About me.

Hi! My name is Drake and I love telling stories that help us better understand the world around us while inspiring further curiosity and tangible change. I am originally from the greater Seattle area but am currently living in Chicago as I work toward a Master of Science in Broadcast/Video Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School.

After graduating from Northwestern in December 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and a Minor in Legal Studies, I worked as a content specialist at an integrated public relations agency, Inkhouse. In my role, I helped execute the content strategy across a variety of enterprise and consumer tech clients, including Okta, Amplitude, and NEXT Insurance.

Throughout my nearly two years at Inkhouse, I led nonfiction video storytelling projects outside of work. What Happened on First Street, a documentary that I co-directed alongside Carolyn Yip, premiered in October 2021. The 70-minute film captured events that took place in my hometown of Snohomish, Washington in the weeks after George Floyd was murdered in May of 2020. The film was accepted into the 2022 Seattle Black Film Festival, received a Rick Steves’ Europe Fund Capacity Grant, and was recognized by the National Education Association with the 2022 Martin Luther King Jr. Human and Civil Rights Award.

In August of 2022, my best friend, Lily Stephens Barnsby, and I drove from Seattle, Washington to Tallahassee, Florida, exploring the recent spike in anti-LGBTQ legislation across the United States and what it means to be queer in different parts of the country. We were joined by the Society of Lucky Mothers, an organization started by my mom, and documented the journey in an ongoing web series, The Queer Agenda: A Great American Road Trip.