I was born and raised on my family farm, where cows and wheat fields were the norm and everyone knew everyone in our small Manitoba town. This kind of neighbourly love shaped my writing as I wrote story after story - fiction and reality - of everyday connections.

When an opportunity to work in London, England opened up at the age of 24, I carried those homegrown beliefs with me as I picked up my life in Canada and started over abroad for the next ten years. 

I was thrown into the marketing and communications world. For starters, I had to raise the funds for my salary. With sheer determination, I fundraised my salary within four months with committed monthly contributors and launched my life abroad. For the next 10 years, I raised over $350K and I kept my stakeholders apprised of the work I was doing through email campaigns, social media, and blogs. Work that included:

• Social enterprises—one of which I created the Public Relations department;

• Collaborated on starting a coffee shop in East London;

• Church leadership;

• Public speaking to audiences of up to 1,200 and live TV interviews;

• And lastly, diving deep into the world of social justice—from being a founding member to a now successful anti-trafficking organization to sitting on an advisory board to the UK government on the now 2014 Modern Slavery Act. 

The part of those 10 years that stood out to me was authoring my first book in collaboration with a social enterprise bakery—Rising Hope. I sat with women who shared their stories of escaping some of the most unjust and horrific circumstances. I saw the power of words in those moments and how they connected with the audience that read their stories. Silence is a thief of empowerment, but as these women shared their experiences of resilience, a connection was made and hope surfaced.

As Bobette Buster put it, “Stories are the fire we carry to each other” and everyone has a story. Reconnecting the humanity behind the brand or behind the person is vital to our stories and businesses. Whether it’s our brand, a funny first date, fighting for your dream job, or healing from loss, our words carry the power to reconnect humanity by saying, “I see you.” 

Now, a published author, writer, and marketing and communications consultant, I’m putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys) to reconnect humanity and create familiarity in a world full of billions of strangers.

Check out my previously published writing and my newest addition, MeetCUTE blog.