Author Bio

I started out in journalism as a Florida sports writer (with a side hustle writing term papers), but I found myself drawn to features, commentary, and mainstream news. Over the years I’ve lived in Spain, Yugoslavia, Peru, and then Italy, where I’ll most likely stay.

I’m a sommelier, a lapsed Catholic, a tournament chess player, a cooking school dropout, a member of Mensa, an art and book collector, an ex-competitive runner, an amateur historian, a Moth storytelling alum, a recovering hoarder, and a proud dog owner.

My bylines over the years range from Food & Wine to The Hollywood Reporter, from Fortune Magazine to The Wall Street Journal, and from Axios to USA Today.

I’m half American and half Dominican, but have lived most of my life outside of either country. I’ve traveled to more than 85 countries, covered two Olympics, three papal conclaves, four G7 summits, multiple wars and conflicts, natural disasters, and more elections and government collapses than I can count -- all of which have been fascinating. But I’m also enamored by subtle every-day pleasures.

Which is why I love Italy. The country still has the capacity to take my breath away, but, as with any long-term relationship, there are also times when we argue and then I need to cool down.

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