Born in rural Alaska, I grew up in the community of South Naknek and spent my childhood summers in Ekuk before moving to Anchorage at age ten. My firsthand experience with both village and city life in Alaska is felt deeply in my art and has shaped my worldview.

As a teen, I began writing song lyrics, learned guitar, and crafted poetry and prose that was recognized nationally and locally. My work was published in Alaska Business Monthly, Alaska Journal of Commerce, F Magazine, First Alaskans Magazine, and Teen Ink Magazine.

In 2017, I graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science in Child Studies and Medicine, Health, and Society. Upon graduating I received the Founder’s Medal for Peabody College, the highest honor given to graduating students at Vanderbilt. I am grateful for Nashville and the people I learned from there for transforming my songwriting, nurturing my essay writing, and instilling a passion for community engagement.

In 2019 I began a Master of Fine Arts degree through the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Creative Writing and Literary Arts program. In my two years at UAA, I wrote most of my in-progress essay collection about falling in love with and marrying my husband. I am now completing my MFA through Alaska Pacific University’s Creative Writing program, with an expected graduation date of July 2025.

I have been dedicated to my career as a working artist since 2021. In that first year: I facilitated my first community art project (Pandemic Soundtrack for Cook Inlet Housing Authority); I completed a grant writer certification program from Learn Grant Writing; I was awarded an Adaptation and Innovation Grant Award for artist development, made possible with funding by Rasmuson Foundation and administered by the Alaska State Council on the Arts; I released Emerging, my first album as a singer-songwriter; and I became certified in the Amherst Writers & Artists method of leading generative creative writing workshops.

That first year formed the bedrock of my life as a working artist today. I write regularly, bouncing between multiple projects. I released my second album, All Things with Time, in 2022. Currently I am working on the aforementioned essay collection, a novel, a book of poems, and a memoir written in prose poetry. I partner with community organizations to facilitate arts experiences in Anchorage, I help other artists fund their work through grants, and I create opportunities for new writers to come into their unique voices. (To learn more about my recent work, please visit my Portfolio.)

I could not have this career without the support of my friends and family, as well as so many artists and arts organizations who have given me opportunities to create, share, and grow. This work is deeply rewarding to me and I don’t take for granted the people who have carried me here.

I live in Anchorage with my husband Charlie and our two rescue dachshunds, Pickles and Ollie. We enjoy exploring our neighborhood year round by foot or by kicksled. My favorite days of the year are when I pick blueberries. I love catching arts events around town. But mostly you’ll find me at home with a puzzle or a book, snuggled up with my family, resting before my next writing sprint.