My mission in life is to engage, inform and delight audiences and keep them coming back for more. A Renaissance personality (yes, this is an official term) with many passions, I refuse to pick just one: Consultant, author, speaker, actress…..all of them relate to being a passionate and powerful storyteller.
By day, I run my own branding consultancy, Red Slice, and I have more than 20 years experience building brands, clarifying messaging, crafting marketing strategies and coaching companies on how to tell the right story to the right people at the right time. I’ve worked with large organizations such as Accenture, Monster.com and Discovery Networks in the past but now focus my consultancy on solo entrepreneurs and small to midsize growth businesses.
I’m also a published lifestyle writer, wine lover, trivia geek and an actress. To me, cash flow and creativity are not mutually exclusive.
On the acting front, I started in NYC at the tender age of six, when I got my big break in a Peak Freans Cookies TV commercial. I went on to do numerous commercials that involved playing with puppies (Minolta), playing the Statue of Liberty in a July 4th neighborhood parade (Pepsi) and impishly pissing off an older sister, causing her to exclaim “Leggo my Eggo!” In addition, I’ve done various voiceover projects, print ads and dabbled in film work, including an HBO Short Take and a small role in Nothing Lasts Forever. After my family moved to Ohio when I was 11, I did a few regional commercials but mostly stuck to high school theatre productions such as Charley’s Aunt, Annie, and You Can’t Take it With You and then tossed acting out the door in college to major in Marketing. What a rebel.
I pursued a career first as a management consultant and later as a marketing executive. Still nagged by the acting bug, however, I picked it up again in my spare time in 2004 , doing many San Francisco theatre productions, including playing Carol in David Mamet’s Oleanna and Billie in John Patrick Shanley’s Women of Manhattan. I also starred in Offbeat, a short film directed by George Manatos which went on to the 2008 Sacramento Film and Music Festival and the 2008 DC Short Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. Most recently, I starred in Miscellaneous Theories on Time, which was one of the six finalists for student films at the 2011 Mosaic Film Festival in LA and was an official selection at the Las Vegas 2011 Cinefest. And I do corporate videos and voiceover work from time to time.
From a writing standpoint, my first published book, Branding Basics for Small Business (2010, 2014 NorlightsPress) received praise from marketing experts, best-selling authors and small business owners all over the globe and is now in it’s 2nd edition. My second book, Rebooting My Brain, is a humorous and heartfelt memoir about my amazing 2008 recovery from a ruptured brain aneurysm. I’ve also released a series of mini eBooks called The Juicy Guides for Entrepreneurs. My blog at Red Slice offers wit and wisdom for creative hustlers and entrepreneurs and I also have a Huffington Post column, as well as many freelance articles to my name on business, food, theatre and wine.
Speaking is a personal passion and I’ve had the honor of keynoting numerous chapter meetings, trainings and large conferences. What can I say? Storytelling is in my bones!
With great success comes great responsibility so to give back and help those in need, I proudly support the ASPCA, UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders, among other worthwhile causes. Hailing from both New York and Ohio, I have called Chicago, Washington D.C., Indianapolis and Seattle home but am now permanently back in the San Francisco Bay Area. Joyful obsessions include wine, football, trivia games, travel, food, hiking, writing, Crossfit, indie films and crime drams. But most of all, I love hanging out with my hubby, adorable toddler son and frisky Black Lab mix.
Want to work with me, hire me to speak or cast me in your next role? Fabulous! Please do so right here.