I cover Congress for The Hill, with a focus on House leadership. Previously, I was the congressional reporter for The Washington Independent; covered health policy for Inside Washington Publishers; and served as D.C. correspondent for Iowa’s Waterloo Courier. Before entering journalism, I built houses in Thailand, taught English in Prague, built grain silos in Benin, laid water lines in the Philippines and cooked in kitchens in Charlottesville, San Francisco and Alaska. I received a bachelor's degree in English from James Madison University and a master's from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.