My Story
Beginnings in Music
I studied classical piano for 14 years and was a dedicated saxophonist, eventually performing for New Trier Township High School—one of the top high school jazz programs in the country—in venues across New York, Chicago, and New Orleans. Along the way, I had the opportunity to open for groups and artists including the Dizzy Gillespie All Stars and Christian McBride. As principle alto saxophonist, what I loved most was leading my saxophone section: learning challenging material, pushing us to excel, and celebrating the shared success of a strong performance together.
Transition to Audio
I attended the University of Michigan to study jazz saxophone performance. While I loved music, I came to realize that I didn't want to pursue life as a professional musician. Instead, I became interested in the technical side of sound and transitioned into audio engineering.
I learned to mix, edit, and design audio for music, television, advertising, film, and video games. I worked at the Chicago Recording Company, where I was able to work with clients like Chance the Rapper, John Cusack, and Chris Rock. Then, in 2021, I joined the startup Blerp as a sound designer.
Discovering Product
At Blerp, I was exposed to product management for the first time. Watching designers, engineers, and PMs work together to ship meaningful outcomes echoed the teamwork I'd experienced as principle alto saxophonist, and I became instantly hooked.
I immersed myself in everything product—both inside and the Blerp office—reading books, sitting in on discussions, contributing wherever possible, and gradually taking on more responsibility. That progression led to over four years in a dedicated product role, where I shipped solutions across our product suite.
Leveling Up
While I loved my time working at Blerp, I knew that to truly excel as a PM I needed to deepen my business and technical foundations. I began the Tech MBA program at the NYU Stern School of Business in May 2025.
The MBA has been transformative. It's given me stronger fluency in applying technology to real business problems and sharpened how I think about product decisions in a broader organizational context. Developing skills across disciplines like data science, finance, engineering, and business strategy has been rewarding and strengthened confidence significantly.
What's Next
I graduate in May 2026. While I've loved building products in a startup environment, I see my next chapter in a larger organization—one where I can learn from exceptional product leaders and operate at greater scale.
I'm excited to bring my unique background to that environment, contributing thoughtfully while continuing to grow as a product leader.