Who I am.
When I was a kid, I loved listening to stories. Some of my earliest memories were digging through my mom’s box of old family photos, sitting down, and asking her to breathe life into each snapshot. I’d sit transfixed as my mother recounted each moment frozen in time. Some stories were good, and some were bad, but each one helped connect me to people and places far away from me. Those moments taught me that great stories aren’t just told or written; they’re lovingly shared and deeply felt.
Growing up, I remember teachers describing me to my mother as ‘creative’ or ‘imaginative,’ but that didn’t mean much to a curious kid. “All kids use their imagination,” I thought. It wasn’t until years later, during AP English, that my teacher—a stern, intellectual, and challenging man—asked to see me after class. There, my short-story writing assignment held in his hand, asked me, “Have you thought about becoming a writer?”
That was over two decades ago. It was that exact moment that set a course for the rest of my life.
I’m a storyteller—in every sense of the word. While people often focus on the ‘telling’ part of storytelling, I love the entire narrative journey: listening, observing, and deeply absorbing the nuanced layers of the human condition.
Throughout my nearly two decades of professional work, I've learned that great communication is the delicate balance between stating facts and exchanging information that creates deep, emotional connections with one another.
We are all, at our core, natural storytellers. Our survival as a species is dependent on our ability to communicate through written, verbal, and visual means. How well we communicate is another matter entirely. This is the basis of my life's work and who I am as a person.
I am a person dedicated to the pursuit of understanding and of being understood using written and spoken words to create impact, empathy, and meaningful connections in an increasingly complex world.
Quick facts about me.
Studied Business & Marketing at Texas A&M International University, graduating in 2011. 🎓
Switched studies from Journalism after being fascinated with a business psychology course. 🧠
Kicked off my career in Marketing, Communications, & PR as a graphic designer in 2008. 🚀
My favorite things are words, food, & people. ❤️
Personality type: INFJ ✨
Dream: I’d run an ‘Omakase ’-style restaurant as a non-profit offering my staff training, rehabilitation, pathways to citizenship, or similar benefit. 🌎
I’m nearly 40 years old. Born and raised in Texas. And met my wife in Austin, Texas, where we now live with our daughter, and cat. 🏡
“Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time–proof that humans can work magic.”
-Carl Sagan
Who I am — Speed round.
If you could have dinner with any three people, living or dead, who would they be and why?
George Carlin. Richard Pryor. Robin Williams.
Of all the profound, interesting, and influential people that have existed throughout our history, why comedians? To quote Mel Brooks (another comedian), “The comedy writer is like the conscience of the king. He’s got to tell him the truth. And that’s my job: to make terrible things entertaining.”
If I’m going to have dinner, I want to have a good time. I want to walk away feeling happy and full. What better way to enjoy a meal heavy with talks of politics, philosophy, and art than to wash it down with laughter? Whatever we’d talk about, I know I’d walk away laughing hysterically about it.
Bonus: I’d have Anthony Bourdain cook the dinner and join the convo. Not a comedian, but I think he was such an interesting person.
What's a skill or hobby you’ve always wanted to learn but haven't yet?
So many! Paint. Play guitar. Cook (REALLY cook). Woodworking. Photography. Writing screenplays.
I’m in love with the idea of creating something from nothing and admire people who can dedicate the entirety of their lives to the mastery of just one thing, as talented creators do. I find this beautiful and deeply human.
If your life had a soundtrack, what would be the top three songs and why?
Oof! Another tough one! Same as the dinner with three people questions, my answer could change on any given month, week, or day. BUT, if I had to pick only three, they’d be:
C.R.E.A.M. by the Wu-Tang Clan
Supersonic by Oasis
Three Little Birds by Bob Marley and the Wailers
Music has this amazing way of helping us express a thought or feeling when we can’t find the right combination of words or sounds. It feels serendipitous when a song catches you in the right mood, and you think, “Oh man, that just hits.”
I consider myself a positive and optimistic person, but just like a car can eventually run low on gas, my enthusiasm can, too, take a dip. When my tank is feeling low, I know these three tracks can fill me up and keep me going.
What's a belief or opinion you've completely changed your mind about over the years?
How we communicate—seriously, no bias here either. Even though communicating helped us thrive as a species, we really aren’t that great at it. People are misunderstanding, misrepresenting, or falsely assuming one another more and more, it seems. One possible cause is that we forgot how to listen. It’s hard, but listening and understanding have completely changed how I think about communicating with another person.
What is a book, movie, or piece of art that changed the way you see the world?
Top of mind would be The Jungle Book (book) and The Princess Bride (movie).
The Jungle Book was the first book I remember reading as a kid. This story supercharged my imagination, and it was so impactful on younger me that I may have grown into a different person had I not read it.
The Princess Bride... Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...This brilliant meta-narrative had all the right ingredients for a story-loving kid to quote incessantly.
If you could solve one global problem instantly, what would it be?
Food.
When I think back to some of my best memories of growing up, food is a big part in them. From my grandmother making me tacos when I’d come over or the way my dad and I would celebrate a tough week with a hearty meal.We use food to say, “Thank you” or “I’m sorry” or “I love you.” Food makes us happy and comforts us. We use food to feel better, feel safe. Few things can bring us together or make us feel like a meal can.
And yet, our relationship with food is...complicated. We’re completely removed from where our food comes from, what’s in it, or how it arrives to us. Some have an overabundance and throw it out without a second thought, while others have little to no access to it. There is an escalating global food crisis. Food security, production, and access are complicated problems to solve or even agree on; one thing we can agree on is that people need food to live. For all our wealth and ingenuity, it means little if people are going to bed hungry.
What’s your spirit animal and why?
Golden Retriever.
Happy, smart, and fiercely loyal. I feel happy knowing others feel better just by having me around, as though my mission in life is helping others with theirs.
If you could send a message to your younger self, what would you say?
The only thing you can ever be is yourself. If you're bettering yourself, you're bettering the world because you're a part of it.
...Oh, and here’s a list of stocks to invest in early.