Professional

I have nearly seven years of PR experience, including work as a constituent relations writer and as a media relations professional. You may have seen my clients in The Wall Street Journal, on CNN.com or on the Fox Business Channel.

My background also includes experience as a newspaper reporter and editor, covering everything from hard news to community news to feature stories to entertainment news. I even covered a heinous crime and interviewed Donny Osmond in the same day.

While all of my formal education was in communication and print journalism, I've picked up some broadcast journalism skills along the way, serving as on-air talent for WCMU-TV’s ”Inside Central” for several years and as an audio podcast hostess for the past year or so. I've also run my own business for more than three years, helping some of the entertainment industry's most talented comedians and musicians stay in touch with their fans and keep their Web sites up to date, flexing a little HTML muscle along the way.

In addition to these skills, experiences and interests, I love working with young people and serving as an advisor (or "adviser," if we're speaking in AP style!) and mentor.

And what would other people tell you about me?

• I can find just about anything on the Internet.
• I’m a good writer and speller; some would even go as far as to call me a "word nerd," and it’s a label that I wear with pride.
• I'm a "utility player" who can step up to most any task.
• I "can fix everything" (except in the mechanical sense).
• I'm extremely attentive to detail.
• My integrity means everything to me.

Personal

I grew up a “CMU kid” -- my parents went to school at Central Michigan University and were married in what was then the campus chapel and is now the University Art Gallery; my paternal grandparents worked at CMU (my grandfather was the voice of CMU athletics and the Chippewa Marching Band for several decades); and my sister and I both attended CMU following many summertime childhood stays with our grandparents, which always included visits to Kelly/Shorts Stadium, the Museum of Cultural and Natural History, Nelson Park, Jon's Country Burgers, and many other CMU and Mount Pleasant landmarks.

As a CMU student, I was a Centralis Scholar and lived in Larzelere Hall for two years, serving on the hall council executive board and as a deskie (that’s a front desk receptionist, for those not familiar with the lingo). I also worked as a reporter and editor for Central Michigan Life, CMU's award-winning student newspaper. Being an orientation mentor was probably my favorite college activity, and I spent three summers introducing new students and their families to all that CMU has to offer ... and making lifelong connections with my fellow mentors.

Random, true factoids that have won me a game or two of “Two Truths and a Lie”: On the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” chain, I’m only two degrees from Kevin Bacon. My uncle won a Grammy, and I have held it. My maternal great-grandmother was supposed to come to the U.S. on the Titanic, but her family missed the boat. My paternal grandfather was a champion baton twirler. I know two “Last Comic Standing” champions and the guy who did the theme song for VH1’s “Pop Up Video.”

It also might interest you to know that I have a distinctive and contagious laugh ... and I make a mean batch of surprisingly health-conscious cookies.