I graduated from law school in 2009, and was sworn in as an attorney in the State of New York later that year. I am deeply interested in public policy and advocacy across a broad spectrum of issues, and it had been my intention to use my education to find and champion causes that would strengthen our democracy.
Shortly after graduation, I started down that path. I co-founded the Open Source Democracy Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to promoting net neutrality. It gained a lot of support, and even began making national news. But then something odd happened.
Stories, jokes, political analysis, and essays I had published online for fun in my spare time started getting noticed—so much so that they attracted the attention of a marketing company in San Diego. One of their vice presidents reached out and offered me a position as the first hire in a brand new social media department. It was a tremendous opportunity—Fortune 500 clients, broad freedom to define the role, the opportunity to do creative content creation and high-level strategy. And what better way to hone advocacy skills than to be on the cutting edge of new media?
I’ve been in the field of Marketing and Communications for a decade now, and it’s been a fascinating journey. I’ve had the privilege of representing extraordinary organizations in op-eds and letters to government officials, and the opportunity to acquire entirely new skill sets, including web development and graphic design.
My career trajectory is to some degree a self-fulfilled prophecy. Back in law school I would occasionally confide to my friends that I didn’t care to be litigator or practitioner; I only wanted the legal education. I told them I would be very happy to have a vastly different career, and in the end for my obituary to contain the shocking footnote: was also a lawyer.