In 2012, she was working as a publicist in the country music industry, touring with artists and working red carpets in Las Vegas. Then Hurricane Sandy destroyed her family home on the Jersey Shore, and days later her dad died of a heart attack in the aftermath.
That loss became the turning point. She says the death of her father, plus burnout from the music industry's behind-the-scenes politics, pushed her to rethink her path. Inspired by her dad and their shared love of travel and theme parks, she left music and built a new career as a full-time travel journalist and author.
She did not walk away from a bad job into a guaranteed upgrade. Journalism, she writes, is a tough industry with nothing promised, and she had no idea whether the risk would work. Still, she pursued opportunities that combined two things she loved: travel writing and theme parks. Writing had always been part of her life, from childhood to drafting press releases and artist biographies in music.
Her new lane was also personal. She grew up visiting Walt Disney World several times a year, along with other parks like Hersheypark, and she still goes with her husband today. She also says her debut book, centered on Disney and food, is the biggest accomplishment of her career so far. She dedicated it to her dad's memory.
There is no tidy business formula here, but there is a lesson founders know well: the best pivots usually come from a clear problem, a real edge, and the discipline to keep going when the outcome is uncertain. She had the edge of lived passion and the courage to start smaller than a dream career usually looks.
For anyone sitting on a career reset, the playbook is simple. Find the overlap between what you already know, what you actually love, and what people will pay for. Then build from there, one project at a time. Reinvention is rarely comfortable, but it can be the most durable growth strategy you ever choose.
