About Me

A Design Journey

My journey to becoming a designer was circuitous. Growing up in pre-Internet Hockessin, Delaware, I had a creative drive that lacked clear direction. As a child, this creativity manifested in storytelling, creating adventures for the mix of Star Wars, Transformers, and other figurines that populated the worlds my brother and I imagined.

In my pre-teen years, I traded figures for paper and ink, telling stories through hand-drawn comics. This era also sparked my interest in typography, inspired by my grandfather who showed me how to add depth to block letters. Yet, I never considered becoming an artist—at this point, I was convinced my destiny was to be an actor.

High school and college focused on performance and stagecraft. I wrote, directed, and performed in high school, college, community, and semi-professional theaters and festivals. This experience fostered an appreciation for having an audience receive creative work. A year-long break from college to perform at Disney World revealed the high standards possible in creating a delightful user experience.

After college, I put my English/Drama degree from the University of Delaware to use by co-founding the Delaware Shakespeare Festival. This labor of love offered opportunities to perform and create, and became a way to give back to my childhood community. It also allowed me to explore new ventures like building and marketing a business.

Moving into Web Design

On my journey through theatre and Shakespeare, I stumbled upon two captivating discoveries: the World Wide Web exists and I understood how to build it. Web design was in its infancy—so new that I couldn't find a single class on the subject, but through exploration and trial-and-error, I developed the skills to build a web design portfolio. In Web Design I found the culmination of so many passions: blended storytelling, artistry, product development, audience building, marketing, and brand creation. The Web beckoned, and I eagerly answered its call.

I was hired into the dot-com boom. Businesses clamored to establish an online presence, and people who knew how to make it happen were in demand. I found my niche in agencies, launching websites for clients like Wawa, United Way, Bank of America (then MBNA), and the State of Delaware—with the latter earning the award for Best State Website.

After years of the excitement of agency life, I was drawn to see projects evolve and grow post-launch. When I moved to Washington, DC, I made a commitment: find a company I believed in and with work in-house. This resolution led me to The Motley Fool, where I've spent nearly two decades as a principal designer.

So much Foolishness

The Motley Fool provided an opportunity I sought to get to know an audience and their needs and work towards providing the right solutions. I was invited to join a two-year, MBA-esque internal executive leadership program, and led teams building solutions across UX, Brand, Marketing, Product, and Tech. Most recently I took over Art Direction for the Motley Fool Investment Management regulated businesses.