About me
What I do and why I do it.
There’s a defining picture of me stored away in an album somewhere at my parents’ house. In it, I’m no more than nine years old, asleep in bed with a pencil still in my hand, sweaty face pressed against the lined pages of a notebook. I’ve been obsessed with storytelling and the written word since that young age, when I would sit in the corner of our living room, devouring books or writing my own essays about everything I saw all around me.
As I grew older, I realized we all have that same obsession. Even those who aren’t writers or who wouldn’t even consider themselves readers. We are all obsessed with storytelling. Stories are what have carried humankind through the centuries. They are how we’ve communicated our history, our culture, our purpose. From ancient cave carvings to modern-day novels and Netflix documentaries, content is what we crave — we want to be pulled in by a story that captures our imagination and our emotions so deeply that we keep saying just one more page, just one more episode.
Those are the stories I want to tell.
Editorial
My editorial career has spanned two decades, covering both print and digital media, and both as in-house staff and as a freelance contributor. My editorial roles have included: Lead Editor for the personal finance websites GreedyRates.ca and MoneyUnder30.com; Managing Online Editor for the Travel+Escape television network; Associate Website Editor for the pension and benefits trade magazine Benefits Canada; and Associate Editor for the law and accounting publisher CCH Canadian Limited.
In addition to writing and editing for the above-noted publishers, my work has appeared in Canadian and American publications such as Toronto Star, The Globe & Mail, Hamilton Spectator, Afar, Taste & Travel, Eat Drink Travel, Cottage Life, Dolce Vita, Lush Luxury, The Circumference, Diabetes Dialogue, Advisor’s Edge, ConsumerAffairs, Remoters.net, Bar & Beverage Business Magazine, Western Restaurant News, Western Grocer, blogTO, Toronto.com, NOW Magazine and others. I hold a certificate in magazine publishing from Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) in Toronto, Canada.
Marketing
There is a delicate line between editorial writing and content marketing — both require creative writing skills, a sharp editing eye and a knack for storytelling, but there are subtle differences and responsibilities for a brand to consider when entering the content space. As someone who has worked on both sides, I understand the nuances and how traditional journalism skills fit into brand marketing.
As a marketer and copywriter, I have worked on content campaigns for a mix of global brands, including Air Asia, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Eurail, King Blue Condos, Scotiabank, Chrysler Canada and the National Ballet of Canada, to name a few. I also ghostwrite for the Great Place to Work Institute, which includes producing their advertorial pieces for Fortune magazine. In my previous role as the Global Marketing Manager for Urban Adventures, the world’s largest day tours operator and a division of Intrepid Travel, I led marketing efforts for co-branded product collaborations with world-renowned publishers Lonely Planet and The New York Times.
