JOURNALISM
I am a seasoned journalist with experience in hard news, features, arts and culture, and lifestyle. I have over 130 published stories to my name in a mixture of local and national publications. I also enjoy multimedia storytelling and I'm proficient with Adobe Audition, Illustrator, and PremierePro. I'm available for freelance assignments and commissioned pieces. If you have a project for me, please get in touch.
SELECT WRITING
Just roll with it: How to move your in-person tabletop game online, CBC Life
Although games are usually played in person, Canadians who can't meet up with their regular groups are using online platforms to continue their adventures. With so many platforms to choose from and each with a seemingly endless suite of features, starting a new game or moving an existing game online can be daunting. To help players and Game Masters (GMs) navigate their options, we reached out to six gamers across the country for advice on how to choose the right application, issues to watch out for, and how you can get the most out of playing online.
What it's like being a gender non-conforming model of colour, Xtra Magazine
The team had chosen me for this project because of my look. What my colleagues had failed to realize was that for me, this wasn’t just a “look” — it was my identity, something I live out every day.
The team should have taken advantage of my knowledge and experience about gender fluidity to strengthen the project’s effectiveness and impact. The miscommunication — whatever it was — was the fault of the production team. But the industry standard measurements, whiteness, cisness were likely a large part of why the stylist was unprepared to find clothes for me. She might not have ever worked with anyone who had a body like mine.
Canadian podcast asks the tough questions every millennial is thinking, HuffPost Canada
"The diversity within Blackness is so important because Emilie is from Québec, is Black, has been working on racial justice issues in Québec for quite a long time. I have a very different perspective on things than she does, having grown up in B.C. and also being queer and an immigrant. Then Barbara being brand new from Kenya — just here for the 10 months we were living together — also [has] a completely different perspective on certain things. I think that was really cool to bring us all together and explore a little bit like, "Hey, not all Black people are the same!"
'Fence' captures drama and competition to the hilt, Big Shiny Robot
It’s very much a first issue with more exposition than plot, but this is arguably necessary. And when the exposition is as visually stunning as in Fence, I’m hardly complaining. Technical fencing terms like parry and riposte replace the usual pow and sock of comic action sequences, a fun way to teach readers the vocabulary of fencing. The same thing goes for the flashbacks of Nicholas’ early coaching sessions; they show the reader the skills and discipline needed to be a good fencer.
May I Have Your Attention? The Varsity
An interview with then-Green Party Leader Elizabeth May from 2015.
Toronto joins call for global drug policy reform, Toronto Media Co-Op
Please be advised that this piece contains discussion of overdose-related deaths and addiction-related stigma.
Around 50 people gathered at the South Riverdale Community Health Centre in front of the Drug Users’ Memorial to listen to speeches, connect with each other, and share personal experiences. In a gesture of reclamation, the event took place on June 26, the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking as designated by the United Nations (UN). On such a day, some UN member states have held public beatings and executions of those convicted of drug-related offences.
It's not easy being ace, The Varsity
A person’s behaviour is not an indication of their sexual orientation. For instance, asexuality and celibacy are different things, but there are many aces that choose to remain celibate. Yet, there are also aces who have sex for a variety of different reasons.
The way in which people experience asexuality differs from person to person, and many aces have to defend their identities when non-asexuals try to invalidate or refute them, often relying on harmful and inaccurate stereotypes to do so.
Sex on campus: How 'No Means No' became 'Yes Means Yes', Globe and Mail (with reports from)
Please be advised that this piece discusses sexual assault.
That's why Yes Means Yes is such a powerful idea, Alex says. It removes the "No-means-try-harder" that stems from traditional expectations. "I am quite explicit when I want to have sex, and I try to avoid playing games at all costs," she says. "If you are very clear about what you want, then if you do say 'No,' it resonates more."