Naomi is passionate about the arts, cultural heritage, equality and accessibility, and creative storytelling. First exposed to grantwriting in graduate school while securing funding to conduct archival research abroad, Naomi has been honing her grantwriting skills in a variety of development, programming, and administrative roles in the arts and cultural heritage sector since 2017. Prior to joining Elevate, she was the Director of Operations at the Beaufort Historic Site, a small nonprofit that preserves and interprets the histories of Carteret County, operates several historic buildings, and holds fundraising events. In this role, she secured foundation and corporate grants for special projects and general operating support, managed all individual giving, and cultivated community partners and sponsorships. Naomi also served on the board of the North Carolina Museums Council, where she assisted with statewide membership development and provided resources about Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, & Inclusion (DEAI) to museum professionals. Before this, Naomi oversaw the daily operations of an art gallery and utilized her love of writing as a Digital Marketing Assistant.

Naomi earned an MA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Art History with a focus in Museum Studies and holds a BA from the College of Charleston in Art History and Studio Art. While completing her degrees, she interned with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Gibbes Museum of Art. Naomi is currently involved with her local Main Street America program, Downtown Morehead City, Inc.

Lucky enough to live in a quaint coastal town, Naomi is frequently near the water or biking around her charming town. Outside of writing, she enjoys making art, exploring new cities/countries, hearing live music, and getting together to laugh with good friends.