Who am I? Well, that’s a good question. I can tell you where I’ve been, what I’m doing now – and where I’m going, which in essence should give you a pretty good idea of who I am. I do believe that our experiences – good or bad – make us what we are today and I’m pretty comfortable with that. So let’s go back to the beginning and you can form your own opinion.

“In the beginning there was the word.“…no, wait. Maybe that’s too far back.

Fast forward to a girl born in 1973 in the ‘one stop sign’ town of Crookston, MN. As far back as I can remember, my mother was into one artistic project or another. She drew, painted, wrote creative stories, read voraciously, and encouraged me to do the same. By the time I was in the 5th grade, I had read all the books required in high school literature, acted in school plays, taken art classes, played the piano, violin & viola, and had torn a hole in every pair of jeans I had from climbing trees (courtesy of my dad’s influence.) My dad took me hunting and fishing, and encouraged me to do everything my brother could do. This odd mix of artist girl and tomboy made for many years of not fitting in with my peers, and graduation from high school couldn’t come quick enough.

When I did graduate, it was from a high school in the hottest part of the country – Lake Havasu City, Arizona. My parents had moved us there when I was 16 and I hated it. Things had gotten tough for my family financially and they couldn’t afford to send me to college, so I enlisted in the Army to get the money I need. I spent 3 years in Korea and 1 year in Germany, with lots of wanderings in between. My whole outlook on life changed after traveling the world and my whole demeanor changed because of the military. I was tough, disciplined, determined, and ready to take on the world.

I entered the Art Institute of Phoenix shortly after returning home from the military and graduated with a degree in graphic & web design with some dabblings in computer animation. My intention at the time was to get an uber awesome job at a creative company looking for fresh ideas. Fate intervened in the form of my mother, who was running a failing, high end boutique store and wanted out. Turned out I was in the right place at the right time as far as the internet was concerned, and took over the business by created a website at a time when there was a market for her unique items online. Within a year, internet sales eclipsed store sales by 90% and we found ourselves packing and shipping boxes 6 days a week.

During a busy Christmas season of the 7th year in business, I received an offer from a big box online company wanting to buy my booming internet business. As their biggest competitor, what they really wanted was to put me out of business – and I gave them their wish when I saw an offer that was not only too good to pass up, but pretty much a dream come true.

I spent the next several years doing what I wanted to do. I concentrated on raising my son, spending time with my family, and dabbling in other business ventures including a construction company. I went back to school and earned a dual residental/commercial contractors license. Through it all, I kept up on the ever changing tech world and refused to let go my love of design. I also found a new love, which was the gym – and competed as a middleweight in 2007, winning my class at the NPC San Diego Championships and placing a respectable 4th place at the NPC USA’s.

Through it all I met many wonderful, supportive people online who shared the same passion for fitness & bodybuiding that I did, and found a way to combine my geeky tech tendencies with my favorite pass time by becoming a moderator on the Muscular Development website. It was there that I met Dave Palumbo & John Romano – and found that I’d much rather work in the fitness industry than compete in it.

My 2 year mark at Muscular Development coincided with the firing of Dave & John, as I followed them to RxMuscle.com where I became the administrator for their forums. I created and sent out the first Rx Muscle newsletter which is still going strong today. In the spring of 2010, Dave Palumbo approached me with a desire to redesign the SpeciesNutrition.com website, and by August it was completely made over. In September or 2010, I was offered a full time position with RxMuscle.com as Executive Managing Director. I still work there today and am responsible for everything from site design & maintenance to contest coverage to overseeing the forums. It’s a job that requires me to fly by the seat of my pants on most days while still being disciplined and extremely organized. RxMuscle.com has grown in leaps and bounds over the last year from a 4 man operation (Dave Palumbo, Jeff the Producer, Me & Allie Cosentino) to a network of writers and editors with coverage that now includes Rx Girl, Rx Strength Central, Bros V Pros, and Mens Physique.

At the beginning of 2011, I moved to Lubbock, TX to be with the love of my life (Bryan Hildebrand) whom I met on the RxMuscle.com forums. (Dave does matchmaking, too!) Bryan is my rock and encourages me to grow at every opportunity. He is editor-in-chief of Rx Strength Central and we both feel blessed to continue our work with Rx Muscle while finding new projects to tackle outside the fitness industry.