Publications

Updated November 2026. Titles link to the published pieces.

Books

• The Turnaround Trap: Why Colleges and Nonprofits Fail, How to Save Them, and What Their Collapse Costs Us All. In progress.
• The Wild, Weird, Wacky, and Wonderful World of Barbershop Harmony: An Insider’s Anthropological Tour of a Subculture That Solved the Crisis of Belonging. Forthcoming.

Unrestricted: An ArtsJournal Blog

A blog about the finances of arts and culture, hosted by ArtsJournal. Launched October 2026 at artsjournal.com/unrestricted.

• “When the People Who Deliver the Mission Start to Feel Like the Mission.” Unrestricted (ArtsJournal), October 27, 2026.
• “What Problem Are We Actually Solving?” Unrestricted (ArtsJournal), October 13, 2026.

Scholarly Articles: Musicology

Peer-reviewed journals

• “Melodic Ascent in the Songs of Rodgers and Hart.” Under review.
• “The New York Faust Obsession of 1864.” American Music. Under review.
• “The Music of the Music Box Revues.” Musicological Explorations 7 (2006): 52–87.
• “Wagner’s Access to Minnesinger Melodies Prior to Completing Tannhäuser.” The Musical Times 147, no. 1896 (Autumn 2006).

Articles, Op-Eds, and Essays

Nonprofit finance, higher education, leadership, culture, and sports, in edited publications and Medium publications

• “It’s Not a Thought Experiment.” Blue Avocado. Forthcoming.
• “Ending the Tuition Discount Game Starts with an Honest Price.” University Business, October 19, 2026.
• “Leadership Transitions Lose Major Donors. Here’s the Fix.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy, October 9, 2026.
• “New Work or Old Subscribers? It’s a False Choice.” American Theatre, October 7, 2026.
• “A Balanced Nonprofit Budget Can Still Hide Financial Risk.” NonProfit PRO, September 18, 2026.
• “My 10-Year-Old Independently Invented a 32-Team Conspiracy to Defeat the NFL Trade Deadline.” The Good Men Project, September 17, 2026.
• “A Machine for Being Known: The Competitive Advantage of Liberal Arts Colleges.” Inside Higher Ed, September 14, 2026.
• “Who I Bring Into the Room.” An Injustice! (Medium), September 1, 2026.
• “The Six Metrics Every Nonprofit Board Should Know.” DataDrivenInvestor (Medium), September 1, 2026.
• “You Can’t Have a Culture Without a Cult.” Thought Thinkers (Medium), August 28, 2026.
• “Choir Is the Soccer of Music.” The Riff (Medium), August 26, 2026.
• “What Board Trustees Actually Want from Financial Presentations.” Analyst’s Corner (Medium), August 25, 2026.
• “Deficit Denial.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 28, 2026. Letter to the editor.
• “Draining, Defined: What the BSO Endowment Debate Gets Wrong.” The Boston Musical Intelligencer, July 22, 2026.
• “Reimagining Restricted Revenue: A Simpler Path to Transparency.” Blue Avocado, April 7, 2026.

Forbes Business Council

Council articles, 14 to date

• “Why Anger Might Start a Business Decision—But Shouldn’t Drive the Plan.” Forbes, October 6, 2026.
• “The Composer, the Conductor, and the Orchestra: Why Great Business Plans Fail.” Forbes, September 8, 2026.
• “The Systems That Win Let Talent Move: Considerations for Nonprofits.” Forbes, August 5, 2026.
• “The Best Organizations Don’t Play Hands—They Design the Table.” Forbes, June 30, 2026.
• “Taking Time Off: Why Every Leader Needs an Occasional Reset.” Forbes, May 7, 2026.
• “AI and the Relational Apprenticeship: Training the Next Generation of Leaders.” Forbes, April 3, 2026.
• “Four Pressing Nonprofit Patterns: One Core Problem.” Forbes, March 5, 2026.
• “Budgeting Is Leadership: Why the Three Organizational States Need Different Owners.” Forbes, January 23, 2026.
• “Why We May Soon See an Increase in Fractional Leadership at Nonprofits.” Forbes, December 18, 2025.
• “Employee Feedback: Stop Letting the Loudest Voices Set Your Strategy.” Forbes, October 27, 2025.
• “When Code Performs: Arts Nonprofits Face a New Test.” Forbes, August 14, 2025.
• “End the Blame Game: Improving Your Organization’s Clarity.” Forbes, June 18, 2025.
• “Budget Versus Revenue: Reframing the Way Nonprofit Strength Is Measured.” Forbes, May 13, 2025.
• “Nine Ways to Sustainable Funding: The Arts Sector and Special Vehicles.” Forbes, April 9, 2025.

