Before I got to college, I was convinced I was going into physics. I loved understanding why things worked — the logic underneath the surface, the invisible systems that explained everything visible. Then I found graphic design, and realized I hadn't left that instinct behind — I'd just found a better way to use it.

Design, at its best, is applied reasoning. There's always a problem underneath the aesthetic: information that isn't landing, a community that doesn't feel included, a document too dense to navigate, a technical concept with no visual home. My job is to figure out why it isn't working — and make it work. That instinct has taken me from a freshman who thought she was going to study physics to designing statewide transportation plans, federal aviation studies, Vision Zero campaigns, and airport master plans across 15+ states.

I'm a graphic designer at Kimley-Horn, where I sit at the intersection of civil engineering and public communication. I also serve as our office's VP of Fun — a real, rotating role at Kimley-Horn responsible for keeping the team connected and the culture alive. Think office celebrations, summer outings, ice cream socials, and post-project victories done right. It's a role that gets handed to people who actually care about the humans around them, and I take it as seriously as any deadline.

The design work is equally specific: 508-compliant reports, brand systems built from zero, public engagement materials for communities that deserve clear information, and maps and infographics that make technical data legible to anyone in the room. I've shipped 55+ projects, and the through line across all of them is the same — complex in, clear out.

I studied graphic design at the University of Michigan, where coursework in product design, interaction design, typography, visual identity, and packaging taught me to think about design as a system, not a surface.

Outside of work I'm usually planning the next trip, finding a trail, or elbow-deep in a baking project — almost always something sweet. I believe good design and good baking share the same principle: the best results come from knowing the rules well enough to know exactly when to break them.