My background

I grew up just outside Chicago and lived in Illinois until 2012, when I moved to San Francisco. I’ve lived here ever since.

I did my undergrad at the University of Illinois, and my bachelor’s degree is in Media Studies with a concentration in English. I’m still fascinated by the ways in which media intersects with government, capitalism, and consumerism, even though I never did become a media studies professor.

I started my career at Wolfram Alpha. I also worked at Facebook (back when it was still called Facebook) as a Learning Program Manager, a handful of small startups that aren’t around anymore, and most recently led the Learning Experience team at Airbnb before starting my own company in 2020.

Why I do what I do

Most of my career has been spent within fast-paced, high-growth, ever-changing environments. I’ve seen people working around the clock, sacrificing time and energy they could have been spending with family or friends, or even simply having hobbies or resting.

I’ve also seen plenty of teams with little-to-no planning, operations, or project management who have suffered as a result — either through having to constantly re-do work, spending inordinate amounts of time in meetings, or just being confused and frustrated often.

I believe that when we work with more intention, we can become more thoughtful in how we plan and prioritize our work. When we are more thoughtful, we’re more clear about what truly matters to us and we can make time and energy for the important stuff, which includes having a life outside of work. I also believe the quality of our work also increases when we’re able to work this way.

Do I wish we didn’t have to work as much as we do? Absolutely. But as long as we’ve decided we all have to work 40+ hours a week, I find a lot of purpose in helping people work more sustainably and effectively.

My work and life have been deeply influenced by Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks, Cal Newport’s Deep Work and Slow Productivity, Anne Helen Petersen’s Can’t Even (and her excellent newsletter), Jenny Odell’s How to Do Nothing, and Devon Price’s Laziness Does Not Exist.

My training

I love learning, and I think it’s super important for anyone who helps others learn and develop to always be learning and growing themselves.

I got my Professional Coaching Certification and did my Team Coaching training at New Ventures West. I’ve done additional coaching training through Aletheia and facilitation training through Scaling Intimacy. I’m certified in the Leadership Circle Profile (a tool for 360 feedback), and am a certified Scrum Master through the Scrum Alliance. I got my MBA through the Quantic School of Business and Technology in 2019.

Non-work stuff

I love reading and writing, trying to learn/brush up on languages (Spanish and French, respectively), playing video games, and playing music (piano and guitar). I also love seeing live music, riding my bike around the city, and hiking with my dog.

I volunteer as a fundraising gala chair with BFF.fm and as a job readiness + homework help volunteer with the Boys & Girls Club in my neighborhood. I was also part of the La Casa de las Madres fundraising committee for five years.