Growing up in a bi-cultural household (English/American) and then attending a bilingual elementary school (Spanish/ English) sparked my initial curiosity for cross-cultural comparisons.

First, I pursued this comparative perspective academically. Through an undergraduate degree Humanities and Italian, where I wrote a dissertation on the role of dancing in ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ Then at the University of Edinburgh with a Masters in Social Anthropology, where I graduated with honors due to a thesis that compared blood products and chocolate through their production, use as symbols of national identity, and commodification.

I decided to apply my academic lens to business and worked for four years as a qualitative researcher at research agencies in London, serving clients like Tesco, the BBC, Disney, Givaudan, Avon, Orange, Unilever, McDonald’s, FitBit, and Transport for London.

I then returned to Denver, Colorado pursuing an opportunity to combine my passion for research and my love of food at an agency that helped natural food and wellness brands growth their impact.

Now, thought my own business OakSwan Consulting, I continue to help B2B and B2C clients improve their customer and user experience.

Part of my joy in life is weaving together my many passions through a commitment to continued learning.

Other experience I’m proud of.

Wearing many hats at a startup designed to support small businesses choose the software they need to grow. I was an adaptable team member, turning my hand to business development and strategy, marketing, social media management, copy writing, and UX research.

A stint at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization managing content and social media for a project that provided rural stakeholders training and ownership in communication service scaled up communication services and ownership, like radio, for rural.

Working as houseparent and lab assistant at a Swiss boarding school.