My Story

Raised by my single mother and grandparents on a small-town farm, we didn’t have many luxuries, but I always felt rich. 😌

My fondest memories consisted of listening to them tell me magical stories about how they spent their childhoods - stories of imagination and hard work and taking care of the people in need around you.

While I was entranced with their stories as a child, my own journey with words began in high school. I was active in speech and debate and DJ’d at a local radio station, where I learned the art of thoughtful communication and storytelling. Though I was always drawn to the beauty in words and people, I found myself gravitating towards the visual beauty around me just as passionately. Soon after, I discovered user experience (UX) design - a discipline that combines people, art, words, psychology, and stories. A spark was born! ✨

I received my design degree and worked in corporate settings for 6 years – founding and managing teams from the ground up, establishing design systems, optimizing processes, mentoring students, and speaking on panels. I lived and breathed UX. And in my limited free time, I volunteered for philanthropic and nonprofit groups and travelled as much as possible. I wished I could do more social work and traveling, but I just simply didn’t have the time.

In addition to the 2020 global pandemic, my world was rocked individually that year. I was involved in a near-fatal car accident and I had one of those “death bed” moments of reckoning. This accident delivered a powerful message: The life I was living wasn’t the story I had hoped would be mine as a little girl. The things which brought me the most joy - doing work that has a social impact, being outdoors, connecting with my community, and living simply and authentically shouldn’t be embraced in my limited free time - but should be embraced all the time.

After a long recovery, I left my corporate job and began consulting with nonprofit groups. I donated over half of my belongings and ventured off on a two-month cross country adventure with my pup. We hiked mountains, camped in my Jeep, and met people with the most beautiful stories of resilience. That trip healed me - it was the catalyst which brought me back to the root of my entire life, the thread that connected it all together - stories.

The raw, vulnerable, resilient, quirky, glamorous, simple, challenging stories of real people. It was then that I knew everything I will ever do will be in a hopeful attempt to better my community through stories. I vow to garner empathy by listening to those who need me most in the world and design experiences that give them the power to write the story they’ve always wanted for themselves.

Which brings me to who I am today: I’m a nomadic lead product and UX designer working remotely with nonprofits and philanthropic groups from my Ram Promaster on the road. I’m an avid rock climber, teaching climbing classes and leading inclusivity events for POC, plus-sized, and queer climbing folx. When I’m not immersed in nature, you’ll find me reading adventure memoirs, writing, staying involved in community-based activism, listening to live music, or thrift shopping. Lastly, I’m a dog mom to the spunkiest pup on this side of the Mississippi and I’m a bisexual woman, and I’m unabashedly proud to be both. ❤️

Oh, and if you can’t tell from the images, peace signs are my love language. ✌🏼