Hi there, I'm Hope

a little context

Why I made this site

First & foremost:
I want to create really meaningful friendships!
(and maybe find a partner along the way...)

I'm calling these intentional friendships: relationships that help each other become the best versions of ourselves, built on shared values, shared goals, and shared care.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good time! Play, fun, and adventure are super important to me. But I am looking for the fun we have together to be in service of helping us grow:

What can we create together?
How can we support each other's flourishing?
Who do we want to be, and how can we bring that out in one another?
(and most importantly)
How can the things we do and make together help make the world a better place?

And if somewhere along the way, one of those intentional friendships grows into a partnership, that's wonderful too ❤️

here's a bit more detail of what I'm looking for:

Intentional Friendships

Okay, here's my intentional friendship pitch:

Let's confirm we're on the same page. Do you care about the world around you? Do you want to help make it more regenerative, cooperative, creative, and caring? If yes, amazing, we are simpatico.
Let's share goals 🙂 What are you working on? Who are you trying to become? What are you dreaming of, experimenting with, questioning?
Let's see how we can support each other on those goals! Maybe it's working out together or texting to make sure you went to bed on time. Maybe it's collaborating on a project or teaching each other skills. Maybe it's emotional support or co-working. It can be whatever! The goal is to be genuinely invested in each other's growth, hearts, minds, and spirits.

Check out My Goals

Outside of goals, I think the other important aspect of intentional friendship is that we can be our full, authentic selves with each other.

So yes, let's have fun together!
But can we also:

Be weird, ugly, dorky, and vulnerable together?
Hold each other when we're depressed?
Inspire each other when we feel lost?
Experiment and play together?
Make mistakes and learn together?
Grieve and cry and laugh together?

Basically, can we do life together?

If we can say things like:

“I like who I am / who I am becoming when I am with you”
“You bring out the best in me”
“You feel like home”
“I feel more alive and whole with you in my life”
“I’m so proud of what we are creating together”

I think that’s the mark of really wonderful intentional friendships <3

Lastly, I'll leave you with two quotes that have been resonating with me recently:

Community is much more than belonging to something; it's about doing something together that makes belonging matter.

Some people think they are in community, but they are only in proximity. True community requires commitment and openness. It is a willingness to extend yourself to encounter and know the other.

Partnership

What I am looking for in a partner is exactly what I’m looking for in my friendships (see intentional friendships above) with the added layer of romantic love and affection.

In the short term,

I am looking for someone who would like to help each other reach our goals in a nurturing way.
I think some fun, inspiration, and tenderness could feel really nourishing in this stage of my life <3

A note here: if you look at My Goals, you'll see I am in the process of finding a new career. So it's important to me that whoever I'm romantically involved with at this time is understanding and in support of that goal, and whatever boundaries I might have to make with my time and attention to achieve it.

That said, it's not just about me. I love helping my partner achieve their goals too! So the support flows both ways.

Whether this connection lasts forever or only for a time is alright... So long as we helped each other towards our goals and made each other feel loved, that is a worthwhile connection to me.

In the long term,

I would love to find “my person”
My teammate in life
Someone I can dream and build with til we're old and grey as they say

But let's start with intentional friends and see where things go 😉

Feelin the romance already?

Head to wanna date me? to learn more ❤️

If that resonates with you, read on!

Hope smiling, curly hair, black top, deep blue background

a little about me

About Me

At a Glance

🍑Grew up in Marietta, GA
🗽Based in NYC
📏5’5”
🎂32 years old
🎨Artistic + Creative + Playful
🤝Big on community building
🌿Animal + nature lover
🧗Somatic, athletic, adventurous
🥑Vegan (but in a cool way)
💡Mission driven + Intellectually curious

Sides of Me

we all contain multitudes... here's a few of mine!

Hope leaning against a brick wall in a blue tee, hand in her curls, smiling softly

🎭 Performing Artist

Studied dancing, acting, singing
Have done mostly musical theater professionally (including Hamilton and a few other regional shows), with some light work in voice over and tv
Love collaborating and experimenting
Always down for a singing or dancing jam
Currently curious about immersive theater and experience design
Drawn to stories that feel deeply human, that connect us, breathe life into us, challenge and expand us. The biggest compliment I could receive is that my work reminded you of what really mattered in life or moved you to take some sort of positive action in the world
I am a theater kid at heart and therefore yes, I am a weirdo goofball. Hang out with me long enough and she will come out.

