Where do you work?
I work at Ingenuity, a public-private arts strategy, advocacy and grant-making entity that ensures the arts are a central component of U.S. public education. The organization has driven the most progress in Chicago arts education in nearly four decades! As the Communications & Storytelling Manager, I help build internal systems and develop digital campaigns and communications that supports our programmatic strategies and engages arts education advocates to increase arts equity in Chicago Public Schools.

How long have you been involved with Women Unite!?
I started with Women Unite! in the summer of 2023. I was looking for opportunities to grow my network and was drawn to the organization’s socially and politically inclusive and aware use of language, diverse members, women wiser than me whom I could learn from, and a community with an intense sense of leadership and storytelling skill. Everything just aligned with what I was looking for, so I applied and now here we are!

What’s an issue you care deeply about? Why?
I care deeply about intersectionality of social political issues: racial justice, LGBTQ+, women’s rights, education equity, and poverty alleviation. I care about communities getting their basic needs met through mutual aid efforts, while simultaneously working to get to the root cause of injustice through policy and advocacy work. The more I grow and learn, the more I feel inspired by the many organizations organizing their communities to build a more just and compassionate world together! 

What’s a hobby you have?
Vintage styling and interior design. I also love baking! I love health and wellness activities, dance, reading, collaging, writing, and watching a good crime show. 

What gives you hope?
Building healthy, mutually beneficial relationships gives me hope. Communicating openly and honestly about complex issues that affect marginalized identities gives me hope. Learning to be vulnerable about our areas of growth gives me hope. These behaviors and conversations remind me that we are putting in the work to evolve as individuals and as a society. Noam Chomsky said it best, “Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better it’s unlikely that you will step up and take responsibility for making it so. If you assume that there’s no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope.”

What are 2–3 ways you’ve been getting through the fall of late-stage capitalism?
I’ve been reading a lot of Sheila Heti and Melissa Broder this year. I’m admittedly a very serious person, but in today’s world, it’s so important to find a balance between deep thinking and humor. These two writers write explore the complexities of being a woman in the most liberating and delicious way.

Fun/random fact you want to share?
I am obsessed with my gray tortoise cat named Early Girl. I was an Au Pair in Paris after college because I had to have an adventure I could write about. My college professor dated Sylvia Plath.

What’s one of your favorite local businesses?
Oh, there are too many to count. I was raised by a small business owner, so I am a big supporter of shopping small …

• Mexican food: Tata’s Tacos

• Vintage furniture: @littleoasis

• Vintage styling: @ABELShop

• Books: Semicolon or Myopic

• Coffee: Perkolator in Portage Park

• Bath Bombs: @nastybubbles