Richelle’s love of words led her to a career in journalism and teaching. For more than a decade the Philadelphia native worked as a journalist and university professor in the United States and Europe. She taught journalism at the prestigious Missouri School of Journalism and taught political science at Schiller International University in Heidelberg, Germany.
She also worked as a reporter for American newspapers in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Richelle co-hosted a community affairs television show on a local PBS affiliate; and she worked as a reporter/photographer for the Stars and Stripes newspaper in Germany, where she deployed with U.S. troops to cover international peacekeeping missions and conflicts.
Richelle is a creative who loves to write, research, paint, craft and run. She is the author of Running for your life! A devotional for women who run slow, walk fast or jog with reckless abandon. She discovered her love of running while living in Europe. She has run half marathons in Germany and Portugal. Writing and running are two ways she shares her Christian faith and connects with others. She is a slow runner who doesn’t expect to break any speed records, but she encourages others take up running so that it can help break strongholds in their life — especially those that whisper: “Your dreams are not possible.”
Richelle knows about resilience and working to reach dreams. As a child, Richelle dreamed of visiting Paris so she could retrace the steps of inspiring African American artists, writers and entertainers, like Josephine Baker, James Baldwin and Richard Wright. She mistakenly thought the golden era of art and culture had died shortly after World War II. But art and culture continue to thrive everywhere — if you look for it.
Journalism took Richelle to Paris and many other places around the globe: the ornate, yet simple Tavna Monastery in Bosnia and Herzegovina, war-torn villages in Kosovo, U.S. military security patrols in the Albanian countryside, to tasting beer and visiting castles in the Czech Republic. World events and the beauty and simplicity found in nature and art encouraged her to want to learn more and create more.
Richelle has a doctorate in History, Studies of Security and Defense from ISCTE-IUL in Lisbon, Portugal, a Master’s Degree in International Relations from St. Mary’s University in Texas and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia.
When she is not running or writing, you can find Richelle painting in her SheShed. Richelle uses oil and acrylic paints to create works on life, love, social justice, the beauty of nature and the chaos of world politic.
If you are interested in purchasing Richelle’s devotional, please visit her Amazon page at: https://www.amazon.com/Running-Your-Life-Devotional-Reckless/dp/0615526683