Hope dancing barefoot on a golden hillside at sunset, arms raised with a rainbow scarf, a friend beside her wrapped in a blanket — My favorite place to dance

Hope in a cream period gown at a costume fitting — My first fitting for Hamilton: An American Musical

Hope mid-leap in a split jump beside a dance partner, performing a duet in a sunlit studio — College duet

Hope on set for her first TV commercial — Baby's first tv commercial

Hope dancing barefoot in a flowing white dress on a dark stage, arm reaching forward — Limón piece

Hope in costume as Anybodys, short curls, rust sweatshirt and jeans, leaning against a backstage wall — Anybodys in West Side Story

Hope in headphones at a studio microphone, grinning and flashing a peace sign — A little voice over dubbing anime

Hope and her roommate leaping mid-air on a rooftop against a blue evening sky — Roomie and I snuck onto the roof

A cast of a dozen performers in paint-splattered white clothes posing with water guns on a painted floor — Movement theater with paint guns and mirrors

Hope in alien costume performing at Meow Wolf — Playing Aliens in Meow Wolf

Hope standing against a deep blue wall in a black top and olive trousers, hands in pockets, looking at the camera — Self tapin'

🌍 Climate Activist

Organized with Sunrise Movement for four years. Co-founded the hub in Dallas, TX, where we did dozens of electoral campaigns, direct actions, local policy work, and mutual aid
Grew and learned so much about environmental and social justice organizing during this time. It was a gift to feel like I was a part of such an important movement
Deeply care about this planet and all the ecosystems, creatures, and humans we share it with. As I search for what my career or job will be in this chapter of life, it is important to me that environmental and social justice are integrated in that work

Hope speaking at a lectern with a raised fist at a Sunrise Movement rally, banner reading Allred fight for us not gas execs — Direct Action to divest from fossil fuels

Hope in a green rain jacket walking past a petrochemical plant with a fellow Sunrise marcher on the Gulf South March — Gulf South March: walked from New Orleans to Houston to pass a Civilian Climate Corps

Hope in a red bandana holding a hand-lettered cardboard sign reading Arms Embargo Now — Calling for a Ceasefire

Group photo of the Sunrise Movement Dallas hub holding an Our Time To Rise banner, Hope kneeling at the front — Sunrise Dallas hub founding, 2019

Hope and four campaign volunteers in pink Jessica Cisneros for Congress shirts striking playful poses on the front of a Jeep — Electoral Campaign

Sunrise Dallas members holding a Free DART for Students banner at Akard Station, Hope crouched at the right with arms wide — Free buses for students campaign

Hope in a hard hat, respirator and work gloves inside a gutted house stripped to the studs, with fellow volunteers behind her — “Muck + Gutting” a house hit by a hurricane

Hope shouting at the front of a Sunrise Movement march in Washington DC, holding a Generation on Fire banner with fellow organizers under orange flags — Converging on D.C.

🏡 Community Organizer

Founded the Movement House, a co living and community space for environmental and social justice organizers (this project was my baby for 3 years!)
Currently helping to develop the DearCrisis community in NYC, a group exploring the “metacrisis” together
Creating spaces and relationships that feel like “home” is super meaningful to me. I want to relate authentically, to build things together, to be there for each other through the highs and lows, and to navigate this chaotic world together

Housemates playing a block-stacking game at a wooden kitchen table while Hope laughs holding a cat, plants and shelves on the walls behind — Housemates of the Movement House

Painting the Movement House sign — Painting the sign

Yellow wildflowers in the native garden in front of the Movement House, a brick building with arched windows and a domed roof under a blue sky — Front of the Movement House, with the native garden

Hope in overalls with three friends grinning over green compost buckets and a shovel on a compost pile — Getting compost for the garden

Neighborhood gathering at the Movement House — Neighborhood Gathering

Sunday Coffee + Donuts gathering — Coffee + Donuts gathering every Sunday

Six friends mid-game in a backyard at golden hour, crouching and lunging with arms out on the grass — Yard Games

A training session at the Movement House — Trainings at the house

A shared family-style meal at the Movement House — Family Meals

A group of friends in bike helmets posing on a sunny street, Hope lying at the front with her chin in her hands — Community Bike Ride

Hope with four friends from a film crew, arms around each other in a backyard at golden hour — Film Crew

