I've been telling stories and starting businesses since I was a tiny tot. At age 4, I narrated family road trips into a cassette player. At 7, I wrote my first short story, followed by a series of chapter books my teachers read to the class at story time. At 8, I set up a record stand in front of our house and sold Cheap Trick 45s to the neighbors. And at 12, I became the youngest person to place in the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. My story and photo made the front page of the local paper and I’ve been writing ever since.

I started my communications career working with late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, followed by 25 years as both an employee and consultant at Microsoft. Early in my tenure, I created the HR communications function and pioneered human-centered, data-driven storytelling to drive employee engagement. In 2004, I left to follow my entrepreneurial spirit, continuing to work with Microsoft as a consultant in addition to advising clients like Pfizer, WebMD, and American Express. In 2017, I returned to Microsoft to expand into digital storytelling, and over the next four years, hosted the Modern Communications series, produced and co-hosted the Managers 1:1 podcast, and was one of three employees hand-selected to moderate the monthly Employee Town Hall with CEO Satya Nadella and the senior leadership team. In 2021, I returned to entrepreneurship, and continue to advise senior tech leaders on communication strategy and messaging, namely around pivotal issues like trust, security, and equity.

I’m also a complex trauma survivor on a mission to help people reclaim themselves and their purpose. Between 2019 and 2022, I navigated a series of life-altering events, including a yearlong battle with ocular cancer, a major relocation, leaving Microsoft to launch my second business, ending a decade-long abusive relationship, and divorce—all during a global pandemic.  These experiences fueled my podcast, "Here For Me," which explores the power of choosing ourselves, and my TED talk, “Transmuting Trauma to Reclaim Your Purpose.”

Born in Milwaukee and raised in Seattle—with five-year chapters in New York, Montreal, and San Diego—I now live in Los Angeles.