My career started in advertising as an art director.
I worked on TV, print, digital and experiential projects, mostly on small teams, where I was involved in the earliest concept stages and hands-on throughout production to delivery. Pursuing an interest piqued by my work on commercial and photo shoots, and a curiosity as to why I rarely saw people with disabilities in TV, film, and advertising, I began training as an actor.
I figured if people weren’t seeing people with disabilities on screen, it wasn’t going to be because there weren’t qualified disabled performers to do the work.
Now, a few years into a pretty successful acting and modeling career thus far, moving the needle in disability inclusion forward incrementally, I know we could be doing more if there was representation throughout the entire creative process. As both an art director and as a face for some big brands championing diversity, I not only have a voice that can speak to inclusion, but also the technical skills and experience for achieving that.
Nothing beats knowing the personal impact the work has on the individuals who reach out to me, but public recognition has reaffirmed that we’re doing big things in the world and we need to keep going.
I started to do my best work when I started working with my disability, rather than trying to work around it.
I could say that I wish it hadn’t taken so long, but I’m grateful for the process it took to get here. With years spent building technical art direction and design skills across various industries, complemented by a formative career transition that emboldened me as a storyteller and advocate for disability inclusion, I have finally found my creative voice.