I was born on November 4th 1990 in Connecticut, USA. My childhood was easy; growing up my parents loved each other and they loved me. My younger years were filled with tennis lessons at the neighbor’s court, low student/teacher ratios at the prestigious public schools I attended, and family trips to destinations domestic and abroad. I was very lucky. 

In 2008 I voluntarily removed myself from my comfort bubble in Ridgefield for the first time. I cycled 3,080 miles across the entire United States of America - from the calm shores of the Atlantic in Savannah, Georgia to the crashing waves of the Pacific in Santa Monica, California. I saw my country and more importantly I saw myself. I was hooked and the year after I cycled over 2,000 miles from Amsterdam to Barcelona.

I relocated to Boulder, Colorado in 2009 as a student of the University of Colorado. By day I attended classes like Philosophy of Religion and Searching for Life in the Universe (which was equal parts biology and astronomy) before learning just as much by night as a brother of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Colorado Chi fraternity. 

Between my junior and senior years I took my first trip to Africa. I climbed and summited Mt. Kilimanjaro before volunteering in western Kenya. I fell in love with rural Kenya - the lifestyle, the people - and I vowed to come back. I returned to Boulder to finish my final year in school and simultaneously founded Arrive. In May 2013 I graduated from the University of Colorado with a BA in Economics and only four days later I was on a flight back to Kenya. 

A few times in life - maybe three, maybe ten, I don’t know - a moment occurs when a sudden realization of something in the present allows you to more clearly see a version of your future. A new door opens and gives you the opportunity to take a different path. If you don’t take it the door closes, maybe forever, and life goes on. If you walk through the door, everything changes. In fall of 2017 I had a moment - I instantly realized that I did not love myself. I was suddenly aware that the voice in my head was negative and judgmental to myself and the people around me. Never before had I realized this even though I had lived with this voice my entire life. I knew in that moment that if I didn’t change I would live hating the voice in my head.

I felt an urgent need to change. I knew if I waited even a few hours that the feeling of urgency might disappear. I went vegan overnight. I signed up for my first marathon. I downloaded the Headspace app. These impulsive decisions later led to me explore eastern practices like yoga, meditation, herbal remedies and holistic care. They led to my passion for running and holistic physical and mental health, and to a changed mindset toward, and relationship with, food. 

I’ve now lived in Kenya for six years, flying back to Connecticut to spend a few months every year in a different world. Arrive has grown, evolved. So have I. My time spent in Africa has been filled with adventure and meaning. I have felt every emotion I knew I could feel and even those I didn’t know existed, most of them intensely. In some ways Kenya is my guru. She has taught me patience; she has shown me hope and resilience; she has forced upon me gratitude in every moment. 

Every single thing in my life has led me to right here, right now, writing this story. A life can’t be portrayed on a webpage, especially one designed for conciseness. The journey is never-ending and I am embracing every moment.

Updated: August 2019