Let me take you back to the beginning. I'm young, like really young. I don't even remember how young I was but I do remember is what I was watching and I also remember the feeling of a passion igniting inside of me. I was watching the 13" television in my parents room. Sesame Street was on. No, I don't remember what the segment was about but I know I was sitting cross legged on the floor looking up at the screen. The image of a stage dissolved onto the television. From house right of the theater a ballerina in a long, white romantic tutu stepped out onto the stage. She did a pique arabesque. I was hooked.

 

This was the first time I had ever seen a ballerina.

​

For what seemed like forever, I begged my mom to let me start dance. There was a school in Springfield, Tennessee. It had huge windows and you could see classes going on from the street. We passed this school often because my mom worked in Springfield.

​

Money was tight for my family. Dance was not in the budget but my mom made it work. She picked up jobs cleaning, sewing and probably a lot more I have no idea about. Like so many other things, she made it happen.

​

I was involved in dance until well into my adulthood. Performing with a ballet company, where we built out own sets and made our own costumes, had started me on my creative journey.

​

As an adult, I taught at a ballet school for 10 years. I was also working for a medical billing company (for a creative, a very soul-sucking job). While at church, they were asking for volunteer camera operators. I immediately thought, 'I can do that'. They really took a chance on me. I had no clue but am a quick learner. After 6 months of volunteering, I was hired as a part-time intern, 6 months later I was hired as their broadcast manager. I had definitely found a new passion. Filmmaking.

​

After working for that church for a few years I decided I wanted to travel. I was hired as a videographer for CBN. During the 12 years I've worked with CBN, I married a photographer. I learned how to shoot stills, and picked up some pretty advanced graphic design skills.

​

What am I up to now? I serve on the board of Middle Tennessee Youth Ballet, a non-profit children's company. I work directly with the dancers as well as handle their media and marketing. I serve on the board, film and edit for Beyond the Call, a non-profit that is dedicated to documenting the first-hand accounts of WWII veterans. We have traveled around the world to capture over 25 veterans stories. We have several episodes out, I encourage you o visit the Beyond the Call website to check them out. 

 I also serve on the board of a non-profit youth ballet company, Middle Tennessee Youth Ballet. MTYB provides scholarships to highly motivated dance students with the technical training, artistic development, practical experience, and performance opportunities needed to excel in dance. As a board member, I help to make strategical decisions regarding the direction of this nonprofit organization....whew!