Communications is about people.
I’ve always been drawn to work that brings people, ideas, and organizations together.
My career began in the private sector, where I spent more than 15 years building teams, developing brands, growing customer relationships, and leading sales and marketing strategy. That experience taught me to think beyond the message—to understand the audience, the organization’s goals, and what ultimately moves people to action.
Today, I bring that perspective to strategic communications and public relations.
As Director of Marketing & Community Relations for J.O. Combs Unified School District, I lead communications, public relations, marketing, media relations, brand strategy, and community engagement. I also work closely with executive leadership to communicate complex issues, navigate challenges, and strengthen relationships with the communities we serve.
How I approach the work
I believe good communication starts with listening.
Before deciding what to say, I want to understand the people involved, what they need, what matters to them, and where there may be opportunities to build greater understanding.
My approach is collaborative, strategic, and grounded in relationships. I enjoy bringing people to the table, asking questions, finding common ground, and turning complicated information into communication that feels clear and human.
I’m equally comfortable thinking about the big picture and getting into the details required to make an idea happen.
And while strategy matters, I never want communication to lose its human side. Behind every audience, metric, campaign, or message are real people.
A different path to communications
One of the things I value most about my professional background is that it hasn't followed a perfectly straight line.
Before entering public education, I led sales and marketing teams responsible for multimillion-dollar portfolios and significant business growth. I learned how to lead teams, build relationships, understand customers, use data to make decisions, and connect strategy to measurable results.
Moving into public education gave me the opportunity to apply those skills in a different way.
Today, instead of measuring success primarily through revenue and growth, I also think about trust, engagement, reputation, understanding, and community impact.
The industries may be different, but the foundation has remained remarkably similar: understand people, build strong relationships, communicate clearly, and deliver results.
Always learning
Education has also been an important part of my own professional journey.
I hold a Master of Business Administration from Capella University and a Master of Science in Marketing from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Gies College of Business, along with a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Cal Poly Humboldt.
I’m a lifelong learner by nature. I enjoy exploring new ideas, learning from other leaders, and continuing to challenge how I think about communications, marketing, leadership, and organizational strategy.
Beyond the title
At the end of the day, titles and accomplishments only tell part of the story.
I care about doing meaningful work, being someone others enjoy working with, and leaving organizations and relationships stronger than I found them.
I believe you can be strategic without losing empathy, ambitious without losing perspective, and professional without losing your personality.
That’s the kind of leader—and communicator—I strive to be.
