I've been in journalism since 1980, when I participated in the Maynard Institute's Summer Program for Minority Journalists.
I've been a reporter for the Hartford Courant in Connecticut and the San Francisco Chronicle. During a 12-year career at the San Jose Mercury News, I was an editor supervising reporters in community news, weekend breaking news and business. I had a column through which I wrote about local events, the travails of ordinary people fighting City Hall, and the intersection of race, culture and public policy. Since leaving the Mercury News, I've worked on the Chauncey Bailey Project, the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism and done research Hewlett Foundation projects. In the old days, once I told people my name, I'd have to quickly add— "No relation to Connie." But no one knows who she is, anymore. My Beliefs: Always say "Please" and "Thank you." It goes a long way toward making life more civil. Play nicely. Stand your ground if you believe you're right. Admit when you're wrong. Politics: I believe in sanity, and in public officials striving to do the right thing for the greater good. I vote in each and every election, and have, at different times in my life, been registered as a Democrat, Independent and Republican. Religion: My mother raised me at the Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church. It's the closest thing to "my" church, even if I don't attend.