I’m an award winning storyteller and communications manager with a knack for bringing out the best in a team. After more than a decade in TV news, and several years in nuclear cleanup and environmental public affairs, it is a privilege to merge my skillset and passion for patient advocacy as VP of Marketing and Communications for the Metrodora Institute and Foundation.Journalism is the purpose I chose in life and disability advocacy is the purpose life chose for me. After being diagnosed with a chronic illness in 2019, I began using my skills to help the cause. I’ve served on several state and hospital patient and community advisory boards, spoken at international conferences, taught medical students, and grown a large following on social media supporting patients, providers, and research. My awareness efforts have led to an Emmy nomination and viral recognition for an under-diagnosed condition.In 2021, fresh out of the news business, I headed into unknown territory managing visual storytelling and launching a public affairs newscast for the United States Department of Energy. My job was to translate complicated information about nuclear projects, medical research, and environmental management to lawmakers, federal leaders, and the public in an understandable and meaningful way to support the ongoing work on the Oak Ridge Reservation.My love of sharing the power of storytelling was put to good use teaching multimedia reporting at the University of Tennessee. On weekends, you may still find me traveling to shoots for a true crime documentary I was tapped to produce on a case I once covered as a local journalist.These days, I am immersed in the medical industry as a leadership member for a startup working to accelerate research, diagnostics, and therapeutics for complex multisystem disorders like the one that impacted me.