San Antonio has always been home, even as my career has taken me far beyond it. I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve earned—through countless auditions, long hours, and proving myself backstage in New York, Paris, London, Milan, and Los Angeles. Those experiences led me to Fashion Week with Guido Palau and to red carpets from the Met Gala to the Emmys to Cannes—moments I once only dreamed about when flipping through fashion magazines as a girl. They’ve shaped me profoundly, and I carry them with deep gratitude.

What grounds me, though, is bringing that perspective back here. In San Antonio I’ve built Twirl Salon, where I’ve put down roots and trained a team to see hair not just as something above the shoulders, but as an extension of style and confidence for the whole person. For me, it’s about helping women show up in the world as they want to be seen—uplifted, authentic, and confident in their own presence.

How It Started

When I worked at Bumble & Bumble in New York, I learned that hair is an accessory to fashion, as essential as a pair of shoes or a handbag. That philosophy changed the way I looked at my craft forever. It taught me to think about hair in the context of the runway, the magazine spread, the whole look.

When I moved back to San Antonio, I looked for a salon that worked that way. I couldn’t find one. Maybe they existed, but they weren’t accessible to me. So I felt like I had no choice but to start my own.

Twirl was born out of a personal need—to create a space where fashion and hair speak to each other, where stylists are trained to forecast what’s coming, and where we’re not just following trends but helping set them. Every season, we watch the runways, we prepare, and then we translate that knowledge back home. For me, it’s always been about bringing global experiences into this community I love.

“Hair is an accessory to fashion—like shoes, jewelry, or a bag—an extension of the whole silhouette.”

Why I Stay

When I’m abroad for work, people rarely know San Antonio. They ask if I mean Dallas or Austin. Sometimes they look surprised, even disappointed, when I explain where I’m from. But what I try to convey is that San Antonio has something those places don’t.

For me, it’s the kindness. There’s a warmth here, a politeness, a sense of care that’s missing in other cities. In L.A., I can spend days surrounded by people in my industry, but the interactions—at the hotel, the coffee shop, even backstage—often feel transactional, tinged with superiority. Coming home to San Antonio is the opposite.

There’s a ritual I look forward to every time I return: I land at the airport, get picked up, and start driving downtown. Without fail, I feel it wash over me—relief. I made it. I’m home. I’m safe. This city has been mine since I was seven years old. I’ve left and returned, but every time I come back, I feel anchored.

“When I land and drive home from the airport, I feel it wash over me—relief. I made it. I’m home. I’m safe.”

Building Something Bigger

I’ll be honest: San Antonio doesn’t hold the same creative weight as New York or Paris—not yet. But that’s exactly why I stay. I want to be part of the change. I want to help create the opportunities here so that the next generation of artists, stylists, and dreamers don’t feel like they have to leave to make it.

At Twirl, every stylist goes through an apprenticeship program. No matter how much experience they bring, they start from the bottom. That humility, that willingness to relearn and refine, is what makes them great. I’ve seen stylists come in with ten years of experience who never built a clientele because they weren’t truly trained. Watching them start fresh, grow, and finally thrive has been one of the most rewarding parts of my work.

This year, I’m taking two of my team members to Paris Fashion Week. Both were born and raised in San Antonio. Both auditioned for one of my mentors and earned spots backstage at the Thom Browne show. Seeing them step onto a global stage is more exciting than any opportunity I’ve ever had for myself. Because it means the work we’re doing here—day after day, haircut after haircut—really matters.

“Seeing my team step onto a global stage is more exciting than any opportunity I’ve ever had for myself.”

A Love Letter to San Antonio

I believe San Antonio is on the cusp of something important. I see it in the construction cranes downtown, in the new creative spaces opening, in the cultural energy that’s starting to hum louder each year. We’re not there yet, but the shift is happening.

The greatest gift this city gives me is space—the literal space to build a world-class salon at a cost that’s sustainable, and the emotional space to live a life that feels balanced and whole. I can pay my team well enough that they can buy homes, raise families, and live fully in the same city where they work. That’s not true in most of the places I travel. It’s a rare privilege, and it’s something I don’t take for granted.

Yes, I could live anywhere. But here, I get to combine the best of both worlds: the global experiences that feed my creativity, and the local community that grounds me. Here, I get to share what I’ve learned with the next generation, helping them dream bigger than the city once allowed.

San Antonio is where I exhale. It’s where kindness still matters, where my work has meaning beyond trends, and where I feel at home. And no matter where in the world my career takes me, it’s the place I’ll always come back to.

“San Antonio is where I exhale.”