Where are you from?

I'm from the small but incredibly diverse, Pittsburg, California. It's in the Bay Area. It's a place with a lot of spirit, that I'm proud to call home. 

What do you do?

Simply put, I'm an artist. I'm a stage and television actor, voice teacher, dialect coach, writer, photographer, singer and dancer (when I wanna be!). 

When did you start performing?

I've always performed, I can't really remember when it started. I grew up singing in the church choir, and acting in school plays, I would do impressions and put on shows for my family. I made up songs and dances with my friends, it was non-stop.

When I was 8, I was in a production of The Wiz at The Berkeley Black Repertory. I played one of Evilene's slaves and I only had one line, "Oh please, oh beautiful one, we haven't had a lunch break in six months!".

My older sister played Dorothy, but I'm confident I had more fun. I've been hooked ever since.       

Where did you go to school?

I started training to be an actor in college at UC Berkeley. I have a BA in Theater and Performance Studies, but when it comes to honing a craft, there's always more to learn. After undergrad, I really wanted to learn the art of acting so I did my Masters in Fine Arts at Brown University/ Trinity Rep. I was nurtured at Brown/Trinity like I'd never been before. Until grad school I thought I was just a character actor, I had never played a lead. In my first year at Brown/Trinity I was cast as "The Bride", in Lorca's Blood Wedding. I had to learn to speak Spanish for the part, I had to dance, sing, do acrobatics, there was even a scene where the other actors threw real knives at my feet and I had to dodge them, it has been my greatest achievement as an actor, it changed my life.   

How do you spend your time?

In graduate school I fell in love with teaching; currently I'm the head of Voice and Speech at the Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS) located in Midtown Manhattan, NYC. At PPAS I teach Shakespeare, dialects, spoken-word, poetry and vocal technique to young professionals and students in NYC. 



When I'm not teaching, I'm acting. You can find me on Hulu, Pop Network's comedy series, NIGHTCAP. I play "Malik" a high-powered publicist.

I just finished working as the dialect coach for the Huntington Theater Company's production of The Skeleton Crew, now playing in Boston at the Calderwood Pavilion, through March 31, 2018.  

What are your most notable roles?

Nurse Jackie fans recognize me as Michelle, the pregnant gunshot victim who gave birth on the floor of the ER, to this day people come up to me and ask me about that experience. For the Shakespeare nerds... I'm pretty proud that I got to play my own twin in Twelfth Night at Trinity Rep, that production holds a very special place in my heart.

What's a fun fact about you?

I was the "Drum Major" in my high school's marching band (The Pride of Pittsburg, Pirates Marching SHOOOOOOOOOOOW Band!), to this day it's one of my proudest achievements. I can still twirl a baton like nobody's business. 

What are you working on now?

At the moment I am focusing on my writing, while still maintaining the highest standard for my students at PPAS, many of whom have been accepted to some of the top acting schools in the world. 

What's you greatest ambition?

To be a creator, I aspire to and admire the work of many of the most creative women in entertainment; Shonda Rhimes, Ali Wentworth, Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay, inspire me daily. I want to create both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. In the near future, I plan to produce, direct and act in my own projects, creating my own opportunities is my highest ambition.