Growing up, I was told that I had to choose one career path that would be my destiny. But the day I graduated from the University of Florida, I realized my dreams were too wild to tame with just one solitary job title.

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So here’s the rundown:

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I was a high school teacher for six years, eventually being promoted to the academic department chair. During the school day, the young ladies in my class would come to me with their most pressing friendship issues; that classroom became my unofficial sociology lab. I had a front-row view to the ways that issues of connection and belonging impacted everything else -- their mood, confidence, attendance, and wellbeing. 

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Then I became a publicist, and worked with diverse groups of high-achieving women to help them get more attention for their brands. Between meetings and media appearances, they, too, secretly confided in me about their friendship challenges.

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That's when I realized that at every stage of womanhood, we're trying to navigate our platonic relationships with other women.

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Now I leverage my background in education and my experience with the American Sociological Association to study what the research has to say about women’s cooperation, communication, and conflict.

 

I wrote the book Fighting for our Friendships: The Science and Art of Conflict and Connection in Women's Relationships, served as the former spokesperson for Bumble, and I've become a recurring guest expert for Tamron Hall Show, NBC News, The Skimm, and New York Times. 

 

Currently, I'm serving as the Director of the Women's Relational health Institute where we train women in leadership to create stronger bonds among their female-dominant teams.
 

When I’m not speaking on women’s friendships, I’m running TELL Public Relations, a consulting agency helping women-led brands get more visibility for their businesses. I’ve seen firsthand how the art of public relations can bring attention people who are doing really meaningful work, and I’m committed to helping other women of color achieve the same things that I’ve been blessed to experience.

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So yes, I believe in being a woman who does "all the things".

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​Because when a woman has work to do, she doesn’t limit herself.