Words are my wheelhouse.
Journalist, editor, writer-for-hire, communications professional, problem solver.
She was sixteen, and it was her first Cotillion Ball in her rural Mississippi hometown.
The pictures would be spectacular, her in a stunning white gown and her dapper date (a real-life rodeo cowboy) in a tuxedo and his best boots. Nobody thought about the mud . . . until her heels slipped in the muck and she landed in a sloppy mess at the bottom of the hill.
A career in spin — writing, politics, and communications — was just a matter of time.
I started writing in kindergarten and never stopped.
I write stories that people read, speeches that get their attention. I investigate behind the narrative, finding hidden implications and what’s not told. I find your salient messages through the clutter and move the needle. I never get bored.
My career began in the United States Senate, working on the Senate floor for then majority leader Senator Howard Baker. I went on to run the state government relations program for the American Forest and Paper Association, juggling spotted owls and recycled content, then tackled Fortune 500 issues like olestra and endangered species as a senior vice president at The Hawthorn Group and as Washington office managing director for R&R Partners.At some point, I hung out my own shingle, taking what I’d learned and making a difference for clients.
I moved to Hawaii in 2003, founded Two Wahines on the Beach, a luxury vacation homes property management firm, and found clients and writing gigs across the islands. Almost 20 years later, I returned to the East Coast – a change of pace, shorter flights, and more family. I still return to Hawaii several times a year.
I skydived a lot in my 20s, and still miss it sometimes. Now my passions are more subdued —cooking, art festivals, traveling, binging a new show, reading a good book. I attended Emory University in Atlanta, studying political science and creative writing, of course.
I’ve traveled across 50 countries with my two teens, bathing elephants at sunrise in Laos, swimming with whale sharks in Western Australia, and trying to decipher the oddities of French washing machines in Europe. We’ve been successful at two of the three.