I go places. I write stuff. I talk about it.

My Mission:

Whether laughing at the world with garment workers in Cambodia or talking with college students in Indiana, discussing SCUBA diving with lobster divers in Nicaragua or addressing a nonprofit in Florida, playing PlayStation with students in Kosovo or challenging high school students in the U.S. to see the world differently, I seek to connect people through words and pictures.

I believe that if we reduce global issues to the stories of individual people, we can better see ourselves, our parents, our sons and daughters, and our hopes and struggles in one another.

My writing has appeared in publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Condé Nast Portfolio and has aired on NPR. I’ve spoken on subjects such as globalization, travel, and social responsibility at universities, high schools, and groups across the country.

Where Am I Wearing?

My obsession with where my clothes were made took me around the world.

While I was undercover as an underwear buyer in Bangladesh, my fiancée was planning our wedding. Lucky for me, 2007 was still the age of loose lending; otherwise we wouldn’t have received the second mortgage on our house that helped fund the trip. Even luckier yet, John Wiley & Sons published the book that resulted.

Where Am I Wearing? A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People That Make Our Clothes was published in December 2008 and received press in Time Magazine and the Financial Times to name a few places.

Read the first chapter

I’m represented by the talented, lovely, and energetic Caren Estesen of the Caren Johnson Literary Agency.  Ever since Silver Spoons, I’ve dreamed of being played by Ricky Schroder in a movie. If you wanna make this happen, send Caren an email – caren@johnsonliterary.com.

Invite me to speak to your group.

(Photos of Kelsey)

Too Much Info

I was sprayed by a skunk.

I live in Muncie, Indiana, with my patient wife and adorable daughter.

I’m an authority on disposable underwear.

I was made in America.

Summer ‘10-

What a crazy summer. I was in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Ireland working on a few assignments and on the Nothing Personal Project. And of course, any project on the Global Financial Crisis  would be incomplete without trips to D.C. and NYC.

I’m in the process of booking talks in the Fall (7 confirmed so far!). I’m super pumped to announce that three universities and one high school have adopted “Where Am I Wearing?” into their common reading programs. That means I get to introduce a whole lot of students to Arifa, Nari, Ai, Dewan, and Zhu Chun.

On the personal front…it’s tough being away from my family during all of this travel, but coming home is always sweet. My 1.5 year-old daughter Harper is talking up a storm.  You can almost see her imagination growing. And as you can tell, she is starting to take over some of my light writing duties.

When I’m not writing or traveling, I’ll be filling my days with bike rides, baby pools, and bird chasing.  Gotta love summer!