Probably way more than you wanted to know...
I’m a musical junkie who has spent way too many hours memorizing the soundtracks of Rent, Wicked and Les Mis. I love to travel and seem to always find some way to leave the country, sometimes very creatively… I do yoga and am certified to teach you yoga too. Oh, and I'm a PR pro and journalist by trade.
My communications background began in 2006, after I received my bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in English and Italian. After spending some time in London doing the BUNAC Working Holiday program, I returned home to start a career in journalism.
My first job was as a staff writer for the Hillsdale Daily News in Michigan, a small town not far from Coldwater, where I grew up. My year there was very much on-the-job training, where I worked with a small staff to cover all the most exciting (and sometimes not-so-exciting) news of Hillsdale County. While my main beats were city government and education, I had a range of incredible experiences there, including flying in an airplane with a new teenage pilot, finding myself knee-deep in pig poo for an assignment on swine disease and watching a local man forge sculptures with 19th century farm equipment.
In 2009, I moved to Detroit to try my hand at broadcast journalism and took an internship with WDET Detroit Public Radio. In the midst of Detroit’s failing schools, city council elections and the struggling auto industry, I covered state and local news, often trusted with major stories the paid reporters couldn’t get to. At WDET, I also learned how to write news stories for radio and train my voice, eventually working my way up to giving live news broadcasts on the weekends.
While interning at WDET I also explored digital journalism as a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com, an organization that made national news in 2009 for becoming one of the country's first nearly entirely-digital newspapers. There I took on a range of general assignment stories, which then brought me a number of other new experiences, including covering my first homicide and a presidential visit. Working in digital journalism, I learned to engage readers on a different level, one that focused on community engagement and Search Engine Optimization that gave readers instant updates and quick access to additional information and sources.
But in 2010 my thirst for adventure (and a full-time job) led me to Malaysia, where I chose to work in media from the other side as a public relations manager for a small university and company in Kuala Lumpur. While cultural and professional adjustment was not easy (indeed, I think I cried after three days), my time in Malaysia was the most eye-opening experience of my life. As I learned to write speeches, create press kits and strategize media campaigns, I also learned about business and marketing. But living in a developing country in Southeast Asia also taught me a thing or two about human nature, patience and the lifestyle of an enormous, non-Western portion of the world.
After 14 months in Malaysia, I decided to follow my lifelong dream to travel for a year and embarked on an 11-month Asian adventure across India, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, China and Nepal. The sense of excitement, liberation, constant wonder and awe that accompanies unrestrained travel is something I will never forget. And the memories of bungy jumping off a bridge in Nepal, playing with tigers in Thailand and getting food poisoning everywhere live on in my heart (and my blog) among my best travel stories.
I came home to Michigan in the summer of 2012, returning to my writing roots as both a freelance journalist and a part-time communications specialist working for Reuters, AnnArbor.com, Mode Shift and Canning Communications. In July of 2013, I began working full-time at Airfoil Group in Metro Detroit, providing public relations for technology-focused companies.
In October of 2016, I made the beautiful, historic Detroit Opera House my second home as the new Communications Manager for Michigan Opera Theatre (now Detroit Opera). While managing the day-to-day communications like media relations and social media, my Broadway baby-heart relished being up close and personal in the theater world, getting to meet some of the best performers on the planet as well as exploring every secret nook and cranny of the Opera House. While becoming fluent in the likes of Puccini and Verdi, I got to play with larger-than-life mechanical witch puppets and slide down chutes from trap barber chairs. I also got to perform on stage as a supernumerary, or stage extra, as part of American Ballet Theatre’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.” Wearing a 16th-century gown twice the length that I am, surrounded by my favorite dancers in the world, I too, got to be part of the production. It was magical.
Since making Detroit my home in 2013, I have become a cheerleader for the city, trying to do my part to support the city's revitalization by sharing the great things about it with others. I am an official Detroit Ambassador for the international Couchsurfing travelers' community, organizing regular event meet-ups in the city and hosting travelers in my home. I even bought an old house in 2018, which I have been restoring by myself. Coming in with zero skills in home repair, I have since learned the basics of painting, tile and drywall, as well as wood and window restoration, and the journey continues.
During the pandemic, I transitioned to a career in freelancing, doing part-time media relations work for Your People and Weigandt Communications. I also returned to my journalism roots and regularly cover arts and entertainment stories for the Detroit News, and I'm aiming to grow my writing career further and focus on travel.
The pandemic years also brought new interests and projects into my life, including becoming a foster mom for a few local dog rescues, giving little dogs a place to hang out and be spoiled while they await for their forever homes. It also launched my travel podcast "Behind the Postcards," where my co-host and longterm travel buddy Gloria Lin and I share travel tips and stories to fellow travel-lovers.
