Actually, that's exactly where I'm from. A town of 700 people where my dad was the band teacher, my mom took me to every musical she could find, and I somehow ended up doing Ross Perot impressions in a talent show. Theatre found me early, shaped how I see the world, and eventually sent me chasing an MFA and then off to New York City.

What it also gave me — without me fully realizing it at the time — was a deep understanding of how stories move people. How the right narrative, told the right way, can make someone lean in, feel something, and leave changed. That instinct followed me off the stage and into every room I've worked in since.

Today I design employee experiences for a living. I build onboarding journeys that make new hires feel seen from day one. I create digital content that makes complex tools feel approachable. I facilitate for executive audiences and produce audio and video that people actually want to watch. At Optimum, I redesigned our enterprise onboarding program — reducing it by 45% while making it more human — and helped launch a new intranet that 95% of our 9,000 employees adopted in the first 30 days.

My background is a little unusual for this space. Equal parts learning scientist and creative producer. Equally comfortable in Adobe Creative Suite and in front of a room full of executives. I've produced award-nominated podcasts, designed logos, voiced internal videos, and collaborated to build programs that people still talk about. I lead with empathy, listen deeply before I speak, and tend to come back with ideas that connect dots others didn't see.

If you'd like to connect, you can find me on LinkedIn.