ABOUT

I’m a writer, editor, and comedian, and I was most recently a Staff Writer on the animated series Alma’s Way (Fred Rogers Productions). Like many kids of Syriac immigrants from Turkey, I was taught at a young age to fear all egg-based condiments. After a childhood spent in hiding from mayonnaise, I studied teaching at Columbia University’s Teachers College and journalism at NYU, as well as comedy at UCB and The Second City Film School. My writing is inspired by my unknown heritage, quiet suburban New York upbringing, and that one time I had brain surgery (I’m okay, but my hairdo was never the same in rain again).

In the great 2010s, I was a writer and editor for a number of magazines and websites, where I interviewed everyone from the Secretary of Education to a Backstreet Boy to the father of near-death experiences. In the early 2020s, I started writing for TV and YouTube series like Rubble & Crew (Spin Master/Nick Jr.), Alma’s Way (Fred Rogers Productions/PBS Kids), “LEGO Duplo Adventures” (Moonbug), “Ask Vida” (Moonbug), and more. I was also a Fred Rogers Productions fellow (2022) and a Sesame Workshop Writers’ Room fellow (2021). And I’m currently developing an original 6-11 comedy series, “Unibrow,” with Very Big World Entertainment.

Across comedy, children’s media, and journalism, I’ve written about families, food, heritage, crafts, DIY, books, spirituality, death, and health. And I’ve always got a joke about hummus up my sleeve.

Speaking of hummus jokes, I perform stand-up comedy, plus improv on UCB house teams (Harold team “Well Well Well” and Lloyd team “Grunch”). And “Broads in the Attic,” a sketch variety show I co-created and co-host, is headed for the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. My short film “The Engagement Chicken” was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Short at the 2022 Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, and I am a recipient of The Second City’s Stuart Cornfeld Award and the Nickie’s Prize for Humor Writing.

In my spare time, I collect oddball jewelry, doodle greeting cards, and stare into well water, contemplating why Kevin McCallister never finished his macaroni and cheese dinner in Home Alone.