project Saved Affordable Housing
HealthCity
Neighborhood Birth Center plans move forward in Roxbury
Helping healthcare providers process grief after overdose deaths
Bringing healthy food and a community hub to Roxbury
Making addiction treatment more appealing & effective for Black patients
Rapid ACCESS fills the gaps for patients with addiction
Building capacity to address obstetric racism
To address ‘Mass & Cass,’ transitional housing is crucial
How healthcare can and should make reparations to people of color
Safe housing is a pivotal determinant of health for transgender women
It’s vital to increase police understanding of autism spectrum disorders
Boston doctors say health equity metrics must be incorporated into hospital rankings
Prioritizing People with SUD for COVID-19 vaccination
The health consequences of family separation at the border
Drug surveillance systems need complete overhaul, expert says
‘Good intentions aren’t enough’: Forum examines root causes of COVID disparities
Healthcare leaders discuss institutional response to climate change
Protecting patients from energy insecurity requires universal screening
Tackling NICU breastfeeding disparities by meeting social needs
Integrating Social Determinants of Health screening into EHR
Exhale magazine
New Boston Society of Architects president renews old buildings and the planet
Expanding the Theater Experience – Profile of Diane Paulus, artistic director, A.R.T. (cover story)
Science Club for Girls Grows Up – Profile of Connie Chow, executive director
Strategy for Sustainability – Profile of Crystal Johnson, environmental strategist (cover story)
The Connector – Profile of Saran Kaba Jones, founder of FACE Africa
Playwright Lydia R. Diamond – Profile, Oct 2010 (cover story)
A Healing Art – Profile of Dr. Michele David, physician and quilt artist
You Gotta Fight! – Profile of Susannah Sirkin, Physicians for Human Rights deputy director
Bay Windows
For Teacher, Yoga is Part of a Lifetime in Public Health
South End News
Copley Expansion Project Approved
Local Residents Voice Opposition to Copley Project
Carter School Expansion Plans Inch Forward
Activist Kip Tiernan Remembered
Hearing Airs Questions on State Funding for Public Housing Repairs
Blackstone Program Helps English Language Learners
Sandra Larson, M.S. -- Boston freelance journalist covering urban issues and policy 
Loved your article in the New York Times on parenting profiling First Teacher Boston!