At heart I’m a writer, editor, and all around digital communicator with a passion for community. I’ve been a fan of online communication since the early days when I was using Clevenet to access websites with no images and long bulletin boards. Before I had access to the internet, I had pen pals across the country.

Even as a little kid, I loved the idea of connecting with people living in other places and experiencing different circumstances than I was. Admittedly, those early pen pal days weren’t deep discussions of sociological differences between rural Alaska and suburban northeast Ohio, but they were connections helping to expand my world.

Now, I love the power of social media to bring people together and of online articles and blog posts for encouraging people to dig deeper into topics and rabbithole into new information. It amazes me how easily people can come together over their favorite books, brands, artists, and television shows. I’ve seen groups where people with rare disorders finally meet others who experience the same daily difficulties, as well as those where people simply form their own collectives of support and encouragement despite massive differences.

I don’t see the internet as isolating or cutting us off from each other, rather I see it as a powerful force for connection and learning. The internet enables people to come together over political causes, a love of all things local, a passion for pets, favorite authors, and preferred brands — and I love that! Community is no longer who lives in a two’block radius, but can potentially be anyone in the world with whom we want to connect.

I’m not just enthusiastic about the power of digital words on a personal level. I’ve worked in the field since 2007 when I first started with a government contractor as a digital marketing and editorial assistant. Since then I’ve done freelance writing and editing, worked for a local urban shelter, managed the social media and blog for the world’s largest pet website, and improved the social media and website for a tiny nonprofit thrift shop.

In addition to social media and the written word, I’m a huge supporter of animal welfare, my Silver Spring community, and equal rights. I’m aware of my privilege and want to use it for good, to dismantle the systems that empower the white patriarchy that values wealth over people.

I spend a lot of time in medical offices, which I don’t love. I do love reading stories with heroines I can admire, watching old British comedy and new British sci-fi, exploring DC theatre, attempting to sew, plus hanging out with my cat even sometimes trying to teach him a new trick (so far he sits, high fives, and jumps through a hoop).

You can also find me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.