Hi, I’m Natalya — creative writer, strategist, expat, and my voice note recipients’ personal podcast host.
I built my early career downtown Chicago, working in tech during Groupon’s high-growth years while immersing myself in the city’s comedy scene by night. I trained and performed improv and long-form sketch at The Second City, learning essential survival skills like turning an audience suggestion of “Starbucks” into a fully improvised film noir.
Alongside that, I was writing for publications including The Everygirl, Reductress, and The Tab (babe.net), drawn to the intersection of humour, culture and editorial.
Sydney wasn’t part of my five-year plan. It began with a solo trip and a feeling I couldn’t quite shake. So I traded Chicago winters (and the pure evil of a polar vortex) for coastal sun and built a new life in Australia.
These days, I move between brand strategy and personal writing. Outside of client work, I write about identity, relationships, ambition and reinvention in your twenties and thirties. That instinct evolved into Thirtyish – a space for documenting the in-between seasons as they unfold.
I live near Bondi Beach with my husband and our very opinionated cat, Biscotti. When I’m not working or writing, you’ll find me on a long coastal walk, editing photos, demolishing a cheeseboard, acrylic and watercolour painting, or getting emotional over a pet rescue on The Dodo.