Medium (Self-Published)

50 essays, newest first

• “‘The Most Eligible Bachelor in the Leper Colony.’” Medium, August 19, 2026.
• “It’s Time to Stop Calling Layoffs a ‘Hard Decision.’” Medium, July 19, 2026.
• “The Conspiracy Theory Is Coming. I’ve Already Read It.” Medium, July 19, 2026.
• “AI Has Become an Extension of My Brain (and I Love It).” Medium, July 12, 2026.
• “Basic Needs vs. Quality of Life.” Medium, July 7, 2026.
• “Net Operating Income vs. Total Net Cash Flow: The Two Questions Every Nonprofit Has to Answer.” Medium, June 16, 2026.
• “Back to Basics: What a Pizzeria Taught Me About Focus.” Medium, June 9, 2026.
• “Why Flag Football Is Exploding: What It Means for Every Organization Trying to Build a Future Audience.” Medium, June 2, 2026.
• “Before You Spend a Million on Ads, Mail a Bumper Sticker.” Medium, May 26, 2026.
• “Seven Business Books Every Leader Should Revisit.” Medium, May 19, 2026.
• “Why Budgets Don’t Matter (And What to Do About It).” Medium, May 12, 2026.
• “What Kind of Ancestor Will You Be?” Medium, May 5, 2026.
• “The Implementation Gap.” Medium, April 28, 2026.
• “When the Board and the ED See Different Numbers.” Medium, April 21, 2026.
• “The Bank Account Problem Nobody Designed.” Medium, April 14, 2026.
• “The Budget Cut That Backfires Every Time.” Medium, April 7, 2026.
• “Why Most Turnarounds Fail Before They Start.” Medium, March 31, 2026.
• “The Turnaround Tournament: A March Madness Bracket for Nonprofit Finance.” Medium, March 26, 2026.
• “What the First Year of Going Independent Really Looked Like.” Medium, March 24, 2026.
• “Timothée Chalamet Opera/Ballet.” Medium, March 12, 2026.
• “Stop Socializing Change. Start Telegraphing It.” Medium, March 10, 2026.
• “The Board Presentation That Changes Everything.” Medium, February 24, 2026.
• “Cartel Economics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” Medium, February 17, 2026.
• “Why Your CFO Keeps Saying No, and What to Do About It.” Medium, February 10, 2026.
• “The First 90 Days of a Turnaround: What Actually Happens.” Medium, February 3, 2026.
• “Words Matter: Strategic Communication in Arts Leadership.” Medium, January 21, 2026.
• “Do You Have a Board That Doesn’t Give? Shrink Before You Start Adding New People.” Medium, January 6, 2026.
• “5 Opportunities I’m Watching for Nonprofits in 2026.” Medium, December 23, 2025.
• “The First 90 Days: A Framework for Any Major Organizational Change.” Medium, December 16, 2025.
• “How to Position Your Organization as Essential to Your Community.” Medium, December 11, 2025.
• “Gratitude Is Great, But Where’s the Financial Plan?” Medium, November 25, 2025.
• “The Mindset Shift That Saved Our Budget Season.” Medium, November 18, 2025.
• “Your Board Doesn’t Need Financial Education.” Medium, November 11, 2025.
• “In Defense of One-Column Financial Statements.” Medium, November 6, 2025.
• “Ozempic, ChatGPT, and the Effort Paradox.” Medium, August 4, 2025.
• “‘Run It Like a Business’ Is Possibly the Worst Advice You Can Give a Nonprofit (But Probably Not for the Reasons You Think).” Medium, July 13, 2025.
• “The Hammer with a Smile.” Medium, June 29, 2025.
• “Coaching Over Commanding: My Leadership Philosophy.” Medium, June 27, 2025.
• “The Berkshire Hathaway of the Nonprofit Sector.” Medium, May 6, 2025.
• “What AI Still Can’t Do. And Why It Should Just Admit That.” Medium, April 30, 2025.
• “Dear Nonprofit Boards: Giving Isn’t Optional, and Diversity Isn’t an Excuse.” Medium, April 9, 2025.
• “Do I Need a Controller or a CFO?” Medium, March 15, 2025.
• “A Fairer Approach to Nonprofit Taxation in Philadelphia.” Medium, March 12, 2025.
• “Roll-Up Vehicles (RUVs): A Game Changer for Nonprofit Arts Organizations.” Medium, February 22, 2025.
• “We Don’t Get What We Deserve. We Get What We Tolerate.” Medium, February 15, 2025.
• “The Four Types of Players on a Team, and How to Lead Each One.” Medium, February 10, 2025.
• “Why Don’t Cities Cheer for Their Cultural Institutions Like They Do for Sports Teams?” Medium, January 24, 2025.
• “The Inclement Weather Test: Understanding Employee Personas and Their Role in a Workplace.” Medium, January 20, 2025.
• “Is All the Overhead Complaining Completely Overblown?” Medium, January 9, 2025.
• “What Classical Music Can Learn from Professional Sports: A Call for a Genuinely New Business Model for the Performing Arts.” Medium, December 2, 2024.