One of the hardest things to do is write a bio about myself. I probably visited this page 10 times before knowing how I wanted to tackle this painstaking, yet apparently very important, exercise. It kind of turned into a bio-blog (shrugs). But also, if you need my professional bio, @ me. 

1 score and eight years ago…I popped up. Born to Caribbean-American parents, my upbringing was a mix of, “Don’t get out here and act like you have no type of broughtupsy,” and “Stop letting all my good air out!” 

Throughout my childhood, our parents exposed my sister and me to amazing opportunities that allowed us to learn and experience other cultures and countries. Just about every year, the entire family including grandparents, aunts and uncles took some sort of family trip to a new place or any of the grandmothers’ homes for summer birthdays. We were free to be expressive in our words and thoughts. We weren’t forced to like anything or participate in things that we weren’t too fond of. We grew up in a home that was (as cliche as it sounds) completely filled with unconditional love, a lot of laughter, and a strong immediate and extended family unit. Love was not only displayed in our individual relationships with one another, but very apparent in my parent’s marriage. 

Whenever I would get upset or clash with anyone, my dad would take me to the end of the driveway. We’d sit on this log no matter the time of day or night and have ‘Daddy and Deejee’ talks. This is where I learned about emotional intelligence.

When I was eight, I had the opportunity to live with my paternal grandmother in Athens, Georgia, where I was exposed to different cultural experiences like learning Japanese in grade school, attending performances at the theater, and even getting dressed up to hear the orchestra play. However, I really missed home. I missed going to the beach, my family, and I missed my best friends.

I returned to St. Croix after graduating from 5th grade and indulged myself in the things I missed so much. I thought I would never leave.

I was wrong. In high-school, I was awarded the opportunity to attend a Summer Study program at Penn State University. That summer changed my entire understanding of a lot of things. I met people from all over the world and decided I wanted to experience that for the rest of my life. I volunteered for Habitat for Humanity and quickly fell in love with the concept of selflessly helping someone in need. I didn’t want that feeling to end. Not to mention all the amazing food and shopping options that are here on the mainland…I mean, c’mon…Home Goods??! What??!!! But it was during that summer I knew I was going to be on the first plane out of St. Croix after graduating. 

July 2009 – literally one month after graduation, my mom and I hopped on a plane to Florida to get me settled in for school. College was IN.TENSE. I’ll write more about it on my blog. After graduating with a Bachelor’s in Advertising and Communications from the University of Tampa four years later, I worked for a PR firm in the city. I learned so much by being thrown into the world of networking. I had never understood the value of it until then. And that’s where my love for connecting and collaborating truly evolved.

Fast foward to 2016, I launched D.TAMU, a boutique style branding agency helping organizations merge the gap between content and design. This is and will ALWAYS be my baby. We ate Ramen together for a few years, not gonna lie. But man, was it worth the struggle! You’ll learn that there are two things I REALLLYYYYY enjoy in life: good food and dressing up! I was determined to make this work so I can still afford to do both, because on the inside, I’m a billionaire and I’ve gotta look like one…and that’s on manifestation *prayer hands emoji*. 

A few years later, I attended an event during Tampa Bay Startup Week, which unknowingly would be where my current partnership began after strong bond formed in the lunch line while discussing Beyonce and realizing we do the exact same thing career-wise. About two years after that initial contact, my Business Bestie and I merged our companies to what is now Prymel Elements.

So, there it is. If you made it to the end, you deserve something nice. Click here!