True Story:

Prologue. Singapore, Wednesday the 13th, the last days of disco. I was born and raised where endless summer means we dine al fresco on the best street food in the world and play softball (and tennis, and run, and bike, and…) all year round. I have a B.Sc. in Journalism from Northwestern University in Chicago, USA, with a concentration in magazine writing and editing, graduating from the Medill boot camp School of Journalism without incurring one of its infamous Fs.

The Write Stuff. I scribe for a variety of international publications such as Channel News Asia, the region’s major multinational news channel, and cover the chapters on Nightlife, Fashion, Wellness and Walking Tours in Louis Vuitton City Guide: Singapore. My repertoire includes Silver Kris (Singapore Airlines’ in-flight magazine), Sawasdee (Thai Airways’ in-flight) and enVoyage (Eva Air’s in-flight). I’ve also featured as writer and/or managing editor in PhotoYou (a Reader’s Digest photography magazine), whitebook (ultra-luxe lifestyle quarterly), STORM (a supremely well-crafted journal in Singapore), SO/HO (an urban living magazine), among many others. Reporting Bruce Springsteen shows in Melbourne and Helsinki for Backstreets was an assignment particularly close to my heart, and I’ve written chapters for books on business personalities and global food cultures. I cover the entire narrative arc that extends between the exuberance of life and vivacity of style, and have profiled high visibility personalities from financial journalist Maria Bartiromo and actor Sam Neill to wine authority Robert Parker and Icelandic putrefied shark. An intense food-focused road trip across northern Thailand and the best 48 hours one can spend in Amsterdam? I’ve covered them all.

Doing Copy Right. I craft copy for marquee brands such as Cold Storage, Singapore’s pioneering premium supermarket chain, and real estate developer UOL Land’s Luxury Masterpieces properties. I’ve originated launch content for new properties by the W Hotels, The St. Regis Hotels and Sheraton, and contextualized marketing copy for Turkiye’s Hillside Hotels and Park Hotel Group destinations across Asia-Pacific. Coast to coast from South Beach to Scottsdale and longitude to latitude from Istanbul to Goa, the best part of the job is collaborating with international teams of hotel marketers, digital producers and brand managers.

All That P.R. Jazz. In former Chicago agency life, I worked with The Harbinger Group, a collective of former Ketchum brain trust, where I led my team to a Gold SABRE nomination for excellence in corporate media relations. At Ogilvy, I serviced accounts ranging from Bausch & Lomb and Lipton Tea to Playmobil and LG Electronics. As part of the Arthur Andersen team at Ketchum (ask me about that P.R. story), I won accolades such as the Publicity Club of Chicago’s Silver Trumpet, the Public Relations Society of America’s Skyline Award and the Women in Public Relations’ Obelisk Award – recognition for the execution of robust media relations programs.

Katong Queendom. I’m a lifelong Eastie — resident of Singapore’s Best Coast, the eclectic and vibrant village that’s the country’s first designated heritage town, where the best food joints and most relaxed cosmopolitan living nestle together. Eat your way through Katong-Joo Chiat-Geylang Serai with me, while filling up on the neighborhood’s history, culture and idiosyncrasies. Satiate on real and authentic Singapore!

To Be Continued…. My earliest travel memory is building sandcastles on a pre-touristic Balinese beach at age four, and along the way since, I’ve peaked Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, one of the world’s seven highest summits, and trekked across the Himalayas’ Annapurna range. I’ve attended 44 Bruce Springsteen shows across three continents and 20 cities, and witnessed the E Street Band’s longest show in history (4 hours and 8 minutes) in Helsinki, 2012. I’ve also completed 10 marathons, including one around the Great Wall of China, and two half-Ironman races, and represented the Singapore Recreational Club in international softball tournaments from Thailand to China. With my family’s business, The Lens Men, I lead an eye care community service program providing free vision tests and glasses to those who can’t afford this basic need on their own, and during Singapore’s Covid Circuit Breaker period, ran a weekly food distribution service to under-served seniors without family support. I speak decent Chinese, and write and speak enough Italian to make friends wherever I go in the Bel Paese and of course, to eat and drink everything. My Achilles’ heel? I am a Chicago Cubs fan. There’s much more to discover about me — let’s chat about how we can work together!