One of the most beautiful places I had the opportunity visit on my around the world adventure was Cape Town, South Africa. At the most southern tip of the African continent and discovered by the Portuguese and then the Dutch, the Cape is known for both...

The first stop on my around the world adventure was Sydney, Australia. After nearly three weeks in the capital city, I found myself seriously missing it when leaving for Beijing, China. I found Sydney to be a very welcoming international city with much to offer from great sightseeing...

With an economy-centered State of the Union address and a fiery Republican primary campaign at full throttle, American politics is quite alive. But, how is it perceived abroad? How is the news reported? How will the U.S. presidential campaign be covered internationally? These are important questions that I will have...

Gosh, today's job market certainly isn't what it was when I was in college -- and that was just over a decade ago! I remember meeting with college guidance counselors who told me to look for a job that matched my skills. My skills? I didn't think I had any...

My grandfather and I couldn't have been more different. Separated by 64 years, he was a staunch Republican, me a loyal Democrat. He was a patriotic veteran of World War Two and I a former partisan Capitol Hill staffer. We were never particularly close; and to say that he was...

What's in a title? Gawker's Hamilton Nolan takes the PR industry to task over what we call ourselves in a recent post. I suppose other firms are starting to look inward at what these titles really mean. At one large agency the solution is converting Vice Presidents and...

Every family has its secrets.

My family's secrets closed the door on my childhood prematurely.

When my parents died of AIDS in 1994, I was 17 -- and one of the only people who knew they were infected. Even my brothers were in the dark until my mother died one...

Long before Kristofer Eisenla became deputy chief of staff and communications director for U.S. representative Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), he campaigned for Clinton marching around the living room of his staunchly Republican grandparents' home with a sign he'd crafted himself. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine 16...

It wasn't until I left Capitol Hill that I fully respected social media. As a Hill staffer, I didn't see the value in my boss "tweeting" instant thoughts about the president's State of the Union from the House floor. I would encourage the obligatory blog post or Facebook status update...