DC to CT!

For 25 years I worked in Washington, DC, including stints as a writer and editor for National Geographic and the Smithsonian, and taught part-time for 12 years at Johns Hopkins’ MA in Writing program, where I won the Teaching Award. I left the U.S. Capitol for Connecticut to be closer to family, and for a full-time tenured position as a professor of Writing & Publishing/Creative Writing at Central CT State University. I devoted 19 years to the university during which the statewide nonprofit Campus Compact recognized me as its community engaged college educator of the year and I won the Excellence-in-Teaching Award at CCSU.

In spring 2026 I will leave my job at CCSU and launch a new business, the Collins Story Exchange, as a Personal Historian for Hire for individuals and family-run businesses that want a magazine-quality publication about their story for family, friends and their community! I will also start offering writing workshop at the Farmington Valley Arts Center (FVAC) in Avon. For the last eight years, I have taught the nonfiction writing workshop for Yale’s Summer Writing Program. I continue my work as a nationally-recognized, award-winning author of essays and books. See Writings for more information about my publications.