About

I’m a Wisconsin native who went east in search of more culture and less sausage and cheese. I graduated from Vassar College in 2003 with a B.A. in Film and a minor in Art History.  Most of my research focused on audience and reception studies–in other words, I’m more interested in the reactions of the popcorn-eating masses than the auteurs. The fan experience is still a passion of mine.

Almost immediately after tossing the cap and gown, I drove across the country to Arizona to join the Teach for America Phoenix Corps. Armed with the idea that I would finally have the opportunity to be the cool English or History teacher who sits on the desk and waxes poetic about Bob Dylan all day, I was, naturally, assigned to teach Kindergarten.

Teaching about 40 adorable, mischievous, mostly Spanish-speaking five-year-olds was one of the most challenging, rewarding, and exhausting things I’ve ever done.  I was given no books, no curriculum, few supplies.  I have so many stories about teaching, I can’t begin to sum it up in a paragraph. I learned as much as I taught, and I’m extremely proud of the work I did. On my desk at work, I still have pictures of my students posing in front of Miss Kate’s Art Museum.

I’d been into crafts and sewing and DIY projects for years, so once I had the luxury of time, I turned it into a business. I started reconstructing t-shirts, turning thrift store pants into cute skirts, and designing my own stencils and screenprints.

I designed my own website, from which I sold my wares, and set up shop at alternative art/craft fairs (you know, the kinds of places where people sell bowls made of melted records, and tote bags with owl illustrations). This was at the beginning of that trend. Etsy didn’t yet exist.

Daily Candy featured me in a national email. I was also covered in The NY Daily News, the Daily Telegraph (in Australia), and other outlets.

Around this time, I took a job as an Educator at the Museum of the Moving Image. I had interned in the curatorial/programming department in college, and the idea of combining teaching and film seemed perfect. It was a really fantastic job, guiding visitors–from 3rd graders up to senior citizens–through the museum, giving demonstrations, talking about the history of the studio system, explaining the process of sound editing.

Particularly memorable was the exhibit celebrating Gumby’s 50th anniversary. We were trained to make Gumbys (yes, really) and animate him on a real set provided by Art Clokey.

Yes, we made an intern wear a Gumby costume at the exhibit opening

That was followed by a position at The Art Directors Club, running their education programs.  ADC is a professional organization for creatives (yes, creative is now a noun) in advertising and design. I worked with the professional members, involving them in our programs for art and design students in high school and college.  These programs included Saturday Career Workshops, Portfolio Reviews, and Scholarships.

During my tenure at ADC, I was also named Managing Editor of the Art Directors Annual 86.  I worked with our incredibly talented designers  to create a really beautiful book, full of the winning entries from ADC’s annual awards.

Since 2007, I’ve been employed at The Paley Center, developing, executing, and promoting our public programs.

While the job is extremely time consuming (usually at least 2 events per week during “high season”), I try to keep up with my other interests and passions. I’m working on a screenplay, along with a few other writing projects. I love graphic novels, podcasts, games, and other assorted nerdery.

I can also be found at my tumblr Bitter HGTV Viewer and its associated Twitter handle @MyFirstPlace which features my funny/snarky recaps and live tweets of real estate television.

You can email me at my first and last name (as one word) [at] gmail.com.