Something About Everything
The long way around to a life in storytelling
One of the best pieces of wisdom I've been given came from my grandfather: “Know something about everything, and everything about something.” I didn’t realize for a long time, but that aspiration has quietly guided most of my life – through hospital stays, cross-country moves, campaign chaos, and a lot of learning the hard way. All of those “somethings” are still shaping how I show up to work now.
Today I lead Righteous Fights, a small-but-mighty creative agency that partners with mission-driven teams to produce media with purpose. As creative director and producer, I help organizations find the human stories behind their message. I also do the often unseen work of designing systems and workflows that help teams bring those stories to life with clarity, care, and scale.
But I didn’t start in strategy or production. I started with survival.
Finding focus (and a camera)
I spent a lot of my early life in hospitals, including months on end in the ICU. I’m a heart transplant recipient, and during those long stretches the world felt like a place I might not see again. Things changed when my health improved and I bought my first camera. That gave me an excuse to get up, go outside, and start documenting the things I didn’t want to miss.
In retrospect, it makes sense to me that I ended up studying journalism at a Jesuit university. I learned how to report, write and, most importantly, that learning is only half the work. The other half is using what you know to show up for others and stand for something.
I taught myself photography primarily by working for the school newspaper using whatever gear I could afford. I slowly built up experiences that helped me get my foot in the door at Time Out Chicago and The Chicago Reader. Eventually, I made my way to the Chicago Sun-Times, and freelanced for Vice and the Guardian.
What I loved most was the way journalism gave me an invitation into people’s lives. It puts me into places I wouldn’t otherwise belong. I started to notice that the most rewarding work wasn’t always the most high-profile. While working for a network of community papers in Chicagoland, I was struck by how excited and grateful people were just to have their story told. It meant something to be seen, to be taken seriously, to have someone show up and pay attention.
From editorial to impact
I moved to New York and continued working across newsrooms. My first assignment editor role was at Refinery29, where I launched a hard-news vertical that had visual consistency with the brand’s bold, graphic editorial style.
Eventually, I felt the pull to do more than observe. I wanted to participate. I joined Hillary Clinton’s 2016 team as campaign photo editor. After that loss, I moved to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, where I helped launch their multimedia program and shape the public-facing narrative of a new organization with a big mission.
But with another election cycle on the horizon, my campaign work felt unfinished, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to help see it through. I moved to D.C. and took on creative roles with various PACs and advocacy orgs like Indivisible. I managed everything from digital ads to COVID livestreams. I worked as a campaign photographer during the 2020 primary, traveling the country with Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren, and eventually joined the Biden campaign as photo editor.
After the election, I served in the White House, leading the planning and operations for the Photo Office. I wrote the department structure and helped select the team. I worked on many memorable projects, like capturing the first images from the Oval Office and helping hang newly printed “Jumbos” around the West Wing just minutes after the inauguration. I attended meetings in the Situation Room, flew with the President on Air Force One, and saw firsthand how even the biggest institutions are held together by real people doing quiet, important work.
Building something new
While at the White House, I started to reflect on how most of my career had focused on building things for other people, and it felt like time to build something of my own. I wanted to create the kind of place where good people come together to do good work. That’s what became Righteous Fights.
We’re not a traditional agency. We’re a small team with a big network, designed to scale up quickly, stay nimble, and meet clients where they are. We’ve produced content for causes across the map: from gun safety and reproductive rights to rare disease research, climate action, and healthcare innovation. We’ve partnered with orgs like Everytown for Gun Safety, the American Immigration Council, and even captured the next-gen lunar rover (a highlight for this space nerd).
To this day, I still love the opportunity to be invited into someone’s world, earning their trust, and helping share something honest. What’s changed is the scope. I’ve seen how stories can do more than inform. They can raise awareness, build community, pressure policymakers, and raise real money for real work.
That’s what drives me now. Not just storytelling, but storytelling that does something.
It’s been a wild, winding journey but I’ve picked up a lot along the way. Always happy to share lessons learned, behind-the-scenes stories, or tips that might be helpful. Ask me anything!
