If you live in San Francisco, chances are you have read something JL has written or have seen them running — or both. 

JL moved to SF in 2021 and has since authored over 400 stories published by Bay City News, Mission Local, The Bay Area Reporter, SFGATE, NBC News, Piedmont Exedra and other news outlets.

They are versatile when it comes to types of stories, covering arts & culture, local businesses and nonprofits, city initiatives, breaking news, sports (namely women’s pro soccer and Bay Area running races and clubs), social media, and artificial intelligence.

They were one of sixteen journalists selected nationwide for the Comcast NBCUniversal Digital Equity Voices Lab fellowship (2024-2025). As a fellow, they wrote over a dozen impactful articles on digital equity and marginalized communities. Their fellowship stories can be found here.

JL has also worked as an English professor in Virginia, a professional editor for an online company, and a youth running coach in Piedmont. They hold a Ph.D. in English with a concentration in Rhetoric & Textual Studies, an M.A. in English, and a B.A. in Political Science. They have two running coach certifications: USATF and RRCA.

They are an outside-of-the-box/lateral and visual thinker, creative, resilient, someone who pays attention to the details, and an everyday observer of life. 

Notably, JL is just as much a runner as they are a writer. They are a former soccer and field hockey player and dancer (primarily ballet), all of which contributed to their ability to start training for and running marathons in their early 30s. 

They’ve qualified every year for the Boston Marathon since 2015, are the inaugural nonbinary+ division winner of the California International Marathon (2022), and are the nonbinary+ division winner of the 2023, 2024, and 2025 San Francisco Marathon. 

Their fall 2025 season marathon training included the Portland Half Marathon (1st NB), the Golden Gate Half Marathon (1st NB) and the Berkeley Half Marathon (1st NB). They ran CIM on Dec. 7 with a finish time of 02:58:34 (5th NB).

Up next: Boston 2026 in April; then the SF Marathon in July.

JL is available for the following:

▪️writing projects requested by news outlets, companies, and educational institutions

▪️speaking engagements at schools or organizations about writing, running and/or neurodivergences

Go to “Contact” to provide details.