Designer & Developer | San Francisco, California

Got my first real, official office!

​I had always discounted the usefulness of paying for a “real” office, especially since I always had a home office, but with the rise of the co-working trend, I simply gave in. It’s proven to be an incredible boost to my productivity and creative mindset. Not to mention, it’s just plain swanky. :) Doncha think?

Moved to San Francisco!

I actually grew up in Northern California; my family left for the East Coast when I was 6. It was a design conference in San Francisco in 2006 that brought me back to California for the first time as an adult. I realized then that I had always felt Californian at heart, and wanted ever since then to move back. Well, this was finally my moment, and a huge coming home for me. :)

Completed NewMe as Class of Spring 2012

NewMe is a startup accelerator program backed by Google, HP, & Andreesen-Horowitz. I got to participate as part of the Butlr team in the spring 2012 cycle, where I met Silicon Valley luminaries like Ben Horowitz and Mitch Kapor. It was an awe-inspiring experience where I grew incredibly as a designer and entrepreneur.

After three months of intense mentorship and axe-grinding, we all got to present our startups on demo day at Google, where this lovely pic was taken. And​ yes, I am the one in the yellow pants. Who else?

Started my own branding agency called Truth & Soul, Inc.

…with John Gonnella, a former boss of mine at Digitas. We worked out of John’s swanky loft in the South End of Boston. Clients we retained included KB Toys, National DCP, and CaseSight (which we had rebranded from “ATI Technologies”).

Started working at Digitas

​I was down to the last $100 or so in my checking account (the move back to Boston depleted my finances, what can I say?), and after extensive interviews, got a call from Digitas that I was being offered the position of Production Designer there. It was to be my first real “career” job. 

I was thrilled, to say the least, and I credit this experience as the one where I cut my teeth as a professional designer, where I learned a spectacular amount about digital marketing and advertising.

Moved Back to Boston

It was time to face the music. My studies at Full Sail came to an end and I missed the urban life of Boston desperately. Not to mention all my friends still living there. So, naturally, I moved back.

And so this city boy was content again. :)

Graduated from Full Sail

​After a grueling 14-month long accelerated program studying Digital Media, I graduated from Full Sail with a big happy grin on my face, ready to embark on my career as a designer.

Moved to Orlando to Study Digital Media

Despite my love for all forms of the arts (I was studying 3 of them at Northeastern), I finally decided to focus in on the one I realized I was best at: the visual arts — specifically, design. Full Sail University in Florida offered an accelerated program in Digital Media that I was totally psyched about, so I transferred schools and have never looked back since.

My Summer as an Orientation Leader at Northeastern University

​I spent the summer after my freshman year in college welcoming in the next batch of freshman in at Northeastern. It taught me a lot about leadership, being true to yourself, and the value of true friends. Yup, pretty much all the sappy stuff you can learn about in the movies. :)

While that was all well and good, it was also the first time I ever got paid to do design stuff like posters! A light bulb went on in my head of course, and I started to think about change course in my studies…

Studied Music, Theatre, & Graphic Design at Northeastern University

Not all at the same time, of course. I did what every good American college student is obliged to do: endlessly switched my majors.

Studied Abroad in Germany

​One of the most amazing experiences of my life. I spent a year living with a German host family, went to school like any other typical German teenager, made life-long friends, and of course, learned German — yes, fluently. And yes it was hard, but not as hard as you think :)