In college, I interned at Texas Monthly, learning the ins & outs of publishing. At the same time, I was writing and designing my honors thesis, a magazine called Aspire. This experience, no doubt, opened the door for me to work at Plano Profile, a lifestyle magazine in Collin County that has since rebranded itself to Local Profile. I landed my dream job working at a magazine—and I was only 25. I covered community events, local restaurants, and interviewed more than 100 nonprofit leaders, published authors and local celebrities. I also joined Leadership Plano, Class XXV. It was a huge responsibility being the "voice" of the community, but I worked with a dynamic team to publish a well-respected magazine.
Another milestone in my career was in 2012 when I became the Director of Communications for Every Orphan's Hope, a ministry that builds homes for orphans and widows in Africa. One widow becomes a "mama" to nine orphans and together, they form a family. I traveled to Zambia to hear their stories of overcoming poverty and finding strength in God. I photographed their beautiful smiles and recorded their voices to design audio greeting cards for their sponsors. The audio cards were a reminder to sponsors that their monthly investment was far more than a monetary transaction.
Before Every Orphan's Hope, I took a position at Hilton Worldwide as a Content Editor, writing copy and editing photos for Hilton's elite family of brands. Mostly, I worked on their largest brand, Hampton Inn.
I love both digital and print media. From 2009–2017, I was a freelancer, and eventually Managing Editor, for Richardson Living magazine where I worked under the pseudonym Joy Rhodes. I have worked with several clients as a freelance writer or graphic designer, including Pizzeria Testa, Sci-Tech Discovery Center and Destination Imagination. I've also contracted for an agency, Tandem Theory, and their client Sally Beauty. I mostly wrote copy for emails and store signs pushing the latest beauty trends, but I also developed a style guide for Sally's 400+ brands to ensure consistent communication.
My passion is creative storytelling. I hope you enjoy my work!
