Transitions

New years are supposed to bring new starts. So, I suppose it’s only fitting that I will begin 2013 with a significant transition of my own.

For the last three-and-a-half years, I’ve worked as an independent writer, editor and researcher, doing much of my work for the Kansas Leadership Center in Wichita. A week from today, I’ll start working for the KLC in a new capacity by becoming a full-time employee and a member of its communications team.

I’m thrilled for the opportunity to work for an organization that’s doing amazing work to help better equip Kansans to exercise leadership for the common good. I’ll also relish the chance to play a big role in managing the publication of The Journal, a KLC magazine that provides “inspiration for civic leadership.”

I’ve greatly enjoyed my time working independently after a career in newspaper reporting. It’s been really neat to see how the skills that I have developed over the years still have considerable value and application even in today’s rapidly changing media landscape. And I’ve had a lot of fun tackling the task of continually stretching myself by trying to adapt and develop new capacities. I can’t wait to see what challenges await on the horizon in my new role.

However, the decision does mean that Sarah and I are moving from Topeka to Wichita, a transition which will be fully complete in the coming weeks. I came here to work as a newspaper reporter covering state government. It was a gig that put me front-of-center for many of the state’s major news events of the past decade and brought me within the orbit of three U.S. presidents. I’ll leave excited to keep working for the benefit of a state I truly love and am proud to call my home.

Thank you to all of you who have supported me in my endeavors the past seven-plus years in Topeka. I’m grateful for the time I’ve spent here and I wish you all the best for the future.