Collage of the native garden: a prickly pear in bloom, a Prairie in Progress sign, blue-eyed grass and a pink evening primrose — Movement House Native Garden

Collage titled Bio-Blitz Day: a group of young volunteers in blue shirts in front of the Movement House — Movement House Native Garden

Collage titled Trinity Conservancy Volunteers: a group of volunteers with shovels and a wheelbarrow in the garden — Movement House Native Garden

Collage titled The Movement House Garden: a bee on a yellow flower, pink obedient plant spikes, yellow blooms by the house and a purple wildflower — Movement House Native Garden

🤲 Facilitator + Somatic Practitioner + Experience Designer

I naturally gravitate towards roles like facilitator, teacher, host, organizer
I love designing spaces and experiences for people that feel intentional and bespoke (two books on this: The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker + Experience Design: a Participatory Manifesto by Abraham Burickson)
I created a somatic practice called Reciprocal Massage, a hybrid of contact improv and massage technique
I find that being a facilitator or designer allows me to converge my theater and activist backgrounds, which is super fun

A small circle of people standing barefoot on grass holding hands with heads bowed, Hope at the centre, string lights overhead — Grounding Circle

Hope standing with a hand on her chest and pointing across a rehearsal space, a collaborator arranging logs in a tire behind her — Directing an immersive theater piece

The Reciprocal Massage group together after a session — Reciprocal Massage gang

🏕️ Nature + Adventure Girly

I love camping and hiking trips (have a goal to see all the U.S. National Parks)
I enjoy getting dirty, exploring, playing, building
Experiencing a new culture or learning a new skill makes me feel like a full human
Not so big on resorts and bougie vacations… I’d much rather do a wilderness survival program, a yoga retreat, eco tourism, a history or arts tour, stay in a hostel, get pulled into a side quest, work on an exciting project… things that help me grow, connect with others, and give back
Any time I get to spend time in true nature, my heart feels full, my spirit alive and at peace. Let’s get out of the city together <3
There is a high likelihood that I will die because I thought a wild animal was my best friend

Hope in the Rocky Mountains — Rocky Mountains

Hope sitting in a maple tree in full orange and yellow autumn colour, arm draped over a branch, smiling upward — Fall Foliage: Upstate NY

Hope with friends at Yellowstone — Yellowstone buddies

Hope at Grand Teton National Park — Grand Tetons

Hope on a hike at Bryce Canyon — Totally unprepared for a Bryce Canyon hike

Hope with a family of lemurs — Lemur family, aka the best day of my life

Hope journaling on a cosy bed inside a wood-panelled camper van under string lights, the ocean at dusk through the window — California camper van

Hope at Yellowstone National Park — Yellowstone

Hope screaming in mock terror as a friend play-attacks her from behind, two more friends laughing on a log in the woods — Bear attack

Hope on a solo hike in upstate New York — Solo upstate NY hike

Four friends perched among the branches of a big autumn maple, Hope grinning from the middle — We named this tree George

My love languages

Hope dancing barefoot on a golden hillside at sunset, arms spread wide with a rainbow scarf

🤗Physical touch
🕺Movement
💬Deeply + authentically relating
🌷Kind gestures
😜Teasing, poking fun
🌱Supporting each other’s growth + goals
🛠️Co creating, co working
🎈Indulging in playfulness and childlike wonder
🏡Nesting (cooking, helping clean, making a space feel good)
✨Dreaming, sharing passions
🤓Showing me the thing you’re deeply nerdy about

Activities We Could Get Up To

Hope and a friend striking dramatic dance poses on a rooftop, shot from below against a blue evening sky — Social dancing (I know salsa, bachata, and some swing, but want to learn more)

Hope laughing while balanced on a partner's feet in an acro-yoga pose in a bright living room — Yoga, working out, contact improv

Hope beaming at a pottery studio bench in a clay-smudged apron, shaping a small terracotta bowl — Crafty things like pottery, painting, woodwork, etc (can’t guarantee I’m good, but I enjoy learning!)

