Profile

In order to protect and conserve the lands and water we all depend on to thrive on Planet Earth, we need effective messaging that reaches the right audiences and inspires them to action. I’ve spent my career honing the skills to create and spread those messages.

I’m a project leader, digital media creator, and educator dedicated to creating effective environmental communication. I bring 15 years experience in web and interactive media design, photography, and videography, eight years experience as an entrepreneur, project manager, and creative and strategic planner, and seven years as an adult educator and public speaker.

Sometimes important lessons come at unexpected times in unexpected ways. For me, a big shift began to occur after working as an English teacher on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean. After witnessing the over-consumption, the inefficiency of resource management, and the blatant food waste, I realized I was seeing more than just an indulgent form of vacation; I was seeing a microcosm of our society. In the years that followed, I began to learn about climate change, sustainability, personal responsibility, and began to find ways to make an impact.

A number of years later, I’ve continued on this path, adapting my skills as a web designer, photographer, and videographer to make a contribution to protecting the land, water, and resources that we depend on to live and to thrive.

Read more below about the skills and experiences I’ve had on this path, that can be of benefit to sustainable development and conservation projects:

Project Leader

The entrepreneurial spirit has guided many of my decisions and experiences throughout my life. I co-founded my first business at 16, a lawn-mowing enterprise in Winter Springs, Florida. Several years later, I was the co-founder of a digital photography business at the University of Florida. Most recently, I founded Helix River Media, L3C, a digital media agency that has been my bread and butter to this day; as well as Sustnrs, the sustainability education initiative, in which I led a team of interns and volunteers to produce dozens of online instructional resources. Additionally, I was trained by Al Gore in 2013 as a Climate Leader for the Climate Reality Project, and give presentations on climate change and solutions.

Through these experiences, I’ve learned the vital importance of a number of values: collaboration, as nothing can be done without community and team; balance, since in order to accomplish big things we must juggle many small things; mindfulness, so that we can be aware of both the external as well as internal world that influences our lives; and not least, humility, as all of us make mistakes and we always can learn more.

Digital Media Creator

Ever since getting my hands on a digital camera in 1998 and being exposed to the power of Photoshop, I’ve been hooked on the expansive creative potential of the digital medium. I designed my first website while working as a documentary crew member aboard a sailboat in the Caribbean, and built the site once back on land. Over the following years, I worked on another documentary, and then crafted a digital multimedia storytelling website to share my experiences as a Yellow Cab Driver in New York City. For several years after that, I continued to practice photography as I traveled around Europe.

Upon returning to the States, I decided to turn my creative expression into a business, and I founded Helix River. For seven years, I’ve built a wide variety of websites for a range of clients, both hand-coding from the ground up and creating with WordPress, as well as shooting promotional and instructional videos.

Educator

Since my undergraduate days, I always knew that I wanted to get into education, that sharing knowledge is one of the best ways to express gratitude for the blessings in our lives. In 2005, I set out for Spain to be trained as an EFL teacher, and soon after began teaching English to a multinational group of students in an unlikely environment: a cruise ship. I continued teaching English in Barcelona, and when I moved to Chicago, I broadened my educational horizons, and began teaching web design, Photoshop, and other computer skills to adult learners.

Today I aim to leverage my experiences in front of the classroom to create effective educational content that supports environmentally-focused projects, and to expand my experience in public speaking to inspire people to take action to protect the land, water, air, and life on planet Earth.

Next Up: Resume

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