My communications background began in 2006, after I received my bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in English and Italian. After spending some time in London doing the BUNAC Working Holiday program, I returned home to start a career in journalism.
My first job was as a staff writer for the Hillsdale Daily News in Michigan, a small town not far from Coldwater, where I grew up. My year there was very much on-the-job training, where I worked with a small staff to cover all the most exciting (and sometimes not-so-exciting) news of Hillsdale County. While my main beats were city government and education, I had a range of incredible experiences there, including flying in an airplane with a new teenage pilot, finding myself knee-deep in pig poo for an assignment on swine disease and watching a local man forge sculptures with 19th century farm equipment.
In 2009, I moved to Detroit to try my hand at broadcast journalism and took an internship with WDET Detroit Public Radio. In the midst of Detroit’s failing schools, city council elections and the struggling auto industry, I covered state and local news, often trusted with major stories the paid reporters couldn’t get to. At WDET, I also learned how to write news stories for radio and train my voice, eventually working my way up to giving live news broadcasts on the weekends.
While interning at WDET I also explored digital journalism as a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com, an organization that made national news in 2009 for becoming one of the country's first nearly entirely-digital newspapers. There I took on a range of general assignment stories, which then brought me a number of other new experiences, including covering my first homicide and a presidential visit. Working in digital journalism, I learned to engage readers on a different level, one that focused on community engagement and Search Engine Optimization that gave readers instant updates and quick access to additional information and sources.
But in 2010 my thirst for adventure (and a full-time job) led me to Malaysia, where I chose to work in media from the other side as a public relations manager for a small university and company in Kuala Lumpur. While cultural and professional adjustment was not easy (indeed, I think I cried after three days), my time in Malaysia was the most eye-opening experience of my life. As I learned to write speeches, create press kits and strategize media campaigns, I also learned about business and marketing. But living in a developing country in Southeast Asia also taught me a thing or two about human nature, patience and the lifestyle of an enormous, non-Western portion of the world.
After 14 months in Malaysia, I decided to follow my lifelong dream to travel for a year and embarked on an 11-month Asian adventure across India, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, China and Nepal. The sense of excitement, liberation, constant wonder and awe that accompanies unrestrained travel is something I will never forget. And the memories of bungy jumping off a bridge in Nepal, playing with tigers in Thailand and getting food poisoning everywhere live on in my heart (and my blog) among my best travel stories.
I came home to Michigan in the summer of 2012, returning to my writing roots as both a freelance journalist and a part-time communications specialist working for Reuters, AnnArbor.com, Mode Shift and Canning Communications. In July of 2013, I began working full-time at Airfoil Group in Metro Detroit, providing public relations for technology-focused companies.
In October of 2016, I made the beautiful, historic Detroit Opera House my second home as the new Communications Manager for Michigan Opera Theatre (now Detroit Opera). While managing the day-to-day communications like media relations and social media, my Broadway baby-heart relished being up close and personal in the theater world, getting to meet some of the best performers on the planet as well as exploring every secret nook and cranny of the Opera House. While becoming fluent in the likes of Puccini and Verdi, I got to play with larger-than-life mechanical witch puppets and slide down chutes from trap barber chairs. I also got to perform on stage as a supernumerary, or stage extra, as part of American Ballet Theatre’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.” Wearing a 16th-century gown twice the length that I am, surrounded by my favorite dancers in the world, I too, got to be part of the production. It was magical.
Since making Detroit my home in 2013, I have become a cheerleader for the city, trying to do my part to support the city's revitalization by sharing the great things about it with others. I am an official Detroit Ambassador for the international Couchsurfing travelers' community, organizing regular event meet-ups in the city and hosting travelers in my home. I even bought an old house in 2018, which I have been restoring by myself. Coming in with zero skills in home repair, I have since learned the basics of painting, tile and drywall, as well as wood and window restoration, and the journey continues.
During the pandemic, I transitioned to a career in freelancing, doing part-time media relations work for Your People and Weigandt Communications. I also returned to my journalism roots and regularly cover arts and entertainment stories for the Detroit News, and I'm aiming to grow my writing career further and focus on travel.
The pandemic years also brought new interests and projects into my life, including becoming a foster mom for a few local dog rescues, giving little dogs a place to hang out and be spoiled while they await for their forever homes. It also launched my travel podcast "Behind the Postcards," where my co-host and longterm travel buddy Gloria Lin and I share travel tips and stories to fellow travel-lovers.