Hello.

I’m Jonathan.

Purpose-driven storytelling

Editorial strategy and leadership

Award-winning food journalism

Nice to meet you.

I’m a Portland-based writer and editorial leader who harnesses storytelling to lift up amazing humans and innovative projects the world needs to know about. 

I’ve led big-swing editorial projects that put writing tools in the hands of non-writers, build public awareness, and even win national awards.

Currently, I manage a team of writers who blend storytelling, UX, and product marketing for Airbnb Experiences.

I’ve also written about sustainable building, clean energy, disaster housing, and healthcare for clients like the Portland International Airport, Airbnb.org, Oregon Health & Sciences University, and REACH Strategies. Find out more about my editorial strategy expertise on LinkedIn.

In another side of my career, I’m a James Beard Award-winning journalist and food historian.

I was a restaurant critic in San Francisco and Seattle, and I reported on food culture and restaurants for the San Francisco Chronicle, telling big stories about small businesses in the country’s most food-obsessed city.

I’ve covered regenerative farming, food technology, AIDS, and food history for publications like Bon Appetit, the Wall Street Journal, and the New Yorker. Now that I live in Portland, I chronicle my Portlandia-esque love for foraging and micro-homesteading at A Place Is a Gift

Hippie Food, my first book, uncovered the improbable, entertaining history of how young Americans fell in love with organic kale, whole-wheat bread, tofu, and granola in the 1960s. The book was a finalist for a James Beard Award, and Michael Pollan reviewed it in the New York Times. Buy it on Amazon or Bookstore.org.