Sold a Story
I'm the data reporter on this investigative podcast about how kids learn: what works in the classroom, the science behind it and why that research often does not reach schools.
8laws and policies changed: 6 state laws in WA, NC and IL, plus 2 policy changes
$30Mfederal funding to train and retain nurse examiners through 2028
$1.6MNC funding for a nurse examiner pilot and training hub
My reporting has also led to resignations, firings, criminal indictments and convictions.
SELECTED WORK
Survivors Sidelined
Illinois has one of the nation's strongest laws guaranteeing hospital care for sexual assault survivors. I found about two dozen hospitals had violated it, affecting more than 200 patients, and the state had never collected a fine. In 2025 lawmakers strengthened the law: the state can now fine hospitals, long-distance transfers are easier to refuse, and survivors can use health care vouchers at any hospital.
Nursing pillow deaths
Hundreds of my records requests underpinned a first-of-its-kind analysis that found more than 160 babies died in incidents involving nursing pillows since 2007. The Consumer Product Safety Commission then recommended a redesign.
Finding Nurses
Rape victims need specialized nurses, but no one in North Carolina kept track of them, leaving rural survivors with uneven access to timely exams. It led to state money for a nurse examiner pilot and a $1.5 million training hub at Fayetteville State University, and to $30 million in federal funding.
Seeking Conviction
I was the lead data reporter on this 11-newsroom investigation, led by Carolina Public Press, into why sexual assault cases fall apart in North Carolina. It found North Carolina was the only state where withdrawing consent did not make continued sex a crime. Lawmakers closed the loophole in 2019.
WHAT CHANGED
Laws, rules and funding that followed my reporting, newest first.
ILLINOIS
- The state can now fine hospitals that deny sexual assault survivors required care, long-distance transfers are easier to refuse, and survivors can use health care vouchers at any hospital.
FEDERAL
- The CPSC recommended a nursing pillow redesign.
- $30 million to train and retain nurse examiners in rural and tribal communities through 2028, in the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization.
NORTH CAROLINA
- $125,000 for a nurse examiner pilot project and $1.5 million for a training hub at Fayetteville State University.
- Continuing sex after someone says stop is now rape, ending a 40-year precedent advocates called “the rapist’s right to finish.”
- Raping someone incapacitated by their own drinking or drug use is now a crime.
WASHINGTON
- Salvaging roadkill deer and elk became legal.
- Police must tell judges what surveillance equipment they will use, and need a warrant.
- City councils, not just mayors, now weigh in on liquor licenses.
- Large non-voted school district debt must be discussed in a public meeting.
ABOUT
I'm a correspondent with APM Reports, where I'm on the Sold a Story team. Before that I was a reporter at NBC News.
I serve on the companywide AI Council and the inaugural MPR News AI Committee, helping shape how we evaluate AI tools, set ethical standards and develop best practices for responsible use. I also help with breaking news coverage for Minnesota Public Radio.
I'm a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors and was IRE's inaugural Rural Computer-Assisted Reporting fellow in 2011, through the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues.
Outside of work, my husband and I design and 3D print colorful, whimsical pieces, which we sell through our shop, PerleForge. We're also pretty bad at astrophotography, but we love getting outside to try.
I live in North Carolina.
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