CURIOUS TO KNOW A BIT MORE?
I'd love to share
with you.
my story
It's a tale of travel, music, Hollywood dreams, and a consistent desire to wear all the hats (literally).
Glad you asked. I’ve always had an unstoppable urge to evolve and follow where the journey leads. My mission is to use my creativity and brand expertise for good. Over the years, my work has flowed through different creative disciplines and industries, each step building toward the work I do today. At my core, I’m a storyteller who believes every story has a place in the greater narrative of our society. Through branding, I get to help bring that vision to life.
How did a shy-ish kid from Minneapolis end up living in ten cities, two countries, and on a mission to bring the world closer together through stories?
Let’s start at the beginning. I’m a Leo baby from the disco era. If it’s celebratory, sparkly, or fun, I’m probably interested. I was born in Minneapolis in the summer of 1977 to parents who met while playing in the Minnesota Orchestra. Family legend says my dad took my mom to see Star Wars at the drive-in while she was in labor, which feels like the perfect prologue to a life steeped in music and movies. It was the late ’70s, and I was one of the last to enter a club that would later be dubbed Gen X.
Leos Rule
And So it begins
We moved often for my parents’ work in orchestras and universities, and each place left its mark on how I see and tell stories. My first stop was Vancouver, where I started school, fell in love with French, tried my first sushi, and began a lifelong connection to the Pacific Northwest. At six, we returned to the Midwest, settling in Kalamazoo, halfway between Chicago and Detroit. Winters were all about snow days, backyard squirrels, and summers in the Seattle area at music camps, where I played violin and my parents taught alongside relatives creating a community that shaped my sense of collaboration and craft.
At ten, we moved to Houston, where I discovered Mexican food, BBQ, and the vibrant cultural mix of Texas. One stormy night in high school, I sat in a theater watching the opening of Jurassic Park. My film dreams took hold that night, forever changing my creative path. My last year of high school was in Ann Arbor, MI, where my family not-so-secretly hoped I’d stay close and attend UM. But my movie-making ambitions had already taken root, and I knew my next chapter belonged in NYC or LA.
Shaped by the Journey
Childhood
I headed to Los Angeles with big dreams of becoming a filmmaker, enrolling in a small college with an even smaller film program tucked away in the communications building. At Loyola Marymount, I discovered that my love of being behind the camera extended beyond still images into motion. In addition to directing my own projects, I quickly became the go-to director of photography for my peers.
The work was exhilarating, and I was fortunate to have a supportive professor who reminded me that more female perspectives were needed in this space. But one look at the ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) directory stopped me in my tracks. It was almost entirely made up of people who looked nothing like me. The message was clear: representation was missing. I realized how vital it is to have different voices shaping the stories we tell. That understanding became a through line in my creative work, whether behind a camera, building brands, or working in other analog, hands-on ways to bring ideas to life.
Framing New Perspectives
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
I set off to explore other areas of interest through internships, working for directors Sally Field and Tony Scott, and music supervisor Lisa Brown. But as I stepped into the Hollywood scene, it became clear that the industry pathways available felt inaccessible given the climate and opportunities at the time.
I turned to grad school at UCLA to study film history, criticism, and theory, believing that if I couldn’t work in the industry directly, I could still immerse myself in its context. I loved the study and deep knowledge of the medium, but I also craved the action of production.
One of my favorite courses was in Entertainment Design, taught by Imagineers from Disney. It tapped into a fascination I’d had since childhood, when trips to Disneyland and Disney World first sparked my love for immersive storytelling and the dream of creating spaces where design, story, and magic converge. I found myself caught between two worlds: the intellectual study of stories and the hands-on making of them.
So I embarked on a new adventure to the Pacific Northwest to see if I could create my own pathway into production.
Making My Own Path
Hollywood
Seattle was home for 17 years (with a “gap year” in San Francisco that, let’s be honest, was partly about checking off a bucket-list visit to Lucasfilm). In Seattle, I launched my photography business, first as a side-hustle alongside production and ad agency work, then full time after a layoff. Along the way, I worked with startups, explored new approaches to brand and storytelling, and discovered how much I love building creative experiences from the ground up.
I also spent several years with a property management company, partnering with developers and property owners to create memorable brand experiences across residential, commercial, and student housing. Managing more than 70 brands, many from scratch, deepened my sense of how spaces themselves can tell a story.
When I relocated to Santa Barbara, I kept consulting while working with the Santa Barbara Company, blending brand strategy, photography, and content marketing to capture the beauty of California’s local bounty. I also joined Amazon’s brand design team, contributing to a large-scale project aligning the parent brand with its subbrands. In the middle of it all, we finally pulled off a long-postponed dream: eloping to Greece to get married.
A move to Austin followed, along with a role at a healthcare startup. This year, I became a parent, an adventure all its own. I haven’t stopped photographing, though these days it’s mostly personal projects, with the occasional opportunity for causes I care about. Now, I’m at Mozilla, where I helped lead a major rebrand that sparked design press buzz and even earned awards for our custom typeface.
I’m still evolving the story, always curious about what’s next, always creating, and always looking for the perfect taco.
And the Story Goes On...
STories are a communal currency OF humanity
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@dmotif
Everyone has their social faves. While it’s unlikely you’ll find me dancing on TikTok, you’ll find me ignoring algorithms & looking for creative and inspiring people on the internet. My only ask? Use your powers for good on the webs. Pass. It. On.