About Me

I’ve tried on a lot of writing hats in my youth (journalism, grant writing, manuscript editing, and museum education), and trudged through plenty of non-writing jobs after college, finding ways to use my writing skills when I could. After many years of searching, I found a home in SEO writing.

I started my SEO journey at the rapidly-growing company Dealer Inspire, learning quickly how to reach the right audiences and answer search engine queries concisely without using black-hat tricks, keyword stuffing, or unnecessary fluff. I enjoyed researching new subjects every day and translating complex information into digestible content for the average reader. However, after two years of hard work, the things that I loved about SEO writing were not a major part of my job anymore, so it was time to move on.

Starting in the early months of the pandemic I swapped my 9-5 for a position as a volunteer copywriter at the Wheaton-based A.R.F.-Animal Rescue Foundation. I wrote blogs, press releases, social media posts, and email content with SEO in mind, all to help the organization raise their online profile and engage with the community. I was also flexing my writing muscles by publishing articles on Medium for my own personal growth and enjoyment.

In the fall of 2020, I got the amazing opportunity to work as a cheesemonger at my local cheese shop Marché, learning about artisan cheese and wine and most importantly how to market it. Not unlike the joy I found at Dealer Inspire, as a cheesemonger I find joy guiding customers through unfamiliar territory and making the intimidating world of high-end cheese and wine accessible to everyone. For example, not every patron knows what an aged sheep’s milk Gouda is going to taste like. But if I tell them it’s nutty, salty, and amazing shaved over a salad, I can see the excitement on their face as it clicks into place. That is one of my favorite parts of the job.

Of course, I couldn’t resist applying my copywriting skills behind the scenes at the cheese shop. I updated our training materials to guide new hires through our steep learning curve, I proofread our cheeses-of-the-month subscription newsletter, and I’ve begun auditing the website. But I’m not simply a spell-checker or a grammar fiend. I sing the anthem of customer usability. The questions that drive me are always, “Where can we improve to make ourselves more accessible for customers? How can we best get the message across on our website, in our menus, and in our store? How do we better help customers experience the joy of cheese and find things they love in our wide array of products and services?”