My education, experience & skills
This page outlines my professional background and skillset. You can also download my CV for additional details on my research, career, and communications experience.
Trained neuroscientist with coursework in digital communications & marketing
I first took an interest in anatomy and neuroscience in high school, and followed it into a biology major and neuroscience minor in undergrad, where Anatomy & Physiology I and II, Brain & Behavior, and Advanced Biological Psychology became my favorite classes.
In graduate school, I trained under Bart Borghuis at the University of Louisville, studying the mechanistic underpinnings of the central nervous system, using the retina as a model. My work with retinal ganglion cells drew on electrophysiology, two-photon and confocal microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and MATLAB coding.
After receiving my PhD, I earned a certificate in Digital Communications & Marketing from the Parsons School of Design, completing courses that included Fundamentals of Digital Marketing & Communications, Social Media Marketing, and Programmatic, Mobile & Native Marketing.
Teaching, mentorship & outreach
Since undergrad, I've been driven to share what excites me most about science and help others understand it. I was a TA for the Anatomy & Physiology lab at UNCW, preparing labs, teaching specimen dissection, and instructing students on anatomy and physiology. In graduate school, I TA'd for Fundamentals of Neuroscience, Advanced Head and Neck Anatomy, and Synaptic Organization of the CNS.
As outreach coordinator, and later director, of the Science Policy & Outreach Group at the University of Louisville, I built mentorship opportunities, speaker series, and community events that brought science to the public and gave graduate students a chance to teach and mentor. That work took many forms: sitting on the board of the Louisville Regional Science & Engineering Fair, partnering with the Kentucky Science Center, serving as outreach coordinator for the Louisville chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, and starting new partnerships with local schools like Waggener High and Olmstead Middle.
Mentorship from science communicators & leadership at a world-class institute
Since May of 2023, I've worked at HHMI's Janelia Research Campus, a world-class research institute that hosts top scientists from around the world. Being there has meant learning directly from some of the best in the field: science communicators, social media managers, internal communications specialists, and external communications experts, alongside mentorship from senior leadership and management coaching courses.
This environment has enabled me to build out a diverse skillset in multiple areas: communications strategy, digital marketing, social media management, videography, branded photography, digital and print asset creation, and custom HTML/CSS page building and content management on the institute's Cloudflare-hosted website.
Expanding my creative skillset through personal projects
During grad school, I fell in with Louisville's art scene right as my partner picked up photography full time. We became immersed in the city's photography community, eventually starting our own business and running a studio out of the Mellwood Art Center. This kick started my experience with creative direction, photo editing in Lightroom, posing instruction, figure illustration, and picking up a camera myself now and then.
Once I started my job as a Scientific Communications & Outreach Manager, branded photography and natural light portraiture became a core part of my professional work, while I continued personal photography with my partner, from weddings and family sessions to elopements, and more.
A diverse skillset for communications work
My background in scientific research gives me the fluency to translate complex material, conduct market research, and analyze results to improve future campaigns. Formal training in digital marketing and informal mentorship from experienced communicators have sharpened my strategy, and years of hands-on creative work in photography, design, and videography let me execute that strategy myself, end to end. The result is a skillset built for the full content pipeline: someone who can shape the message, write and design the content, get it in front of the right audience, and use the results to make the next round stronger.
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Adobe Lightroom
Premiere Pro
Illustrator
InDesign
Canva
Procreate
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Photography (Canon 24–105)
Videography (DJI Osmo)
Lightroom Classic
Premier Pro
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User experience
Visual design
Content creation
Website strategy (goals, audience, conversion)
Squarespace
Custom HTML & CSS
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Hootesuite
MailChimp
Workshop
Bluesky and X
LinkedIn
Instagram
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Microsoft Planner
Notion
Project planning and scoping
Data analysis and reporting