I am a writer and teacher living in Portland, Oregon. My writing has appeared in the Rumpus, Brevity, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and elsewhere.
I have written a memoir about the year I spent traveling with my boyfriend through Ghana, South Africa, and Europe following my mom’s death from breast cancer when I was twenty-two. Most of my published essays are excerpts from the manuscript or are on the same subject. I am also at work on a collection of short stories focused on grief and belonging, as well as a novel, The Olive Theory, which follows four friends in their early 30s in Portland, Oregon, as they navigate personal tragedy.
I grew up in Chicago but am currently based in the Pacific Northwest and am compelled by the way place affects our senses of identity and community. I hold an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Chatham University with concentrations in Travel Writing and the Pedagogy of Creative Writing. In 2011, I graduated from Elon University with a BA in English (creative writing) and in Art History and a minor in African/African-American Studies. I have taught creative writing in the Allegheny County Jail, the Orleans Parish Prison work release program, and Our Clubhouse, a cancer support center in Pittsburgh. In the summers, I've been a leader for National Geographic Student Expeditions and Putney Student Travel, and I’m a founding teacher of the Midwest Artist Academy.