I AM.

I am an Emmy-award winning coach, creative strategist, podcaster, writer, teacher and social worker who has been helping nonprofits, publishers, authors, small business and career changers tell their stories for 20 plus years.

TEACHER.
I serve as a Lecturer (and part-time faculty) at Lake Forest College. I teach LOOP 202: Professional Development in the 21st Century and Liberal Arts and The Workplace.

NONPROFIT LEADER.
I worked at Prevent Child Abuse America from 2007-2016, including serving as the Senior Director of Strategic Communications. While there, I introduced the organization to social media, wrote and managed grants from the CDC and Doris Duke, served as staff lead on the current strategic plan, and co-scripted the 2010 Emmy award-winning Ounce of Prevention of Florida “Prevent Child Abuse” public service campaign.

CREATIVE STRATEGIST.

I serve as Principal, HEFT Creative Strategies, where I believe in helping human beings and organizations be their best selves through story and have consulted with a range of organizations including Leo Burnett, Content R|S, lylole, Jeff Pfaller, Inc., Human Elements, lylole, Koan, The Montana Institute and The Center for Advanced Emotional Intelligence.

PUBLICIST.
I worked to support the emergence of Chicago publisher Curbside Splendor, where I played an active role in the acquisition, launch, and/or promotion of a number of acclaimed books including May We Shed These Human Bodies by Amber Sparks and Don't Start Me Talkin' by Tom Williams. More recently I've been working with the ascendant Green Writers Press on promoting a series of award-winning and timely books including Finding God in Ordinary Time by Christine Eberle, Offline by Brian Adams, and The Coffeehouse Resistance by Sarina Prabasi, as well as working with independent authors such as Greg Olear and Hosho McCreesh on Dirty Rubles and Chinese Gucci respectively.

PODCASTER.

I produce and host This Podcast Will Change Your Life, which was launched in February 2010, focuses on on authors and changemakers from around the country and the world, and was named by Elephant Journal as one of "The 10 Best Podcasts to Help you Change your Life." I also produce and co-host The Blank Slate Podcast with Sam Tanios, which focuses on small businesses owwners, the pandemic, being nimble and engaging in a dialog about what’s possible now, where to find hope and what can be accomplished if we work together.

AND.

And I help people tell their stories.

Amidst all of the sadness and horror there is this, UPSTATE, a refresh, and re-release, of my short story collection The New York Stories.