At the heart of it, the work I do is translation. Of words, ideas, perspectives, and feelings.

I am using the term “translation” broadly, here. This comes out of a huge respect for (and practice of!) translation work—digging into what a person really means, and putting it into words that will make sense to any given audience.

For the past 18 years, I’ve had the privilege of working with people from all over the world, from many different walks of life — from activists, to oncologists, restaurant owners, migrant workers, plastic surgeons, and government officials. For the same amount of time, I’ve also trained as an actor, which has meant developing the ability to understand what people are fighting for, their histories, and how those things color their actions and behaviors. These two facets of my life are deeply intertwined, and have given me the opportunity to understand people and draw connections compassionately.

When given the opportunity, I can help people hear and see each other better—whether that is among team members, among family members, or among acquaintances and strangers. In the wise words of Erykah Badu, “What good do your words do, if they don’t understand you?”

I’m honored that you are interested in partnering with me to tackle something, or if you are just here to take a look at my work and support!

If you’d like to learn more about my journey and how these things relate to radio, municipal government, and audiobook narration, check out my interview in VoyageLA. It doesn’t include the story about the time I was detained in Russia, or why food runs my life (and my family’s life), but there’s a lot there!