ABOUT ME

Cultural Anthropologist & Independent Consultant

I’m a cultural anthropologist (PhD Princeton) and independent consultant with 20 years of experience leading research and strategy projects across technology, media, and philanthropy.

A growing focus of my consultancy is designing AI-assisted systems for high-stakes research and writing. As Founding Director of Inside Political Money’s AI Desk, I built the desk’s editorial system – its style rules, drafting workflow, and verification process – and produced its library of AI-drafted, human-edited background articles on campaign finance.

Organizations I’ve worked with include Intel, Adobe x Sundance Institute, Doris Duke Foundation, Americans for the Arts, WONDROS, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project x Gabo Foundation, Inside Philanthropy, and Inside Political Money.

My recent projects explore: (1) the alternative and at times novel corporate structures AI companies adopt in pursuit of private and public aims; (2) beliefs about the promises of emerging technologies for creativity and free time; and (3) the ins-and-outs of philanthropic and political giving.

I’ve written on AI governance for the Financial Times and am the author of In Chocolate We Trust: The Hershey Company Town Unwrapped (University of Pennsylvania Press), which looks at an iconic American example of the mission-driven corporation. I’m also an indie rock songwriter.

SERVICES

I help organizations make sense of complex cultural, technological, and institutional change – and turn that understanding into strategy, writing, and systems they can use.

• AI-Assisted Research & Writing Systems: I design editorial and research workflows that help organizations use AI responsibly for high-stakes writing. This includes style rules, drafting processes, verification protocols, source tracking, human review systems, and editorial guidelines that preserve accuracy, judgment, and voice.

• Thought Leadership & Narrative Strategy: I help leaders and organizations develop a distinctive point of view and translate it into reports, essays, op-eds, case studies, speeches, videos, long-form narratives, and public-facing strategy.

• Original Research & Strategic Analysis: I lead qualitative and mixed-methods research projects – including interviews, surveys, user research, landscape scans, and field observation – to surface the human motivations, relationships, tensions, and opportunities that standard research often misses.

CASE STUDIES

Available upon request.

CONTACT

Let’s talk about what you’re working on.