And while it doesn’t look like I was always having the time of my life, the stories that my dad and I tucked away and shared for years made it worth it.

Since before I could walk, he’d strap me on his back and carry me up mountains. Since I was 9 (and still to this day), we head out to the high sierras for our annual backpacking trip, swapping stories of trips past as we weave our way through trees and streams, across tedious switchbacks and to breathtaking views.

This instilled in me a sense of adventure, of resourcefulness, and an eagerness to learn and lean into the unknown. And that’s how I like to approach a new project: with excitement and curiosity, openness and a sense of adventure.

And as the older sister to identical twins, I wanted nothing more than to be in the know at all times. I was a constant stream of questions and an insatiable reader, which is how I navigated my way into jobs that were seemingly discordant: I listened a lot, I built strong connections, and I worked to reach the right audience in a meaningful way.

I practiced this while serving as the US Director at Survival International, a tribal peoples’ rights org, as the Communications Manager for Global Press, an international journalism company, and as the Communications and Marketing Manager for Story District, a live storytelling nonprofit. And I continue to practice this approach as a producer and editor. (You can learn more about that here.)