Experience
Freelance Journalist, New York, New York (June 2011 – present)
Provide technical writing and editing services to finance firms, major medical centers and consultancies.
Finance articles have appeared on BBC Capital, FOXBusiness.com, InstitutionalInvestor.com and LearnVest.com. Segment guest on FoxNews.com Live, HuffPost Live and KLAV 1230 AM radio (Financial Fridays). Cultivated an extensive source list related to the finance industry.
Available for consulting and journalism opportunities.
www.whowhatwhyny.com, New York, New York (Summer 2009)
Wrote and reported profiles, features and business stories on Long Island City for a Columbia Journalism School website focusing on environmental issues in the New York metropolitan area.
Fitch Ratings, New York, New York (June 1999 – March 2009)
Sector expert in the student loan and residential mortgage industries for a rating agency.
Analyzed financial data, researched and evaluated legislation and market developments, and developed criteria to issue credit ratings for student loan and residential mortgage bonds. Attended onsite corporate reviews and interviewed senior executives to understand their business strategies. Extensive knowledge of prime, Alt A and subprime residential mortgages and the business practices and bond financings of high-volume mortgage originators and investment banks. Expertise in fixed income products (credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligations, and interest rate derivatives), as well as the impact of business strategies on corporate balance sheets.
Senior Director, Asset-Backed Securities (June 1999 – Feb. 2003 & March 2006 – March 2009)
Wrote reports, conducted investor meetings and participated on panels at industry conferences to provide insight on the $85 billion student loan industry. Interviewed regularly for trade publications, national newspapers and magazines, and radio. Synthesized data from deteriorating collateral, structured finance trends, market disruptions, general economic conditions and new legislation to develop methodologies to downgrade student loan bonds. Reviewed bond performance affected by auction rate market liquidity and accounting issues, widened interest rate spreads, commercial paper market liquidity and credit issues, and weakened borrower credit.
Director, Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (Feb. 2003 – March 2006)
Interpreted and analyzed legal documents to understand the mechanics of a structured finance deal, as well as individual mortgage loan attributes for the credit and cash flow analysis, for more than 80 transactions annually that financed thousands of mortgages in the secondary market.
Analyst, Lehman Brothers, New York, New York (Sept. 1998 – May 1999)
Collateral analyst responsible for ensuring data integrity in consumer loan bond securitizations. Worked with internal and external constituents to complete assignments within tight deadlines.
Associate, Standard & Poor’s DRI, Washington, DC (Jan. 1997 – Aug. 1998)
Forecasted consumer and produce price indexes within the consumer and health care microeconomic sectors. Briefed clients and senior management regularly. Analyzed data, wrote articles and assisted in producing quarterly publications.
Education
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, New York, New York
M.S., Journalism (Oct. 2010)
Coursework in book writing, explanatory journalism, profiles, photojournalism and neighborhood beat reporting.
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
B.S., Systems Engineering (May 1994)
Extensive coursework in economics, computer science, operations research, and probability and statistics.
Affiliations
Society of Professional Journalists, Newswomen’s Club of New York