HELLO WORLD
I've had a knack for design and visual storytelling since middle school in the 1990s. Back then, it was expressed through HTML-customized AOL profiles and personal web pages on Geocities -- I'm dating myself here, I know.
By freshman year of high school, I was art directing and freelancing before I knew what those terms meant. I learned how to use Photoshop and Dreamweaver (again, dating myself here) and got hired by friends and local small businesses with their branding and online identities. By the time I got to college, I had spent my free time co-founding streetwear brands, photographing the NYC underground hip-hop and nightlife scenes, and designing websites.
Fast-forward to 2014, after college and working a decade at Apple as a technical leader in the retail stores, I officially flipped the switch from a technology-focused career to focus on my passion for cultivating brands. Since then, I've had different mid to senior leadership brand and agency roles.
You know what? 14-year-old me would be proud of me right now because a creative career wasn't what my parents dreamt for me when they came to America, but it is something that they now know and understand sparks joy in me, and I feel fortunate that I get to do what I do on a daily basis.