Born to a bilingual (German-English) family in upstate New York, I grew up thriving in more than one language. I discovered literary translation studies at the University of Rochester, where I completed a certificate in literary translation studies. I continued this at Indiana University where I completed my masters in Russian language and literature, with my capstone project being a translation of an absurdist Soviet children's puppet play, which was performed in part at the 2018 American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) conference. 

After completing my MA, I moved to Belgrade, Serbia, where I lived for three years and founded a translation and teaching agency called Black Birch while also working as the Communications and Awards Manager at the American Literary Translators Association, where I continue to work. Recently I have moved to Cologne, Germany, where I lived previously teaching English at the University of Cologne. My passion is for literary translation and have translated samples for various translation houses in the Balkans, in addition to working independently with Bosnian, Serbian, and Russian authors to translate and place their work in US publishing houses. 

In addition to literary translation, I provide excellence in translation in various fields, including in cultural and historical fields, children's translation, and medical and tech translation. In my work for ALTA as Communications and social media manager, have developed a taste and flair for copywriting. Furthermore, I have experience with subtitling, and am open to voiceover work.