My love of nonfiction started in 3rd grade when I researched the antibiotic properties of Komodo Dragon blood for fun. I copied down all the facts, arranged them into a paragraph, then read aloud this masterpiece of information to my mom at the zoo. In a sense — this is what I’m still doing. Reading, arranging, sharing. It’s awesome.

I am a M.A. in Writing candidate with an undergraduate background in philosophy. My dream is to work with non-profits, utilizing the art of storytelling as an agent for activism and advocacy. Currently, I teach rhetoric & composition at a university in San Diego. I’m also a reader for Thimble Literary Magazine, and the Nonfiction Editor at Last Syllable Lit. Before these positions, I wrote grant applications and conducted research for The Pilgrimage Innovation Hub — an organization that funds pilgrimages for marginalized youth as way for them to process histories of injustice.

I also have a side-hustle working as a professional juggler (of disabilities). This includes: Functional Neurological Disorder, PTSD, Chronic Migraine, & Persistent Post-Concussive Syndrome. I mention my exact diagnoses because the chronic community can be a lonely one. Elaine Scarry said that pain is to feel with certainty what others can only doubt. I may never fully understand the particularity of your suffering, but I will not doubt you. I am with you.