My story
As a third grader, I wrote a story about a boy who turned into a peach in the notebook I'd intended to use for math class. The end product was less than prodigal—as I'm sure you can guess—but it was the first time my ideas filled a notebook from cover to cover, the source of a rush I still chase today.
Since then, I've found writing not only lets me create worlds of my own, but it also shows me where I need to be in this one. I chose writing-intensive English as one of my majors at Marquette University, where I edited my school's literary magazine and penned a weekly column with a focus on gender issues for the student newspaper. Post-graduation, I wrote for a content marketing agency, producing stories about everything from snorkeling snafus to mobile banks in Ethiopia.
While writing those stories, I closely followed the daily goings-on in Chicago where I live, bothered by the disproportionate amounts of street violence, health disparities and economic inequalities in marginalized communities. I wanted to write about the people and organizations who care for the city’s most vulnerable populations.
Inevitably, I fell in love with mission-driven nonprofit work. I have worked in public affairs for a large safety net health system and a small specialty children's hospital on the city's South Side. Since 2017, I have been a story-catcher at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, a top 10 pediatric hospital, where I’m responsible for telling the stories at the heart of our fundraising events, marketing campaigns, government affairs initiatives and more.
Aside from writing, I enjoy Lake Michigan, cooking for people I love, Johnny Cash, road trips, and anything by Ann Beattie.