I have worked within every context of the dance field from freelance to commercial to nonprofit.

As a creative I have been a performer, choreographer, educator, director, and a lifelong student of dance.

As an administrator I’ve worked in education, membership, marketing, programs, fundraising, community partnerships, financial management, strategic planning and operations.

As I always say, there is no linear path in dance, only intersections.

To date I have provided 1:1 personalized career and business coaching support for 54 dance artists over 157 Sessions.

The mechanics of having dance be a thriving part of life is anything but straightforward. My goal is to equip dedicated dancers with the practical tools, tailored knowledge, and strong connections needed to fulfill their artistic endeavors without sacrificing their values or need to make a living!

In 2013 I founded a nonprofit called Dance Wire. Dance Wire was the only dance service organization in the Pacific Northwest region. Our Mission Pillars were Prosperity, Visibility, and Inspiration.

Over the 11 years I built and evolved Dance Wire, I learned every single role within the organization - from grant writing to bookkeeping to HR, program development to strategic planning, website to marketing and everything in between.

More info at dancewirepdx.org

For 11 years I was part of Dance/USA’s Service Organization Council - a national network of organizations who serve the dance communities of Boston, LA, Chicago, New York, Miami, Houston and more. From 2022-2024, during a complicated, post-pandemic moment for the dance field, I served as Council Chair.

As Council Chair, I led leaders of these orgs, with a birds-eye view of their communities through a methodical exploration of the national and local dance landscapes, examining how things were shifting in real time. We mapped the different stages of a dancer’s career, identified pain points at each stage, and assessed the components of a healthy dance ecosystem. We shared insights from our respective cities, discussing what worked, what didn’t, and where systemic cracks were forming or already existed. We all felt a deep concern about the future of funding channels in the dance world.

This work was one of the first sparks that eventually grew into Dance at the Intersection.

Earlier in my career, I skipped around the globe from Missoula, Montana, to Los Angeles to Paris, before finally landing in Portland, Oregon. In all these places, I have danced and worked with numerous dance companies in various stages of development.

Notably:

• I was a founding member of Diavolo’s Education Program where I helped turn their artistic performances and values into a curriculum that met the required California VAPA Teaching Standards. I then performed and taught that curriculum throughout LA.

• I pioneered an Education Program for Aerial Without Limits (AWOL) in Portland, while also choreographing and performing for the company.

• I served as Development Specialist for White Bird – a dance presenter who brings nationally and internationally acclaimed dance to Portland.

• I served as Interim Program Director for Conduit where I assisted the 20-year-old organization through a major transition after losing their space.

In 2011 I learned that the mysterious pain I had been experiencing in my hip since college was due to hip dysplasia, a congenital condition I had from birth. I made the decision to go through with a major hip surgery (Periacetabular Osteotomy) which threw my dance career for a loop and inspired my book Anatomy Riot which I self-published in 2012.

Since my book was featured on the International Hip Dysplasia Institute’s website and Facebook group, I am now marginally famous amongst dancers with hip dysplasia or people who have undergone the same type of surgery.