My childhood hero was Deanna Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation. And I like to think that as an adult woman I share many of her characteristics—I am a maternal source of comfort for friends in times of distress, I love connecting with people from all different backgrounds and perspectives, and I’m a shameless lil’ slut for chocolate.

I learned from Deanna that empathy and a kind ear can solve almost any problem. Also that emotions are an asset, not a weakness— which was important for me because I had, and have, a lot of them! 

My parents were US diplomats, so I grew up all over the world. Like the crew of the Enterprise, we would encounter new cultures, customs, and—my favorite—cuisines with every new country we were sent to. But the through line for me was that humor and feelings cross all barriers. I want to spend my life working on projects that foster compassion and understanding in humanity. And I would like to do that while eating chocolate as seductively as possible. 

My Top 3 Films of 2019:

1. Parasite (Bong Joon Ho)

2. Spiderman: Far From Home (Jon Watts)

3. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (Mike Mitchell)