Using collaborative storytelling to strengthen culture, advocacy, and action.

My first introduction to activism came early.

I grew up in an unstable home and I lost my mother at 11. I quickly learned to be self-sufficient out of necessity. All of this lit a fire inside me to make life better for myself and those around me.

That instinct led me to volunteer at Planned Parenthood. It was the 80s. A time when reproductive rights were under attack, and support was scarce. This is where I really started to see the gaps in our system. While I was there, I met a woman who changed the course of my life. She was a force: grounded, fierce, compassionate, and unapologetic about loving people exactly as they were. She showed me what advocacy looked like when it came without judgment.

That was a pivotal moment. It taught me that when we have privilege and resources, our responsibility is to build or walk alongside others in creating opportunities so they can make the best decisions for themselves. Not to shame or correct, but to support.

When people have more information and fewer barriers, they make choices that move them toward their own best interests.

That belief became the foundation of my life and my work.

I went to college for broadcast journalism because I wanted to tell complex stories, but big media outlets weren’t having those conversations. So I created my own spaces instead. I performed spoken word and poetry. I worked 17 different internships. I came out as queer. I served with AmeriCorps supporting high-risk youth. I created a program for men in the sex industry through a self-published zine. I followed my curiosity, explored my identity, and worked with the communities that shaped me.

I was loudly living my truth.

Eventually, I landed at Monster, where I really sank my teeth into design. I loved the mix of creativity, problem-solving, and how storytelling could give power to the movements I cared about most. With another decade under my belt, that passion led me to start my own design and content agency, A Great Idea — an empathy-led creative agency focused on finding solutions for organizations that are pushing toward a more human, inclusive, diverse, glorious world. Over the years, the agency has grown into an award-winning studio serving community organizations, foundations, healthcare, education, and entertainment companies across the country.

That work opened doors: landing a TEDx talk, starting the Power Beyond Pride podcast, writing a book, and gaining opportunities to support movements and communities in reshaping the world around them.

At the heart of it all, my mission is simple: to inspire and empower people and organizations to expand their voice, their impact, and their way of being through storytelling — because sharing stories strengthens communities, and strong communities create change.

The world is vibrant because each of us carries something unique — and meaningful change happens when we create space for that to emerge in others.