TIME

Time is our most valuable non-renewable resource. In honor of that value, a snapshot of who I am personally and professionally. (For the long form, read below at “Storytelling.”)

FAVORITE PODCASTS:

• Masters of Scale - Inspiration and mentorship.

• Invisibilia - Curious and exciting new ways to think about the world.

• Freakonomics - to figure out the economics of EVERYTHING, OK!? :-)

• Radiolab - intelligent well-produced stories that remind me that there’s good news too.

• Bubble - Hilarious and poignant modern stories.

• Tim Ferris - Anything and everything.

MOST READ TWEETS:

• The Verge - Tech news

• Reuters - All around current events with as little bias as possible

• San Francisco Chronicle

• Ad Age

• Ad Week

RECREATIONAL ACTIVITES

• Fine food, cocktail and wine obsessive. Constantly in search for an unforgettable hospitality and food experience

• THE GREAT OUTDOORS. Hiking. Biking. Running. Snowboarding.

• Music - Always looking for new. Time stops at a live show.

• Artisanal Product Shows and Festivals - constantly intrigued by innovational and entrepreneurial design - wood, stone, metal, ceramic, food, beverage, fabric, words.

storytelling & Design

I thought I was going to be a teacher. 

I majored in English Lit in undergrad because I wanted to know everything about everything and literature covered all the bases: history, economics, geography, art, culture, philosophy. I love stories and language in all forms. Typographic font nerd. Vocabulary obsessive. Poetic license. Hyperbole. Language is powerful. My specific focus was on literary theory and creative writing: the study of how specific works of literature, words, art and poetry came to be and function: sonically, visually and semantically. In other words, (pun intended), Design Theory for literary works; how literature and poetry live, breathe, and effect their audiences. 

FOOD & BEVERAGE

BUT my first job, at the age of 15, and many of my subsequent young adult jobs, were in restaurants. I quickly found that my magnetism to good food and drink functioned in a similar way to Literature. Food and drink have stories-- origin stories, travelogues, familial traditions and epic romances. Experiential stories. Smell and taste are 2 of the strongest triggers for spontaneous emotional recall. 

At the end of my long academic journey, final year of grad school, I'd reached the supposed goal— teaching. I found out, sadly, that (dramatic pause) I absolutely hated it. What to do?! My keen teaching and analysis skills found their place in the elevated SF restaurant world. Storytelling, art theory, analysis, cultural theory, philosophy, constructing curriculum, leadership and guidance— all got put to great use in one of the most incredible food cities in the country, arguably the world. 

SALES,MARKETING & EVENTS

Remember 2 seconds ago when I mentioned that phrase about smell and taste and emotional triggers? Emotional triggers = sales. Everything has a story. By sharing my enthusiasm— not only for food and drink—but for how language, emoting, storytelling and empathizing with your audience can sell products, I progressed in the industry quickly. 

In the early months of 2011, I found myself working closely with owner and proprietor of Mercer Restaurant Group, Matt Semmelhack. My penchant for problem solving, along with a verging-on-obessive skill for organizing and directing projects and people made me a valuable asset as Mercer Restaurant Group quickly expanded, opening 5 restaurants in 5 years. We started with operations management, but my proclivity for strategic positioning and marketing, pushed me toward media— events, social, email and web. As MRG expanded rapidly, each restaurant needed a startup plan, a concept, a theme, a vibe and a marketing plan. I assisted the company with all these aspects. Mastering my skills, with hands on experience and tutorials: brand building and strategizing; website building and maintenance; social media strategy; email marketing with Mail Chimp and Constant Contact; graphic design with Adobe Illustrator and InDesign; asset and collateral design; and experiential marketing with events and brand activations. Since then, I’ve been progressing and honing my skills in these areas through my work with events and marketing for both small business and multi-unit corporate business.

MORALS OF THE STORY

The morals of the story are these: 
I am ambitious, creative, strategic and effective. I want to know everything about everything, ie I love research and finding answers. I channel my energy into empathetic problem solving with detailed and effective plans for execution and I have years of hands-on experience to back it up—leading and organizing teams of cross-functional stake holders through restaurant openings and Marketing/PR initiatives; directing and creating large-scale memorable experiential activations with strategic copy, collateral, event production and execution management (with clients like Airbnb, Pixar, HBO, Levis, Google, Sequoia Capital, Foundation Capital and General Catalyst). I thrive in environments with like minded stake holders: passionate, sincere, authentic, creative and driven. And above all, I love good food, drink and good stories.