I’m Yael (pronounced yah-EHL). I’m a freelance journalist and investigative reporter, and I write about whatever I find fascinating at the moment. Lately that’s been all things tech (especially online privacy and security), world-changing NGOs, and rampant government/corporate corruption. I also do some health and fitness writing, and sometimes I write about MMA. This site is a partial collection of articles I’ve written, resources I’ve compiled, and projects I’m working on.
In the past, I’ve worked as a middle school Language Arts teacher, a member service rep at a public access TV station, and a coordinator of weekend social action projects for young adults. I enjoy volunteering, whether that’s cooking food for the hungry, writing copy and teaching media strategy to nonprofits, or working on organic gardening and permaculture projects. I teach workshops from time to time on topics such as media strategy, breaking into freelance writing… and whatever else seems interesting at the moment.
My writing has appeared in WIRED, Motherboard (Vice), Future Tense (Slate), ReadWrite, Experience Life, Men’s Journal, TakePart, the Freelancer, Bitch, and many other publications and websites. My work has also been featured in several anthologies, including Blue Jean:What Young Women are Thinking, Saying and Doing and The Bust DIY Guide to Life: Making Your Way through Every Day. As a copyeditor and proofreader, I helped polish manuscripts for books including New York Times bestseller The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet by Robb Wolf and Predatory Bureaucracy: The Extermination of Wolves and the Transformation of the West by Michael Robinson. I am the managing editor of Performance Menu: Journal of Health and Athletic Excellence.
I’m a travel hacker and try to travel as much as I can. I currently live in Phoenix with my husband, but we’ve also lived in Tucson, Minneapolis, and some awful places in Wisconsin together. I was born in Israel but have lived on both coasts and spent time in England as well. I got my degree in Illinois at Shimer College, the best worst school, where we sat around octagonal tables discussing/debating classic literature and philosophy. I’m always trying to teach myself new skills, and most recently am messing around with Python. I’m a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, am obsessed with bluegrass music, and am always in search of a new favorite cafe.
I always hope that my writing will help create change in some small way by making complex topics accessible, exposing corruption, or highlighting projects that are making a difference in the world.