Hope in a lace masquerade mask and black beaded gown, glancing back over her shoulder in front of a newspaper-covered window — Go see a show: theater, dance, music, poetry, experimental. I’m open

Hope laughing at a bathroom mirror while a tabby cat perches across her back — Volunteer at a garden, animal rescue, or cool political campaign

Three friends on a video call each holding up a copy of The Creative Act, Hope on the left in headphones — Join a book club

Hope balancing on a fallen log in front of a waterfall, one leg kicked out and arms wide — Any outdoor activity: picnic, hiking, volleyball, biking, frisbee, swimming, skating, tree gazing, bird watching. I enjoy it all

Living-room selfie with friends holding guitars, drums and a djembe, Hope grinning at the front — Music jam with friends

Hope pulling a face while holding up a cat-shaped carved pumpkin, a wall of art prints behind her — Sign up for a skill building workshop (forever a student)

Hope shouting with delight in a selfie with six friends at a bowling alley, one holding a ball aloft — Co-host a community event (I love organized fun)

Hope posing atop a sculpture made of plastic waste outside the UN in Geneva while a photographer checks his camera — Conspire on how to make the world a better place

Hope and a friend sticking their tongues out in homemade avocado face masks — Watch a feel good movie and do DIY face masks (or some other equally wholesome thing)

Hope in a masquerade mask gazing up at a corridor ceiling strung with colourful fairy lights — Anything whimsical, honestly… I will almost always participate in tom foolery

Hope wide-eyed and grinning at a candle flame in a dark room, lit by candlelight — Experiment! Love new project ideas, artistic collaborations, solution building, making prototypes… let’s play and see what’s possible

Hope and a friend sitting on a log by a river, deep in conversation among autumn trees

what I'm working towards

My Goals

Let's help each other flourish and do cool shit together! Here's my goals list (it's long, sorry lol). But what are your goals? How can we collaborate or support one another? Take a look and let me know if you see any opportunities for us to come together 🙂

Personal Goals

Priority Goals

Career + Mission Search
- I’ve been a performing artist and climate activist. Now looking to see what this next chapter of life should be focused on.
- Curious to explore:
  - Urban design + city planning
    
    Intentional living communities, eco arts communes, permaculture, experimental pilot programs
  - Ecosystem rehabilitation and species conservation
  - Professional facilitation + community building + program managing
  - Experience design + immersive theater
  - Performing arts
  - Companies or orgs doing good work that need my skills
  - Intersections of the above
- Looking for the balance between financial stability, mission driven work, and joy + inspiration
Build Strength + Agility
- Post knee surgery, I want to build as much strength as possible to feel confident and free in my body again
- Looking for a trainer + a workout buddy
- Would love to incorporate classes like yoga, dance, HIIT, cirque… open to explore!
Develop Better Habits + Rituals
- Habits that support my mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health, like:
  - Morning + night time rituals
  - Reading or podcasting instead of scrolling
  - Meal prepping
  - Some sort of spiritual practice
    
    Meditation?
    
    Chanting?
    
    Dream journaling?
Investing in Intentional Friendships
- Curious about forming a “friendship circle”: a small group of friends invested in each other’s growth and hearts that meet weekly

Secondary Goals

Explore Devising My Own Creative Work
- Immersive theater
- Site specific + space activations
- Mixing performance with other passions like somatics, relationality, facilitation, activism, community organizing, etc.
New Wardrobe
- I hate all of my clothes! Lol
- Looking to revamp my wardrobe with clothes that will last a long time and feel more like me
Connect More with Nature
- Gardening to grow food and wildlife habitat
- Learn the native plants + animals
- Join a group or regular nature based activity
Explore Traveling
- Curious about Work Away + WWOOF
- Want to visit intentional living communities, ecosystem regeneration projects, and urban sustainability projects
- Skill building opportunities like retreats, workshops, and intensives
Learn More About Economics, Geography, and Government
- I’d like to have a more comprehensive understanding of the systems and world we live in
Financial Growth
- Strongly tied to my career search
- Develop a plan for savings + investments
Have More Fun, More Often
- Explore the city!
- Do more activities with friends

Bucket List Goals

Learn a second language
Learn an instrument
Create or join an eco arts commune of sorts
Adopt an animal (or two…)

Buddy Goals

Goals I’d love to work towards with a friend:

