I didn't set out to become a founder. In fact, for much of my life, I wasn't sure what I wanted to be.I went back to school, earned a degree, and seriously considered becoming a teacher. Volunteering with nonprofits and working in education gave me a front-row seat to the lives of students, families, and the broader community. It also helped me realize that many of the biggest barriers people face aren't academic—they're informational, relational, and often invisible.After completing my MBA, I began experimenting with several side projects. Although they were very different from one another, each taught me something about building, testing ideas, and learning through experience. Rather than relying on assumptions alone, I started letting reality do the talking. Looking back, those early experiments fundamentally changed the way I create, operate, and think.That journey was later featured in a Northwestern University Magazine story, offering a closer look at how those early experiments evolved over time.Read the feature in Northwestern Magazine ↗As I continued experimenting, I found myself returning to a different question:Why do some people discover opportunities while others never even know they exist?Throughout my career, I noticed the same pattern. People often miss opportunities not because they lack talent, but because they lack exposure, connections, or someone to help them see what's possible.That realization changed the way I viewed education, careers, and communities. It eventually led me to begin building systems that connect people, ideas, and opportunities.Today, that work takes many forms—from founding My Hometown Hub to developing new ideas through Mana Modality and Beyond Perceptions. While each project is different, they all share the same purpose: creating simple systems that help people discover opportunities, build meaningful connections, and see new possibilities.

Projects

The ideas on this page continue to evolve through a variety of projects. While each has a different focus, they all share the same purpose: creating systems that help people discover opportunities, build meaningful connections, and explore new possibilities.Explore the projects below to see how these ideas take shape..