Thanks so much for having me! I have to admit – I was a weird kid. At nine years old, while everyone else my age was into shows like Even Stevens or Spongebob Squarepants, my favorite TV show was C.S.I. I was obsessed, believing that the gruesome accounts I witnessed through my television every week were real, and for a short time swore that I would one day become a crime scene investigator myself. My world changed, however, when I discovered that the entire show was fabricated by a cast and crew – from that moment on, I knew I wanted to do something in the entertainment industry; I wanted to help create worlds that were that realistic for an audience. I was able to find a mailing address for the show and wrote to them about not only how much I loved the show, but that I had written a character for myself to be cast in the show. I still remember her name – Courtney Wilson. To my surprise, a few weeks later, my parents received a call from the show, telling us all about how the entire cast and crew read and loved my letter. In the following days, I received a box full of signed memorabilia from the cast. It was everything my nine-year-old self could have wanted, and the encouragement I received from C.S.I. helped keep alive my dream to pursue an artistic path. Thank you, C.S.I.!

Like so many Angelinos, I moved here from out-of-state (Texas), and began sending resumes to anyone and everyone who was accepting. Eventually, I landed my first production assistant role – I worked at a prestigious trailer and marketing agency. It was an incredible way to see firsthand the post production process and I was a hungry PA ready to learn everything. I befriended as many staff as I could, and when able to, was able to sit in on or even help out with certain projects. My work ethic paid off and in time I became a production coordinator for the company. From there, I’ve spent the past number of years growing my career and skill sets in ways I never dreamed possible. While serving in my last post role as a Post Supervisor, I befriended a colleague and filmmaker, Joseph Kornbrodt, who helped me break into the documentary world. The work helped me pivot out of post-production and into film production, a long time career goal of mine. I currently work as a freelance producer and production manager for narrative and documentary projects, as well as co-run HEK Yeah!, an LA-based production company. My partners, Heather Mingo and Elvira Ibragimova, are both phenomenal filmmakers and have been a steadfast source of strength and inspiration. Our first short film, Shit on Your Lip, will be hitting the festival circuit soon! It’s been one “hek” of a ride growing my career, and I’m forever grateful for the wealth of knowledge it’s given me as a professional.

2019 was the year of the ‘car’ for me. After starting the year with my car of over 11 years finally dying on me, I used all of my savings to buy a used car, which unfortunately was totaled by a hit-and-run drunk driver two weeks (to the day) after I bought it. Thanks to a loophole in my insurance, I lost all of the money I put into the car, leaving me financially distraught. To make matters worse, I worked too far away at the time to not have a car, so I buried myself in debt as I purchased another used car. My situation left me so destitute that I began preparing to live in my vehicle; a sadly all too realistic tale for so many who live in Los Angeles. But just when all hope seemed lost, something crazy (and completely random) happened – I got invited to attend an episode of The Price is Right. And my name heard those magic words to “Come on Down”! My luck that day helped me walk away with a brand new car, which I then sold and used the money to pay off the debt I had wound up in that year. Who would have thought that a situation started by bad car luck would end with good car luck?

I’ve always admired Wes Anderson. Not only for his creative vision, but for the fact that he can always wrangle the same motley crew together to make a project. I love that. The idea of finding a group of like-minded, creative individuals who want to keep working with you? Sounds better than being in a relationship! Maybe it’s because I come from a theatre background, but I’ve always been driven by finding artists whom I can form lifelong career paths with. That’s the mission – build a dream team of collaborators. It’s like growing your family. And I feel so fortunate to have already found some of those individuals. Cheers to making great work and continuing to grow that team!