A Little Bit About Me.

Born and raised in the outside of Chicago, I am through and through a Midwesterner.

I grew up in the suburbs of a cosmopolitan city, but also on a lake in rural Illinois.  I am as comfortable in the urban jungle as I am in the rolling hills of the plains.  I have been very athletic my whole life and some of my favorite activities include swimming, scuba diving, downhill and cross-country skiing, tennis, running, yoga, and boxing.  I played soccer in high school and rowed eights for my university in England.  I also played percussion for 14 years, including touring with the University of Michigan Drumline. 

Any spare hour I have is usually spent reading, writing, and running.  I love hiking, biking, and camping on the weekends. I have traveled extensively throughout my life and below is a small taste of my adventures.

I am an actor and model based in New York City. I trained with William Esper and at the People's Improv Theater. I have shot with Patrick Demarchelier and Steven Meisel. I am teleprompter and ear prompter proficient. I am an experienced voiceover actor and I am represented by several agencies in NY, Chicago, Miami, London, and Hong Kong.

In addition to my life in front of the camera, I have extensive experience and a deep passion for startups and the startup ecosystem. I have started two companies, one a mobile SAAS company and another is Happyface, a collection of designer pollution masks, along with AIRVEIL, a patented nanotechnology respiratory filter, and Breathe by j. malo, a collection of premium luxury respiratory masks. You can read my founder’s story and shop the collections. Additionally, I consult startups and investors on the fundraising process, making introductions to world-class opportunities via my company, Summerset Capital.

I have been a CEO since the start of 2014. As the CEO of a small fashion business, I have learned product design, team management, materials sourcing, manufacturing, branding, business development, digital marketing and sales, social media marking, logistics, fundraising, organic marketing, customer support, retail sales, wholesale sales, e-commerce store management, Amazon sales, and more in the fashion /healthcare space. I am now focused on learning and excelling the finance and fundraising industry.

I am an experienced event coordinator and marketing specialist, having worked for several companies in New York City. I have consulted in business development for a few media companies.