Let’s go backwards. Since 2017, I've been writing for Nelson Cash in Portland, Ore. A good friend of mine alerted me to the vacancy, and I leaped at the chance to inch through the wintry mountain passes of Montana in a Uhaul. Towing a car. With a cat. In the dark. My clients include Google Fiber, Mercari, The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, FiftyThree, and The Wild. From 2010 to 2017, I worked at Olson, in Minneapolis. Someone fell in love with my weird hot dog blog and I was hired, and now I’m a senior writer. Highlights: Writing and directing a film spoofing The Bachelor for our company holiday party (due to multiple copyright violations I cannot post this, but ask me to show you sometime in private. Unless you’re a lawyer.); reigning as queen for a whole year (this is real, and it’s actually hard work); making tons of friends. This is also where I really honed my chops as a presenter. Before Olson, I was freelancing. Boy, did I ever love writing on my own schedule, but the hustle eventually took its toll. How do freelancers ever give themselves a vacation? I will never understand it. Highlights: Blogging and vlogging on behalf of Blueberry Muffin Tops Cereal at Pax East in Boston in 2010 (I interviewed Wil Wheaton, and it was mildly funny!), I also wrote all the web copy for Blueberry Muffin Tops. There were a ton of other clients, too, but why would I talk about them when I have the Blueberry Muffin Tops feather in my cap? Also, I just want to write “Blueberry Muffin Tops” over and over. Apparently, Blueberry Muffin Tops cereal is what gamers eat? And gamers have a very high tolerance for absurdity, so they’re a very fun audience. Before that, I was working for a teeny-tiny company called Synthetic Kit. We were two developers and two managers (I was one of the managers, but I could totally hold my own with a scrap of code or a database, babe). Every time we’d need some copy, I’d just write it, and then we’d get the client to approve it, because that would take less time than waiting for the client to do it. Highlights: Concepting and writing scripts for a cartoon character who taught HealthPartners members about preventative health; calling myself a copywriter for the first time. Before that, I managed a health club. This was when I really picked up steam as a writer. Whenever we needed to send a memo to the employees, the owners would give me notes and I would weave them into comedy gold. Eventually they started sending out monthly emails to members, and they’d have me write those, too. Highlights: People telling me that they looked forward to reading what they typically classified as spam; my bitchin’ bod because of the free spin classes. Before that, I worked as the Audience Advocate at the Walker Art Center. I did all of the audience research, including authoring, administering and analyzing surveys; timing and tracking studies; and focus groups. Highlights: Every day I would pass through the galleries on my way to lunch, and I’d walk past this beauty; meeting almost all of my dearest friends of my life at the Walker; partying like total hellions. Before that, I was in school. I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in art history from the University of Evansville in Indiana and a Master of Arts degree in museum studies from Leicester University in England. Highlights: Living in England, obvs. And writing a really cool dissertation about the Guerrilla Girls, called Guerrillas in Our Midst. And before that, I was a little kid. I was constantly drawing and writing stories and making crap. My parents’ attic is full of weird bits and pieces. Highlights: A feminist comic strip about how it isn’t fair that women have to shave their legs; a recipe for a cheese and crackers sandwich with the cheese on the outside and the crackers in the middle.