I’ve been “a creative” since I was old enough to hold a crayon. My dad taught me the rules of color theory and my mother indulged my desire to create elaborate panoramas out of salt-dough and painstakingly stenciled posters for presentations.
I studied Photography and Technical Communications in college at CU-Denver, primarily because there was no graphic design track and the photography program appealed to my love for technology and digital integration in my work. I learned to animate and code in Macromedia Director. My BFA thesis exhibition, Interface, featured an installation combining analogue photographs and interactive digital work, exploring concepts of persona, anonymity, and social constructs on the internet.
After graduating Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Photography from the University of Colorado at Denver, I completed a postgraduate program at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, graduating with a MSc in Design and Digital Media — with Distinction in 2001. My dissertation was a collaboration with Sachin Anshuman, an architect from Ahmedabad, India, on a project called The TelePresence Lounge, exploring the concept of non-verbal communication via networked domestic objects and spaces.
After returning to the states, I continued to create interactive and animation-based digital work. Learning new skills, technologies, and embracing a “good design is for everyone” philosophy while working as a graphic designer for various companies and clients.
From 2007–2011, I taught as a Lecturer at Salisbury University in Maryland. Courses included graphic design, web design, new media, photography and foundations design classes. I also served as Events Coordinator for The Electronic Gallery at Salisbury University — a gallery dedicated to showcasing the work of artists working in digital and electronic media. I was responsible for event and talent coordination, assisting with installations, photography, documentation, and designing marketing and promotional collateral for exhibitions and university events.
In 2011 I transitioned to a motion graphics designer for broadcast television. In 2015 I was promoted to Art Director for the Ad Sales Marketing team within the TEGNA Design Tank — TEGNA’s internal creative agency. Working for TEGNA has awarded me many opportunities to work on exciting projects, one of the most notable was in 2014, when we won an Emmy and an Associated Press Award for design and production work on a one-hour special called, After Aurora along with Design Director, Jason Hirsch and a very talented team from 9News including Chris Vanderveen, John Kuhrt, and Chris Hansen. In the past few years of my career I have overseen the design and production of TEGNA’s B2B product marketing, sales materials, training presentations, and pitch decks contributing to revenue-generating sales upwards of three hundred million dollars. We have also won several design awards for our B2B marketing and design work including Hermes, MarCom, and Dot.comm awards.