About me

Experience

Presently, I am the communications manager for the vibrant City of Highland Park, Illinois, where I am fortunate to be part of a great team. In this role, I am responsible for overseeing city-wide communications modalities, including media relations, digital media, print & website, managing crisis & emergency communications, and serving as primary public information officer/spokesperson for all departments.

In my previous position, I was the marketing and communications manager for Waukegan Public Library. I managed all aspects of our marketing communications strategy, from public relations to social media to community engagement and event planning. Before transitioning to the nonprofit sector, I gained business development and marketing communications experience across several industries, with a particular focus in education management at Orion's Mind, LLC. and Kaplan. I've also worked in content strategy and web development for small businesses and emerging nonprofits.  

In 2013, I co-founded Creating Iris, a not-for-profit project which advocates for greater representation of LGBTQ+ themes in YA literature. We publish Iris, a magazine featuring high-quality fiction and poetry for LGBTQ+ youth - including writing by queer young people. To date, we have published three issues, all freely available for download. Iris is currently on hiatus while we explore ways to keep our content and approach fresh while staying true to our mission to support and engage LGBTQ+ youth through reading and writing. Iris has been featured on WCPT radio (Out Chicago with Scott Duff, February 23, 2014) and in the Windy City Times (June 22, 2016). 

Publications & Colloquia

I've contributed essays and reviews to a variety of print and digital publications. Since 2016, I have served as a contributing editor to Public Libraries, the journal of the Public Library Association. I have published feature articles in the Reporter, the journal of the Illinois Library Association, Autostraddle, and The Ellipses Project. My reviews have appeared in  Review 31, Bitch Flicks and others. I firmly believe in the value of independent media. Click here for a full bibliography with links. 

I have presented on crisis communications, marketing strategies, and web development at state and national conferences. Together with my colleague Katie McLain, I have presented on the topic of sexual harassment and provided trainings for library professionals. See a list of presentations and invited talks here. 

Service

From 2015-2020, I served as vice president of communications on the board of NUGALA, Northwestern's affinity club for LGBTQ+ alumni. 

From 2017-2020, I served on the board of directors of Waukegan Arts Council. 

As a representative of Waukegan Public Library, I served on various interagency committees to foster collaboration and continued partnership within the City of Waukegan. 

Education

I hold degrees in political science and art history (honors) from Northwestern University. My honors thesis, titled "Moments of Flickering Genius" (borrowed from T.S. Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock),  focused on the imagination, spirituality, and catharsis in Michelangelo's late crucifixion drawings and the Rondanini pietà and was written under the direction of Prof. Claudia Swan, PhD. 

Languages

I am bilingual: a native English speaker with fluency in French, and a reading knowledge of Latin.

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