A little more context
My path wasn’t conventional, but neither is my philosophy.
A communication professional, professor, and journalist at heart, I’ve spent nearly 30 years doing the work across some of the most demanding rooms in the business — newsrooms, nonprofit boardrooms, crisis war rooms, and, most recently, classrooms.
Nearly a decade in television newsrooms across Virginia taught me to find the story, tell it fast, and make it matter to someone sitting at home in their pajamas.
That instinct — write for the listener, not yourself — has never left, and now it’s my whole philosophy on communication.
Communication happens in the mind of the listener.
And the listener has varied throughout my career.
From journalism, I moved to the other side of the camera, spending nearly 15 years working for regional and national substance use disorder nonprofits focusing on advocacy, fundraising, and media relations, while getting my master’s degree in Strategic Communication from John’s Hopkins University.
To keep my creative muscles in shape I began working in international tennis events across digital channels and eventually became the communication director for an award-winning men’s professional tennis event.
Mission-minded, values-driven.
In 2018, I began doing contract strategy work through Blue Wagon Group for national nonprofits focused on patient advocacy and public health — helping crafting stories that earned placements in the New York Times, ESPN, Good Morning America, the Washington Post, and The Atlantic. That work is ongoing and remains some of the most meaningful of my career.
I teach persuasive communication and message development at Wake Forest University — which means I spend my days doing the work and explaining why it matters. I am not an academic who wandered into a classroom. I am a practitioner who happens to love teaching.
When I’m not in a newsroom, a classroom, or a crisis — you’ll probably find me on a tennis court, walking my rescue dog, at kids’ soccer games, or doing important research into the perfect old fashioned.
