“It was truly an honor, and thank you for sharing this story of the Ponca people.”
-Stacy Laravie
   Tribal Historic Preservation Officer
   Ponca Tribe of Nebraska

“Beautifully written, Scott! Thank you for the opportunity.”
-Hannah Jones
   Assistant Division Administrator
   Nebraska State Parks

“You’ve done a very thorough and conscientious job.”
-Joe Starita
   Author and Professor
   University of Nebraska

“Wow! You did a fantastic job!”
-Art Tanderup
   Nebraska farmer

“Having grown up in Richmond, Indiana, I really enjoyed this article. Keep up the great work!”
– Mark Filippell
   Board Member
   Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

“It looks great! Thank you for shining some light on this history and historic piece of real estate.”
–Charlie Dahan
   Author and Professor
   Middle Tennessee State University

“I was so pleased when I knew Rails to Trails was highlighting our gem! It’s magazines and awesome articles like these that lets our city shine bright for others to see.”
–Denise Retz
   Superintendent
   Richmond Parks and Recreation 

“Your article was so well written. Thank you for telling our story. It’s informative and enjoyable to read. Thank you very much for taking an interest and making it happen.”
–Linda Gennett Irmscher
   Author

Since I came to RTC in 2014 as editor-in-chief (and before), Scott has regularly provided freelance writing/ editing, photography/ slideshow and videography work for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s communications vehicles, including our quarterly magazine Rails to Trails (online and print), the TrailBlog, our national guidebook series, our online feature video series and RTC’s annual calendar premium.

Scott has consistently shown himself to be “all in” each project—some of which have included traveling cross-country, and many of which have involved the quick and careful coordination/implementation of interviews, photography sessions and video sessions with stakeholders ranging from trail managers and volunteers, to high-level public officials.

Scott’s writing is crisp, informative and engaging. He consistently meets deadlines and is amiable, responsive and accessible during the editing process. He always works to deliver the best possible product; as an editor, this is a breath of fresh air—I know that assignments to Scott are in good hands. I look forward to working with Scott in the future—and definitely recommend him to others!

-Amy Kapp
   Editorial Director/Editor-in-Chief
   Rails-To-Trails Conservancy

I assigned several freelance writing assignments to Scott for Idaho National Laboratory in 2015-2017. These included: one-page scientific fact sheets, short write-ups for the laboratory’s internal newsletter, and full-length articles published on INL’s website. Subject matter ranged from the world’s first triple-hybrid renewable energy power plant to the role of multistage anaerobic bacteria in mitigating the environmental impact of cattle waste on a dairy farm.

Scott was responsible for researching the subject matter and interviewing the experts, such as laboratory scientists and private entrepreneurs. After submitting a draft, he incorporated edits and feedback, and delivered a final product ready for publication. In one particular case, the editing process included press officers from two Department of Energy national laboratories, researchers from the two labs, and the public relations arm of the private company being written about.

Scott shepherded his copy through this gantlet of reviewers and ensured that his piece satisfied the technical concerns of all parties involved, all while remaining easily accessible for a general audience. Scott excels at rendering highly technical or complex topics into copy that is easily understood and enjoyable, and consistently delivers on time.

I would not hesitate to recommend Scott for writing assignments of this sort.

–Nicole Stricker
   Senior Science Writer
   Idaho National Laboratory

While working at the revenue-generating division of the Smithsonian Institution, Scott wrote dozens of articles for The Torch, the Smithsonian’s award-winning employee newsletter and website serving some 12,000 employees, volunteers, retirees and other members of the Smithsonian community. His biggest contribution was an idea he pitched for a photo guessing game, Somewhere in the Smithsonian, that quickly became the single most popular feature of the newsletter. Each issue would feature one of his photographs of some aspect of the Smithsonian—an object on display, artwork, or even part of a Smithsonian museum building—zoomed in or taken from such an angle so as to obscure its nature. The goal was to identify the object.

In addition to the reveal photo that was published in the issue following the mystery photo, Scott provided a write-up that explored the object’s story. He interviewed curators and other experts who knew the object best to explore the fascinating stories behind objects in the Smithsonian’s vast collections.

Over several years, Scott wrote dozens of such articles, each one requiring little to no editing on my part and each submitted on time. I can wholeheartedly recommend Scott for writing projects where engaging writing and the ability to find the interesting angle in any topic are called for.

–S.L. (Alex) di Giovanni
   Senior Writer/ Editor 
   Smithsonian Institution

I have had the pleasure of working with Scott as a historical consultant on three articles. For historians, accuracy and sourcing are of paramount importance. Scott has impressed me with how he uses scholarly books and articles to compliment and historically ground his reporting and interviews.

Across these three projects, I would suggest sources and Scott would come back to me with questions and ideas that demonstrated the depth of his engagement and desire to push narratives beyond the superficial and obvious. He is also a careful and receptive listener, and I always felt like he knew when my feedback was pointed and when I was offering it with a grain of salt.

Every first draft I received, I unfailingly marveled at how he brought the topic to life with empathy and humor. Scott elevates the voices of his interviewees without losing his own, or the thread of the past.

–Avigail S. Oren, Ph.D.
   Historian
   Great American Rail-Trail History Project