Writer’s Bio

While at Northwestern I took several screenwriting courses and studied ethical depictions of mental health in film. I was awarded several grants for my research project “Making the Invisible Visible: Creating an Accurate Portrayal of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in Film.” As one of the top undergraduate research candidates, I was selected as an Alumnae of Northwestern University Undergraduate Research Scholar and was awarded the Fletcher Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Research.

I was accepted into The Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts where I received funding to co-write and develop my first two short films:  Hadley’s Home: a short film about a young teen returning home after a suicide attempt, told through the perspective of her younger sister and Second Date: a short film about a young woman dealing with a panic attack while on a date.

In 2024, I was accepted as a screenwriter into the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute’s Exploring Psychoanalysis program. Through this, I was able to present pages of my feature script “Sinner? I Barely Know Her!” to clinicians, allowing me to receive unique feedback on my depictions of OCD treatment.

I love writing my own stories, but I am equally passionate about script consultion and script editing. Most recently, I served as a research consultant for the ethical depiction of suicidal ideation within the short film Unfinished by Colin Reed McElhinney.



My core writing belief: Writers need to be researchers.

What we see on screen matters. Studies have shown time and time again that there is a clear link between on-screen representation and the formulation of beliefs. When depictions of sensitive or under-represented topics are not well researched, it contributes to misinformation which can ultimately cause harm.

For example, OCD is one of the most frequently misrepresented disorders. It is also a disorder that has an average time delay of 7 years between the onset of symptoms and a diagnosis. I developed OCD when I was around 8 years old and was not diagnosed until I was 15. The primary reason for this is that my experience with OCD did not match up with what my family and I saw portrayed on screen. Our encounters with OCD consisted of the show Monk so although I was experiencing what I now know to be clear symptoms, OCD was never considered to be the culprit in my case. Monk was the face of OCD and we had nothing in common. My experience is not an unusual one. Under researched depictions of mental health lead to the perpetuation of social stigmas and can create obstacles for seeking and implementing treatment.

In some cases, depictions are based on true experiences and well-intended, but this doesn’t mean they are immune from causing harm. Portrayals of abuse inadvertently prioritize the perspective of the abuser. Depictions of rape intended for “historical accuracy” traumatize the actors and end in the Hollywood equivalent of a snuff film. A graphic depiction of suicide meant to show viewers the pain of it, accidentally results in it being romanticized by young teenagers. By taking pause and examining our stories with harm-reduction in mind, we can create nuanced and effective stories that encourage social change, rather than hinder it.

Select Works: Filmed

Hadley’s Home: Short Film

Role: Co-Writer and Producer

Hadley’s Home follows Emma, a 9 year old girl whose big sister Hadley is returning home from the hospital after a suicide attempt.

Status: Selected and Screened at Thru the Lens Film Festival, Finalist at NewFilmmakersNY, Finalist, Selected for NYC Mental Health & Wellness Festival, Selected for AltFest, Selected for The Film Collective Short Film Festival, Selected for IndieX Film Fest, Selected for Independent Shorts Awards, Selected for London Independent Story Prize, and selected for Young Filmmakers.

Viewing link available on request

Unfinished: Short Film

Role: Mental Health Researcher and Script Editor

"Unfinished" tells the story of Ruby, whose life is interrupted by the surprising return of her long-dead sister, Ellie. Through a symbolic game of Jenga, they uncover the mystery surrounding events from 15 years prior.

Status: Post-Production

Second Date: Short Film

Role: Co-Writer and Co-Director

"Second Date" follows a young woman experiencing a panic attack at the restaurant.

My co-writer and co-director Jackson and I worked with a licensed therapist to explore how we could accurately depict panic attacks and techniques to deal with them. Our goal was to create a film that demonstrated what a panic attack felt and looked like, but also left the audience with knowledge of tools to handle it.

Status: Post-Production

Viewing link available on request

Select Works: In Draft

Detailed synopsis, pitches, and pages available by request

Sinner? I Barely Know Her! : Feature Film

Logline: A teenage girl tries to reconcile her queer identity with her religious OCD.

Genre: Coming of Age, Dramedy

Tonally similar to: Booksmart, Lady Bird,

Thematic Questions: What should we take from religion? What should we do when we feel religion is taking from us? 

Brief Synopsis: Synopsis: 17-year-old Maggie is pretty sure she’s going to Hell. Scratch t hat. 17-year-old Maggie has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, is secretly queer in a small town, and attends a church that doesn’t exactly quell her compulsions. If Hell is real, she’s already there. In Sinner? I Barely Know Her!, Maggie explores her relationship with her sexuality through the lens of her religious OCD. Through church and therapy (one of which is a more helpful form of confession), Maggie deconstructs and reconstructs her identity, trying to separate it from the intrusive thoughts that constantly plague her. She deals with a best friend whose boyfriend hates her, a mysterious newcomer who turns her life upside down, a preacher who doesn’t quite know what he’s doing but is pretty sure he’s crushing it, and hardest of all: that voice inside her head that tells her that she will never ever be enough.

Status: Script submitted to festivals, available for pitching or acquirement


Haunt the Narrative : Limited Series

Logline: When her best friend is found dead in her pool, a teenage girl attempts to uncover the truth behind her mysterious death.

Genre: Drama, Mystery

Tonally similar to: Sharp Objects

Thematic Questions: Everyone is haunted by something. What would you do to get rid of your ghost

Brief Synopsis:  Something is rotten in the Fisher house. The stoves won’t turn off. The doors won’t lock. Memories of Gigi are haunting the halls and 17-year-old Ophelia is drowning in grief . Her twin Rian is acting distant. Her friends feel evasive. Her parents promise everything is fine. Everyone is trying to say the right words, in the right order, but something feels off. Why was Gigi swimming that night? What did her last text mean? Nobody seems to know. Ophelia is going to find out.


Status: Script available for pitching or acquirement. Pitch bible available upon request.


A Graceful Body: short

Logline: Two young figure skaters deal with the cycle of body dysmorphia and perfectionism in their competitive sport.

Genre: Drama, Horror

Tonally similar to: Black Swan

Thematic Questions: What does it mean to be graceful? Is your body something that helps or something that hurts?

Brief Synopsis:  The story alternates between two young female figure skaters (Leila and Claire) as they deal with the stress placed on them, one while on ice, the other while in the locker room. The script is meant to emanate the flow of an ice skating performance, with the moves of each character being paralleled, matched, or continued by the other.


Status: Script available for pitching or acquirement.