It's a tale of music, Hollywood dreams, and a consistent desire to wear all the hats.
My Story
(literally)
I’m glad you asked. I’d say I have an unstoppable urge to evolve and go where the journey takes me. I’m on a mission to use my creative and brand powers for good. I’ve always enjoyed tapping into my creativity and over the years, I’ve seen it meander through different interests and industries. Each high and low has led me to where I am now and I’m so grateful. At my core, I’m a storyteller and I believe all our stories have a place in the greater narrative of our society. Through branding I can play a part in bringing that vision forward.
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, and fun I’m probably interested. I was born in Minneapolis in the summer of 1977. My parents met at work while playing in the Minnesota orchestra together. Family rumor has it, my dad took my mom to see "Star Wars" at the drive-in while she was in labor with me, and that pretty much sets the stage for my music and movie-filled future. 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 several times due to my parent’s jobs in orchestras or at universities. My first move was to Vancouver. In Canada, I first started school, became enamored by French, had my first sushi, and began my love story with the Pacific Northwest. At age 6 we returned to the Midwest and lived in the small town of Kalamazoo, situated halfway between Chicago and Detroit. Here my focus turned to snow days and keeping tabs on the squirrels and chipmunks that resided in our backyard. We spent every summer in my childhood in the Seattle area at music camps where I would play my violin and my parents would teach alongside many of my relatives. Home was where my family was and that was alright by me.
At 10, we moved to Houston and I received a proper introduction to Mexican food and BBQ. Texas, it turned out, was a really important stop for me. One stormy night in high school I sat in a theater watching the opening of “Jurassic Park”. My film dreams took hold that evening and changed everything. My last year of high school was spent in the college town of Ann Arbor, MI. My family not-so-secretly hoped I might stay in town close by and head to UM, but I had big movie-making dreams and for that, I needed to go to NYC or LA.
A Moving Target
Childhood
I went to LA with big dreams of becoming a filmmaker. I attended a small college with an even smaller film program tucked away in the communication arts building. At Loyola Marymount I discovered my love of being behind the camera extended well beyond static images and into motion. In addition to directing my own projects, I quickly took on the role of director of photography for many film projects with my peers. It was exciting and I had a very supportive professor who assured me that more female points of view belonged in this space. However, one look at the ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) directory, and my heart stopped. It was filled to the brim with humans that in no way shape or form looked like me. I felt as though there was no place for me in this landscape, and I had to adjust, and adjust quickly.
Analog Heaven
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
I set off to pursue other areas of interest through my internships. I worked for directors Sally Field and Tony Scott, and also for music supervisor Lisa Brown. As I started to dip into the Hollywood scene I knew this place was going to eat me alive, and I didn’t have the resources or connections to get through it unscathed. It was the late 90s and early 00s. There were only a few ways into the industry that I was able to see, and none of them were options. Adjusting course again, I went to grad school at UCLA to study film history, criticism, and theory. I stubbornly thought, if I couldn’t be in the industry, I could still be immersed in it in some way. Alas, here too, I felt unable to be myself. I was a maker, a doer, a creator. So I hopped on a plane a week after getting my Master’s and headed to the place I had spent the most time in growing up, the Pacific Northwest.
Evolve or Perish
Hollywood
Seattle was my home for 17 years (with a ‘gap year’ where I worked in San Francisco and — let’s be honest — checked off a bucket list item with a behind the scenes visit to Lucasfilm). During those cozy rainy years I made the leap from production and ad agency life to e-learning and tech. I dove head first into marketing and discovered my passion and affinity for branding. I honed my skills as a storyteller and photographer and eventually took my photography business full time and began doing brand consulting. When the pandemic began I evaluated how I was spending my creative energy and what I needed in a work environment. Something wasn’t adding up for me and I needed a hard reset. Like Wall-E, I sought out the sun and flipped open my solar panels to recharge in sunny Santa Barbara. It was a year of tremendous rest and rejuvenation. Now, I've relocated to Austin, Texas where I'm currently on the hunt for the perfect taco.
Fast Forward
STories are a communal currency OF humanity
