My journey
Some people grow into their passions.
I’ve spent my entire life following mine.
EARLY CONNECTIONS
I’ve always loved how photos can capture a moment and tell a story long after we’ve forgotten the details. Growing up in Toledo, Ohio, I spent my time ripping out magazine photos of my favorite 80s bands to make scrapbooks and setting up mini photo shoots in my basement during slumber parties. I saved my allowance to buy my first point-and-shoot camera as soon as I had enough money. Looking back at some of those images (yep, I still have them), I’m transported right back to my childhood. Photography wasn’t just a hobby for me, it was an obsession.
I knew pretty early on that I wanted to continue on an artistic path. I packed my bags for college in St. Louis where I studied advertising design and earned a degree in Graphic Communications. I set my sights on Chicago after graduation, and started my first career as an art director in an ad agency. That’s where I learned the power of visual storytelling—and also how much joy I get from that process. Trying to reach a specific audience with your message and still feel fresh and clever was no easy feat. But it sure was fun.
A NEW CHAPTER OUT WEST
In the early 2000s, I traded snow boots for the California sunshine and moved into the world of magazine publishing, producing national publications, collaborating with editors and designers, managing workloads, budgets, and deadlines. I learned production inside and out: print, digital, pre-press, app development—you name it. I became the calm in the chaos; the one who could take a giant, messy project and turn it into a beautifully structured plan.
Always feeling the pull of a new challenge, I also launched a few ventures along the way: a children’s t-shirt company that I started with my college roommate, and later a creative studio where I built websites and helped small businesses with branding and social media. Each experience taught me something new about balancing creativity and systems, and about the power of visual storytelling to connect people and ideas.
Both of my parents are gone now, taking with them stories I never got to hear and questions I ran out of time to ask.
THE PRESENT TENSE
But beyond the titles and projects, I’m also a mother, a wife, and a daughter. Family is my foundation. I’m the mom who insists on taking first-day-of-school photos in the backyard every year while my daughters roll their eyes. They may not appreciate it now, but those memories will be priceless to them in time.
My husband, Andrew, a talented novelist who understands story like few people do, is my partner in all of this. We both know and appreciate how stories connect us, define us, and outlast us.
Both of my parents are gone now, taking with them stories I never got to hear and questions I ran out of time to ask. Losing them showed me that our images and narratives aren’t simply keepsakes—they’re how we connect past to future, how we preserve what makes us who we are.
COMING FULL CIRCLE
Somewhere along this winding timeline, it finally dawned on me. I’ve been preparing my whole life to help people organize their memories.
Picture It Photo Solutions is where every version of me converges:
– The kid who loved photos.
– The artist who understands visual storytelling.
– The designer who knows what makes something feel elevated and intentional.
– The project manager who builds systems that turn photo chaos into calm.
– The wife and mom who cherishes the small, everyday moments that make up a family’s story.
– The daughter who knows, from experience, how precious those memories become once the people we love are gone.
Now, I get to help people preserve the stories that matter the most to them.
And that feels like exactly where I’m meant to be.
Ready to begin?
I would love to help you with your precious memories.
Together, we can transform your overwhelm into a collection that you can share, enjoy, and take pride in for years to come. Let’s talk about how we can work together.
