My Communications Career
Radio Broadcasting
For the the final two years of my under-grad degree and the first three years of my career, I broadcast local news on radio stations in Columbus, Ohio and then Newark, Ohio. I loved the energy, excitement, and variety of local news coverage. I particularly enjoyed the challenge of using my voice to deliver information to a wide audience. In time, as recognized that the broadcast industry - indeed the world of journalism was changing. The foundation of unbiased reporting upon which I had built my early career was eroding as news outlets began what proved to the be the early stages of biased and partisan news gathering. I chose to leave the field and have never regretted the decision.
U.S. Air Force
Leaving journalism for the field of public relations amounted to joining the opposition as many journalists viewed the PR field. However, once I accepted a civilian assignment, I was assigned to Hill Air Force Base in Utah where I supported a squadron of F-16 fighter planes and had some responsibility for base-community relations in the Ogden area. One of the more exhilarating assignments was driving to the desert west of Salt Lake City to watch the training of F-16 fighter pilots. I also accompanied Air Force rescue units to canyons east of Ogden practicing the retrieval of "down" Air Force pilots. In my spare time, I worked to better relations between Hill Air Force Base and the local communities impacted by its presence..
NASA
For nearly a decade, the nation's space program dominated my waking hours during tenures at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. I was first assigned to the Space Shuttle program and later tasked to support the agency's interplanetary research efforts and then the Mission to Planet Earth project. I produced articles and news releases. I organized press conferences and other events for national and international media. Most importantly, I was thrilled to work the fascinating world of space exploration.
Cybersecurity
In a most incongruous turn of events while building a writing career outside of the corporate world, I was offered the opportunity to work in the field of cybersecurity. This fascinating job offer took my family and I to the Charlotte, North Carolina region and we settled just across the border in South Carolina. For the next 5 years, I supported two information security operations designed to protect corporate and personal customer information from hackers. Though vastly different from my previous work, this experience will figure in my future writing as I tackle this most important subject in a world driven by electronic and virtual communications.