It’s nice to meet you!

I am a writer, editor, journalist, and humanities professional working at the intersection of storytelling, identity, history, current events, and more. For nearly a decade I have made a career out of helping people tell their own stories and find their own voice. This work has taken me across the country and world, but I will always be a proud Midwesterner at heart (excuse me while I scooch right past ya).

I am a graduate of the University of Missouri and relocated to Chicago as an adult. St. Louis is still home. In addition to all the work you’ll find here, I am an avid TV binger, an occasional reader trying to bring more fiction into my life, an urban gardener, cellist, hobby genealogist, and experimental home baker.

I believe stories are most powerful when they are told in the first person. The cornerstone of that work is trust and mutual respect. Relationship-building is essential to what I do (ask me about the time I celebrated Islamic New Year with vodka in eastern Poland, or when I had to hold my own with a machete on a work trip in Iowa).