About Me: The Bullet Point Version

• I’m a freelance content writer, social media strategist, and content manager.
• I help study abroad providers connect with students, parents, alumni, and institutional partners.
• While 80% of my client work is in study abroad, I also love supporting independent artists and creative small business owners.
• Before freelancing, I spent seven years as a full-time social media strategist and content creator for what was then called CAPA The Global Education Network.
• I took on my first freelance client in 2016 (an artist on Eel Pie Island) and officially went full-time in 2017.
• CAPA stuck with me as a freelance client, and I continued to work with them for many more years, including on rebranding during their merger with CEA.
• My long-term retainer clients in the study abroad field include Academic Studies Abroad and EdOdyssey. 
• Instagram is the platform that brings me the most joy.
• I work remotely from Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands.
• I was born in Western New York, between Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
• I’ve lived abroad since 2007: In London for 16 years, in a small village in Colombia for six months, and in Spain since 2023.
• On Etsy, I sell photography prints from my travels. 
• I also sell downloadable resources for study abroad students and families living abroad.
• I live with my husband Jorge, kids Emilia and Sebastian, and our cat Oakley.
• I love travel, tea, books, long walks, photography, trying new foods, markets, anything creative, the scent of cedar and eucalyptus, and time with family.

About Me: Beyond the Bullet Points

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain, The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones

My journey through place and time:

My life has unfolded in ways I never expected.

I was born in North Tonawanda, a quiet suburb of Buffalo, New York— about 15 minutes from the thundering roar of Niagara Falls and the Rainbow Bridge that stretches into Canada. We lived in the house where my mom grew up. I studied business marketing and journalism at SUNY Fredonia. Then, I spent the fall semester of my junior year studying abroad. That decision changed the course of everything.

I loved living in London (where my dad is from) and moved back two weeks after graduation in 2007. I meant to stay for six months. I stayed for 16 years, with a small detour in 2011 for a six-month-long adventure Mogotes, a tiny mountain village in northeastern Colombia. But London was (and probably always will be) where my heart belonged. It quickly called me back.

Not long after that, I met Jorge, a Spanish garden designer from the Canary Islands. We married in 2014 at Chelsea Old Town Hall where our wonderful guests flung heart-shaped confetti that a friend and I spent hours punching out of maps in an old London A-Z. We adopted a rambunctious champagne-colored kitten called Oakley and welcomed our daughter, Emilia, into our lives in 2017. While on maternity leave, I built up my freelance business and decided to make the switch, with CAPA staying onboard as one of my first clients. When the world was navigating the uncertainty of lockdown in May 2020, our son Sebastian was born.

Fast forward to New Year’s Eve at the end of 2022. I moved abroad again, this time with a family in tow. We landed in the northeast of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain, just off the coast of Morocco. This is where we live now. From my window, I see the volcano and the sea, and while I deeply miss London, I now have bilingual children, fruit trees galore, and insight into another place in the world so different from where I was born.

What’s in a name?

Long before freelancing, I was a blogger. I began sharing stories and photos in 2002 and posted nearly daily on various platforms until 2017, when Emilia’s arrival meant the allure of sleep took precedence, and my priorities in life shifted. 

I called that space Little Observationist. It was a journal of observations, a place for sharing the intricacies of daily life in another country and on my travels, but it became more than that. I also amplified other voices. I interviewed Londoners, street artists, creatives, and small business owners to share their stories, too. It was about stopping to notice the little things that make this world beautiful—a pale pink pile of cherry blossom petals strewn across the pavement, a comically misspelled sign in a shop window, simple stuff that we skip past in the rush of daily life.

While I blog less for myself these days and primarily for my clients, the name still feels like me, and it’s a reminder to keep seeking out small moments of wonder (just as I encourage study abroad students to do as they get swept up in a life-changing adventure).

So, what exactly do I do?

My work is rooted in creativity, connection, and storytelling. I value authenticity, inclusion, and curiosity, and this shows through in my work. I like to dive into the details. No two days are quite the same, but you’ll most often find me at my laptop.

Most of my time is spent focused on international education. I might be drafting blog posts for an audience of faculty leaders, guiding students to create compelling TikToks or carousels and reels for Instagram, writing captions that resonate with prospective study abroad students, or weaving together stories about custom programs for newsletters. I also spend a lot of time developing a strategy for each outlet (newsletters, blogs, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn), ensuring that upcoming content aligns with my clients’ vision, mission, and values. Other days are for pulling stats, creating graphs, and delivering detailed analytics reports, or for taking part in brainstorming meetings, working on refining the ways we reach the different audiences who are listening. I genuinely enjoy contributing to such an exciting and ever-evolving field that changed the course of my own life. I understand the power, impact, and importance of travel, especially in our current world and political climate. 

A smaller part of my day is spent collaborating with independent artists and small business owners, a change of pace I appreciate. I offer Instagram strategy and organic engagement support, competitor analysis, Instagram audits, and other tools to help these creative individuals and their work stand out in a crowded digital space and connect with collectors and customers.

On the side, in my Etsy shop, I sell travel photography prints and downloadable resources for study abroad students and families living abroad. 

Sharing my “Why”: 

I’m inspired by Simon Sinek’s emphasis on starting with “why”—the question of what it is that drives us. This is something I try to uncover with each client because this is almost always the foundation of the content we create together.

My own “why” is rooted in how travel and immersion in different cultures have reshaped my life, and in believing that I can play a small role in helping others access and experience a similar kind of growth, empathy, and understanding of those who come from backgrounds different from our own. There is no better teacher than travel. 

I come from a family of entrepreneurs and have a big place in my heart for lifting up creative and innovative people and for supporting small local businesses who have meaningful stories to share. Although these are smaller clients with smaller budgets, I always save some space for them. 

Freelancing allows me to align my work with my values: creativity, independence, open-mindedness, authenticity, hard work, and flexibility. It has also given me the chance to build a career in a space I care about and make a lasting impact. 

Let’s work together!

Curious about collaborating? I’d love to hear from you.

Send a note to littleobservationist@gmail.com or connect with me on LinkedIn (where you can read more about my career path and clients), and I’ll aim to get back to you within 24 hours. Tell me a bit about yourself, your brand, what you need help with, or ask any questions you might have. No pressure—just a conversation.