Biography

Hamilton is an English graduate from Oberlin College

Oberlin College

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...

. He did his Master's Degree

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

 in journalism

Journalism

Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...

 at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

. He was a media fellow at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation where he delivered a project on state Medicaid

Medicaid

Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...

 programs and privatization

Privatization

Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...

.

He began his professional career as a medical reporter for The Commercial Appeal

The Commercial Appeal

The Commercial Appeal is the predominant daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by The E. W. Scripps Company, a major North American media company. Scripps also owned the former afternoon paper, the Memphis Press-Scimitar, which it folded in...

 and Physicians' Weekly and then worked as a freelance journalist and writer from 1995-1997

Awards

Hamilton has won a Baker Prize

Baker Prize

The initially called W.R.G. Baker Award provided by the Institute of Radio Engineers , was created in 1956 from a donation from Dr. Walter R. G. Baker to the IRE. The award continued to be awarded as IEEE W.R.G...

 for magazine writing and a Sherwood Traveling Fellowship.