About Me

I’m a Kentucky girl at heart—someone who finds joy in golden-hour sunsets over my family farm and the rich diversity of city life in Louisville.

My love of words started early with The Donna Journal, a newspaper I created for my childhood street, packed with neighborly news and delivered door-to-door via my red tricycle. That love for writing grew into speaking—I became a three-time state champion in the 4-H Speech Competition! Even as a young person, I was always drawn to storytelling. 

It was no surprise when I went on to study English at Georgetown College. The surprise was that this life-long Southern Baptist girl soon felt called to preach, even though I had never seen a woman in the pulpit. I earned my Master of Divinity at Baylor University in Waco, Texas…even though I said I would never move to Texas. (Never say never, friends!) 

Today, I share life with my husband, Evan, and our quirky cat, Oliver, who talks to us all day long. I delight in reading good books, cheering on Kentucky basketball, traveling the world, deep conversation over coffee, and exploring a more spacious spirituality rooted in wonder, inclusivity, authenticity, and love.

What I Do

As a pastor, writer, and speaker, I walk alongside those who feel disillusioned, burned out, or restless with the stories they’ve been handed about faith, the world, or even themselves—because I’ve been there, too.

I believe there’s always a bigger story unfolding, one that’s more spacious, honest, and hopeful than we often imagine. For years, I’ve walked with people who feel heartbroken or left behind by what they were told faith had to be. If that’s you, I want you to know: you’re not alone. There is a bigger story worth living.

I find the sacred in the most unexpected people and unlikely places. I prefer questions to answers–and stories to lengthy sermons. And although I’ve let go of parts of the faith tradition that I inherited, I still trust that Love always gets the final word in the story. Whether I’m preaching, writing, or speaking to a room full of skeptics or seekers, my heart is always the same: to create space for you to be present to wonder, speak a word of hope when it feels hardest to hold, and help you take your next brave step in the bigger story.

Pastoral Experience

I’m an ordained pastor with over 16 years of congregational ministry experience. My journey has taken me from Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, Texas (2009-2020) to Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky from 2020-2025. I now serve as Interim Preaching Pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Georgetown, Kentucky.

Speaking

Over the years, I’ve been invited to speak in churches and universities and at events, retreats, fundraisers, and conferences across the country. I speak on themes like courage and resilience, wholeness and care, hope and imagination, and justice and inclusion.

Courage & Resilience

  • Your Next Brave Step: Finding Courage When the Way Forward Is Unclear
  • Healing Is Never Linear: Finding Hope in the Spirals and Setbacks of Life
  • Joyful Resistance: When the World Feels Heavy, Seek Out Delight

Wholeness & Care

  • Self Care is Not Selfish: The Strength of Tending to Your Soul
  • Rewiring our Overloaded Souls: Discerning “What’s Mine to Do?”
  • The Wisdom of Chronic Pain: Listening to Our Bodies

Hope & Imagination

  • Living into a Better Story: Learning to Let Go of Toxic Theology
  • Who Told You That?: The Bigger Story of Who God Created You to Be
  • “Yes, And…”: Embracing a More Wholehearted Spirituality

Justice & Inclusion

  • Plenty Good Room: Building Tables of Welcome and Belonging
  • Hard and Holy Work: The Spiritual Work of Social Justice
  • Coloring Outside the Lines: Breaking Free from Limiting Scripts

Highlights of Past Speaking Engagements Include:

Sermons at Highland Baptist Church of Louisville, Kentucky, August 2020 – February 2025

Keynote Address at the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation National Conference, July 2024

Commencement Address at Georgetown College, May 2022

Keynote Sermon at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly, June 2020

Sermon at Baylor University Chapel, April 2019

Sermon at Truett Seminary Community Gathering for Worship, April 2018

Keynote Sermon at National Festival of Young Preachers, January 2017

Writing

My writing explores the intersection of faith, courage, and spiritual transformation. I’m also a 2025 alum of the Kenyon Review Writer’s Workshop, specializing in creative non-fiction. In all my writing, I craft stories that offer honesty, depth, and hope.

Books

Hard & Holy Work: A Lenten Journey through the Book of Exodus, Co-authored with Dr. Tyler Mayfield, Westminster John Knox Press, January 2024

Articles

“Since We Are Surrounded,” Good Faith Media (Nov 2023)
“Angels Among Us,” Baptist News Global (Mar 2023)
“Finding Inspiration from Fannie Lou Hamer,” BNG (June 2022)
“I’m Sorry Your God Is So Small,” Courier-Journal (May 2021)
“Until Black Women’s Lives Matter,” Good Faith Media (Sept 2020)
“At Christmas, Jesus Bears the Light of Justice,” Courier-Journal (Dec 2020)

Let's Keep the Conversation Going

Whether you’re looking for a speaker for your event, a writer for your publication, a pastor for a significant life moment, or a preacher who meets people where they really are—I’d love to help you tell the bigger story.
Contact Me and Let’s Talk!