Quiet, creative, empathetic, analytical—and maybe a little opinionated. Put all those together, and you get a writer.

The idea to become a writer first took shape in my mind after I watched “Star Wars” in theatres for the first time at the age of 12. In retrospect, “The Phantom Menace” wasn’t a great movie; still, I was taken with the power of the pen to create new worlds. Pretty soon, I was mapping worlds of my own, filling notebooks with story scenes and sketches of starships.

In the years since, I have built a career on writing, including leading a team of in-house writers at a Fortune-listed health care company. My time as a writer has only further convinced me of the importance of the written word and its ability to help reader and writer alike explore new ideas and build understanding.

In addition to my freelance work, I am working toward an English PhD in Arthurian literature and learning Spanish and Welsh. When I’m not working, I like to spend time with my husband and our cat, go to the gym, travel, and cheer on whichever one of my sports team that’s performing the least poorly.