I design immersive experiences that bring people together through play, storytelling, and shared discovery. I’ve worked with nonprofit teams, corporate groups, community organizations, and families, designing memorable experiences tailored to each group’s specific needs and dynamics.
My approach centers on creating conditions where people practice new ways of being together, not just talk about them. I balance structure with spontaneity, build trust through shared experience, and pace gatherings so people leave energized rather than depleted. I design for accessibility and joy, ensuring participants of all backgrounds and abilities can fully participate and make genuine connections.
I have many gathering superpowers: leading planning teams from concept through execution, creating agendas and content, coordinating complex logistics with Jedi master-level project management, facilitating groups of all sizes, and weaving accessibility into every element.
My small business Blanket Fort brings these strategies together, offering game-based gatherings that involve puzzle solving, team challenges, and hilarious facilitated conversations that turn a room of participants into a temporary fan community.
Below are examples of past gatherings I’ve designed:
Team Building Experiences & Retreats
I create team retreats and staff activities that build trust and effectiveness. I design agendas that get things done while still feeling spacious, from strategic planning sessions to team activities that improve communication. My gatherings are designed with psychological safety at the center so teams can take risks and have hard conversations.
Highlights:
Museum Scavenger Hunt: Gamified museum visit for new staff orientation with team challenges and relationship-building prompts (The Wilderness Society)
Resilience Retreats: Team retreats teaching transformative conflict skills and deep listening practices (The Wilderness Society)
Large Scale Workshops & Conferences
I’m adept at designing for engagement at any scale: managing complex logistics, leading planning teams, implementing universal design principles to make events truly inclusive, and pacing multi-day experiences so people leave energized rather than depleted.
Highlights:
- Anti-Racism Workshops: Local workshops with 50-300+ participants featuring speakers, practice sessions, and skill-building activities (St. Louis Anti-Racism Organizing Collective)
- Regional Conferences: Multi-day gatherings for 20+ organizations/100+ people with breakout groups, teach-outs, and collaborative games (Karen House)
Group Adventures
Through my small business St. Louis Fantasy Maps (2016-2023) I created one-of-a-kind experiences that built community and connection through shared nerdiness and collaborative challenge. Managing all aspects of the business (including creation, production, marketing, and support) taught me what makes immersive experiences actually work—and those lessons translate directly to designing gatherings for teams and organizations.
Some highlights:
Home Escape Rooms Downloadable escape room kits released during the early COVID lockdown. They featured original puzzles, fantasy storytelling, and collaborative problem-solving.
St. Louis Scavenger Hunts The OG adventure! I created physical kits that led groups through city-wide adventures solving themed mysteries. Over 500 copies purchased over seven years for corporate teams, birthday parties, and date nights.
St. Louis Fantasy Maps wound down in 2023 with a giant clearance sale, donating all proceeds to St. Louis Queer Support & Healing, a grassroots nonprofit supporting queer St. Louisans.
Custom Family Reunions and Team Adventures
Over the years, I’ve designed bespoke experiences for families, teams, and communities including Hobbit-themed harvest parties, Taskmaster family reunions, and Farmer’s Market scavenger hunts.
Each required creative concept development, attention to group dynamics and inside jokes, and coordination of all the logistics that make an idea come to life.