A Career Mentor
- Looking to connect with people in the career fields of interest to understand what their job looks like and if it resonates
Meal Prepping
- Vegan if possible 🙂
Getting in Shape
- Splitting the cost of a trainer and working out together
- Taking classes like dance, yoga, HIIT, or whatever strikes our fancy
Putting Together My New Wardrobe
- I need help! Lol
Explore Spirituality
- I’d love to be introduced to different meditation, chanting, nature connection, creativity, and internal growth practices
Creative Experimentation
- Looking to just play and see what’s born out of collaboration!
- Dancing, acting, singing, music, art, co-hosting workshops or events, shows… open to possibility
Reading + Learning
- Love a good book club
- Fieldtrips
Explore the City + Have Fun
- I’ve lived here for 5 years off and on and there’s still so much of the city I don’t know
- Would love to do more crafty classes, see more shows, attend interesting or educational events, get outside more, go dancing…

Hope with loose curls in a black top, half-smiling at the camera

the romantic bit

wanna date me?

if you've made it this far and read all of my rambles: a) I'm impressed lol, b) you might be interested in me?... If so, here's a peek into what I'm like as a romantic partner. Let me know if it resonates with ya.

🌈 Orientation + Gender

Straight, cis female
Open to sensuality with all genders

🔗 Relationship Structure

Open to both monogamy and open relationships, can be happy in either! (Depends on who I’m with and what we feel we need at the time)
Have never tried polyamory (feels complicated and stressful? But am open to having my mind be changed)
Important to me to practice ethical non-monogamy, meaning fully informed, enthusiastic consent
If the intention is long term partnership, I usually like to start out monogamous to form a solid foundation, and then open things up if the desire comes

🔥 Energy + Sexuality

Physical attraction is important but only an entry point. Real attraction for me is derived from a person’s values, personality/energy, and mind
I’m generally a very sensual person
Default sexual energy is sweet, tender, and playful, but do enjoy exploring energetic edges and power dynamics in the right setting
I like partners that I feel I can express the many sides of myself with. I can be sweet and nurturing, but also sassy, weird, mischievous, deeply heartfelt, pensive, super lively and extroverted, or quiet and introverted. The more range I can express, the more comfortable and at home I’ll feel with you

🪢 Attachment Style

Desire a healthy balance between independence and quality time together
Don't need to be the center of my partner’s world, I celebrate my partner having their own goals, friends, and projects! But do want to feel important and special to them
Not typically a jealous person. I actually get quite a lot of joy out of my partner’s joy. The main things I need to feel secure are proactive and honest communication, clear boundaries, and feeling loved.

🏡 Family, Kids, Community, Home

Kids: maybe? Fully depends on who I’m with, where we are at in life, what kind of community and resources we have access to, etc. I could see myself happy with or without kids. If I did go that route, I am currently leaning towards just one kid and adoption.
If kids are involved, it is important to me to be nestled in a solid community where kids are collectively raised (like how many extended families do in cultures outside the U.S.)
I like the idea of a chosen family. I love my immediate family, but have never felt quite fully myself around them. Building a chosen family with my partner, our closest friends and community members, some animal friends, and in right relationship with the land we’re on feels very special to me
I want a home that reflects the kind of life I want to lead and the values I want to practice. Home should feel warm, like a safe place to land, open to the community, meant to be shared, peaceful, inspirational, creative, and maybe a bit whimsical. I don’t need a lot of fancy stuff to feel happy, just the things that facilitate quality of life, sustainable practices, and meaningful connection between the people who come in and out of the space.
Did I mention building community is super important to me? Haha

💛 Desired Values + Qualities in a Partner

Aligned in eco and prosocial values
Wants to build a life around creativity, community, and making a positive impact
Has chosen projects or work that is in service of something larger than themself
Kind, caring
Passionate, driven
Playful, creative, curious
Committed to honesty, willing to go deep and be vulnerable
Not afraid to be silly or weird
Open to new perspectives, enjoys learning
Physically active, somatic, embodied
Wants to eventually find a place to set roots and invest in, balanced with a healthy dose of adventure

🌱 Growth Edges

I’d love to develop a better relationship with finances and money. I don’t make a lot of money right now and the thought of retirement stresses me out. While I have contempt for the current economic system we find ourselves in, I recognize money is an essential component of stability, taking care of ourselves and our community, and being able to do the kind of projects I dream of. I am taking this into consideration as I search for my next career/job/project, but would also love if a partner wanted to help me grow in this area.
Time management. In general I think I could get a lot more done and have a space for a more full, vibrant life if I got better about using time efficiently.
Listening and asking questions before speaking. I am usually very present and am great at making people feel seen and heard. But sometimes I get excited and can jump straight into sharing thoughts or opinions instead of making space. I’d like to lead from a grounded and curious place.