WHAT’S IT LIKE HAVING HUNDREDS OF PHOTOS TAKEN OF YOU IN JUST A FEW MINUTES?

Definitely a new experience for me. It's hard to think about how to pose, and you can't be too self-conscious about it—you sort of just have to let the camera catch you unguarded, which we're not used to allowing in ourselves.

WHERE DO YOU LIVE? WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

I grew up in LaGrange, just outside Chicago, and I've lived here most of my adult life. I've lived briefly other places, but Chicago is the place that rewards me the most, whether with friends or opportunities or a sense of community. I get so much out of living here that I never want to leave.

YOU HAVE A FUN STYLE, CAN YOU ELABORATE A BIT ON THIS? IS THERE A BACKSTORY OR ARE THERE INSPIRATIONS YOU HAVE? 

I have no idea how clothing, hair, jewelry, or makeup work. No sense of the fundamentals whatsoever. Many of my favorite outfits are ones I've been wearing for 17 years or so. I just appreciate a piece of clothing that holds up across the years, and I never wear anything that I can't move around in.

WHAT MAKES YOU EXCITED TO BE ALIVE?

Every single day, I discover new tiny, quiet ways that people do good things for one another. I recently saw a woman take off her scarf, hat, and gloves and hand them to someone on the bus who was underdressed for the weather. It's such a privilege to witness things like that and feel motivated to build on your own capacity for goodness. 

IS THERE AN ARTIST YOU CALL YOUR FAVORITE? WHY?

Might sound silly, but the first artist I remember being captivated by was the children's author Chris Van Allsburg (Jumanji, Zathura, The Polar Express, etc.). He wrote and illustrated a book called The Mysteries of Harris Burdick whose images were so much more adult and melancholy and shadowy and stark than you'd see in other children's books. There's one where a woman fell asleep reading a book, and sinister vines are growing outward from the spine. 

A FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPHER?!

I love looking at Vivian Maier's street scenes, because they feel the most capable of immersing the viewer in an era they never experienced. Her self-portraits are also incredibly funny to me. 

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR CAREER and/or WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER GOALS? 

I'm a writer, editor, and editorial operations person. As Creative Producer at The Onion, the goal is to ensure that this thing we all love so much can continue to grow its reach and influence. I love contributing to a product or process behind the scenes to make it somehow better, taking the raw material of someone else's ideas and helping to shape or polish along the way.

YOU WORK IN COMEDY. GOT A FAVORITE SPOT OR TWO TO SEE SHOWS?

I've been having a ton of fun as an occasional judge at Sauteed Standup over at the Lincoln Lodge! The show is a really clever combination of food and comedy—four standups have to do a set and cook a dish in the span of one show. I have nothing but awe for those who partake in it. (Meanwhile, all I have to do is eat the food and tell them whether it's any good.)

BEST PLACE TO GO ON VACATION and/or DREAM DESTINATION YOU HAVE? 

Sorry for the most Midwest answer of all time, but I love Wisconsin. Milwaukee, Madison, Door County, the Northwoods, the Driftless—it's all so beautiful and homey. I want to go there all the time. As for dream destinations, I'd love to see the Galapagos, Hawaii, and Banff, places whose florae and faunae couldn't be more different from my own.

GO-TO RESTAURANT AND WHAT’S YOUR ORDER?

In-On Thai in Uptown! Get the Curry Puff, the Crispy Fish with Jungle Salad, and the Green Beans in Red Curry Sauce with Tofu. I have about 16 other menu recommendations if you're still hungry. 

MOVIE OR TV SHOW YOU ARE OBSESSED WITH LATELY? (OR SOMETHING YOU LOVE THAT’S UNDER THE RADAR?)

The Severance Season 1 finale was so good that I'm convinced no subsequent episodes will live up to it, so I refuse to keep watching the series. Instead, I'm getting into old seasons of The Great British Baking Show for the very first time. No spoilers, please. (Noel Fielding is the best decision this show ever made.)

WHAT’S A GOOD IDEA YOU’VE HAD BUT NEVER ACTED ON? DO YOU WRITE DOWN OR SAVE YOUR IDEAS? (IF YOU WANT TO GO DEEPER, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT HOLDS YOU BACK FROM PURSUING THEM?)

I have a few good ideas for podcasts, short films, TV pilots, and even one idea for a novelty TikTok account that I'd love to make if I weren't deadset on never joining TikTok. What holds me back from the rest is the understanding that they'd probably never go anywhere—but that doesn't actually seem like a good enough reason not to try, does it?

I STARTED THIS PROJECT PARTIALLY IN RESPONSE TO MY CONCERN AROUND A.I. — DO YOU THINK A.I. WILL BE A NET POSITIVE FOR SOCIETY? NEGATIVE? WHY? 

My greatest hope is that it will be a moot point—that the biggest AI initiatives will get largely scuttled before we have to determine whether the tech made things definitively better or worse. Once you start seeing how all the reporting around AI is speculative rather than factual (that it "will eventually be able" to do X, or "could achieve X" by a certain date), you start wondering why we haven't seen the true breakthroughs yet. If, after billions of dollars of investment and years of development, ChatGPT still hallucinates incorrect information and AI-generated art still can't figure out hands or buttons, what is the argument for using these tools? Maybe I'm being willfully ignorant, but on a personal level, my life has simply not presented a single practical use case for this tech. We all get to decide what to engage with! It's not compulsory!

TELL ME A QUICK STORY OR JOKE???

Here's something that's been stuck in my head for a few weeks: I was riding the brown line toward the Loop, and a friendly, wealthy-looking older gentleman boards and sits next to me. After several stops in silence, he looks at me and says conspiratorially, "Are you a lawyer?" I say no, and he just says "ah" and smiles. Then after a minute I say, "Wait, why do you ask?" And he just responds, "Well, I'm a lawyer." I'm still trying to figure out what any of that meant. Why did he ask if I was a lawyer? I assure you I don't look put-together enough to be a lawyer. Or does he just ask everyone if they're lawyers? What would the follow-up conversation have been if I just lied and said yes? I think I really missed out on some juicy lawyerly intel. Ah well. 

ANYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD? ANYTHING AT ALL??!!?! 

I love that you make art, and that you foster communal creative spaces! Thank you for doing so!

APPRECIATE THAT — THANKS SO MUCH FOR PARTICIPATING! 👋