My first job in advertising I won via a silent auction in Chicago at JWT. It was by no means a conventional way to get in the door but I knew I had to start somewhere so when I saw my opening I took it.

I had known since my sophomore year in college at The University of Colorado that I wanted to be a creative in advertising and I was going to stop at nothing to make that happen. I remember it like yesterday sitting in class and thinking "wow that looks awesome and I know I could be good at this". It is that same drive and excitement that has lead me to today.

To me my career has always been about taking on new challenges, and not always doing what everyone else around me was doing. After Chicago I went back to school at Miami Ad School SF, which lead me to jobs at Goodness MFG in LA, a stint as an intern at Crispin in Boulder, and then to NYC. Since arriving in NYC over 7 years ago I have been at Johannes Leonardo, Strawberry Frog, The Barbarian Group, and now Droga5 where I was just promoted a few weeks ago to Creative Director.

In my almost 3 years at Droga5 I have worked across a number of accounts (Android / Diet Coke / SheaMoisture / Quilted Northern / New York Times / Chase) and grown not only as a creative but also a leader within the agency. I truly love what I do, but I also love being a positive influence to the creatives below me, especially young female creatives.

It is talked about a lot today: being a female creative. I continue to firmly believe that what makes us as females different is what makes us great creatives. I refuse to change my ways to simply just fit in, but I also know that at the end of the day it comes down to working hard and having the best ideas. I remind those around me every day that no matter what, if the idea is not there then we really have nothing to discuss. We are in an amazing business where literally anything is possible you just have to think it up - and that to me is the real challenge. I have been lucky that at Droga I have really stretched myself from working on showing the benefits of Toilet Paper, to a very real issue around race and hair with SheaMoisture, to the state of our country with the New York Times. Every assignment I dive head first into and figure out what is best for the brand and also what will solve the problem in a creative and innovative way. Every day is a new adventure because every day I wake up knowing I can come up with something the world has never seen before.

I also believe our work can change the world, and that is not to say that everything has to be serious. Sometimes bringing a smile to the consumer's face and reminding them how great a product is, is the "change" that is needed. I just hope that I continue to push every assignment and continue to work amongst the most talented people I can, because I am nowhere near done learning myself.