A Full-Circle Return and a Bold New Chapter
I’m having a full-circle moment.
My journey through nearly a decade of nonprofit journalism has led me back to the heart of what drew me to storytelling in the first place—only now with deeper clarity, experience, and purpose. I’m going back to my roots, with everything I’ve learned along the way, to build something that has been with me all along.
More than 10 years ago, I launched The ‘Sip Magazine, a print publication born from a deep love for Mississippi and a belief that our stories deserve to be told with care and complexity. For nearly five years, I published 15 quarterly issues and poured every part of myself into the work. It was personal. It was driven by purpose. It was mine.
In 2018, I quietly closed that chapter — with no big announcement or farewell issue. I just knew it was time to pause, so I did just that. I used my mix of traditional journalism training, self-taught design and tech skills and deep commitment to connecting with people through story and dedicated myself fully to nonprofit digital news.
What began as a web manager role at Mississippi Today became a crash course in systems thinking, audience development and team building. I eventually stepped into leadership and took on an executive role at Deep South Today. Along the way, I learned how to lead through change, push for people-first approaches and center storytelling in everything I do.
That season stretched me and shaped me. It helped me see how journalism could evolve—and what it would take to build something rooted in care, culture, and connection.
Now, I’m carrying those lessons into something of my own as a way to expand what’s possible.
I’m proud to introduce The Sip Collective, powered by LF Voices Collective. This new platform is a continuation of the work I’ve been doing my whole life—reimagined in a way that fully reflects my values, vision, and voice. It’s a space to make people feel seen, not just informed.
At the heart of this work is Amplify the Sip, a digital publication focused on stories rooted in place, identity, and connection. It will be supported by a contributor network, a story exchange, and a growing circle of partners and collaborators. Together, we’re building something that invites people to experience storytelling in a more human way—whether through journalism, memory, culture, or community care.
This launch is deeply personal. Our first stories include a story on blues legend Vasti Jackson — someone I interviewed more than a decade ago for H.C. Porter’s Blues at Home project and who was the cover of The ‘Sip’s winter 2017 issue. We also have a feature on Dr. Alyssa Killebrew, a mental health advocate and fellow Mississippian I’ve known since high school through the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi—where I first began learning about leadership, empathy, and the power of connection.
LF Voices Collective, the business I launched to support this work, is the creative engine—developing the content, tools, and experiences that bring the vision to life. The Sip Collective carries the public mission. Together, they form the foundation of a storytelling model that reflects both where I’ve been and where I’m ready to go.
This is the next step in a journey shaped by connection, care, and deep listening. This is something that honors story as a way of connecting, remembering, and building something better—together.
It’s the work I’ve been preparing for, the vision I’m ready to carry forward.
And it begins—as it always has—with story.
The first issue of Amplify the Sip—centered on Resilience—launches next week. Newsletter subscribers will get early access to the stories, a curated playlist, and a preview of what’s next. Sign up here.
