Portfolio

Examples or summaries below are from salaried work. 


FACT-CHECKING & EDITORIAL RESEARCH
Role involved line-by-line fact-checking of stories (on deadline) for AARP The Magazine (ATM), AARP Bulletin and aarp.org.  Research involved using authoritative Internet sources, databases, and experts to research and verify names, dates, claims, quotes (famous or not), and more.

Corrected obvious mistakes; consulted with the story editor and/or writer(s) on others.  Suggested word or sentence changes to make factual statements clearer. Spoke  directly with people profiled (or indirectly with their representative).  Identified and contacted experts to assist with some stories, such as to confirm the accuracy of a writer’s description of an ice dancing move or the illustrator’s drawing of it.  Collected “backup” to support fact-checking decisions. 

The following list represents a small sample of stories fact-checked for AARP from 2017 – 2024.


Cover Stories Fact-Checked
(Titles posted at aarp.org may differ slightly from print editions.)

 

OTHERS
Advocacy

 
Community


Entertainment


Health


History

  • Treasure or junk? | September 2017,  AARP Bulletin | Experts’ take on memorabilia and collectibles worth buying or keeping 
  • Nobel’s late-life prizewinners | 2017,  aarp.org
  • Q&A:  Denis Hayes | 2020, AARP Bulletin 
  • I witnessed history | June-July 2022,  ATM |  Long-form; Fact-checked: Birth of the Mustang,  Horror of Kent State and I’ve Seen the Promised Land
  • Significant contributions of America’s First Ladies | 2022, aarp.org | Members only | Review of One Day University’s lecture on the ‘Fascinating Lives of America’s First Ladies’ 
  • ‘Gatsby in Connecticut: The Untold Story’ | 2021, aarp.org, Members only | A review of the documentary on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s brief stay in Westport, Connecticut
  • The History of Chocolate – Food Historian Lecture Series with Francine Segan | 2022, aarp.org | Fact-checked a short promo  to this 1-hour members-only talk


Personal Stories & Family


Scams


Science


Sports

  • The coach I’ll never forget | December 2017-January 2018, ATM | Athletes profiled: Dorothy Hamill, Charles Barkley, Jack Nicklaus, Martina Navratilova, Jim Plunkett and Jackie Joyner-Kersee 
  • Great sports moments we’ll never forget | Photo spread covers moments from 1970 to 2020 | ATM, June-July 2022 | Fact-checked 2010-2020 events


Tech


RESEARCH ASSOCIATE (Temporary)

Denise was one of two researchers on a long-term fraud investigation. She assisted a team of about 10-20 consultants by: pulling person reports from paid services such as Lexis, verifiying information for consultants;  speaking with authorities and employers; tracking down old records; creatively coming up with solutions to some difficult cases and verifications when the team’s efforts seemed to reach a dead end; and writing brief reports of findings. In some cases, she was able to prove the person under investigation did not commit the suspected fraud.  Consultants’ client was a major corporation.