I look up to my shorter people friends (children) and often learn from these authentic commentators on the human experience. I believe that by making space for the child within all humans to be given audience in interpersonal conversation, we as people can find some of our greatest opportunities for growth.

As a caregiver, a parent to a neurodiverse child, a passionate advocate for empathetic special education, and an individual who has journeyed through several traumatic life seasons, I embed in all my work opportunities for conversation around “Big Deal” topics. I particularly love that Picturebooks and Graphic Novels for both adults and children take the words with which we have learned to communicate back to a more contained space than do longer written works. This allows the mind movies we play within ourselves to be brought to forefront.

I hope my visual storytelling serves as a springboard for authentic, vulnerable conversations leading to understanding and healing. I especially strive for this regarding the topics of mental health, neurodiversity, special education, and grief.

Yet, in dealing with these heavy topics, who does not also need to laugh - to feel a lightness and hope? Therefore, whimsy and wit are an essential part of the works I create. Please contemplate, cry, and maybe have a little giggle, too, as you explore my work.

Background

Bachelors of Science in Communications

Post-Baccalaureate in Illustration at PNCA

Parent and Caregiver in the Real World

Skilled in

Crying
Listening
Gasping and Giggling
The “Mom Look"
Disney apparel collecting
Writing & Drawing