Hello! I'm Heather
Writer, Communicator, Artivist, and WandererNavigating the World, One City at a Time
A nomadic international, Heather, also known as “Marie,” currently resides in the Kingdom of Cambodia. She has lived, worked, and studied across four continents before making Phnom Penh her latest capital city to call home. Where else has she called home? That’s a great question – stick around to find out!
How I Became a writer and what’s an “artivist?”
I’m one of those people who started writing in elementary school and just never really stopped stopped. But while my first spoken language was English, my first written language was Dutch. And then I grew up with six more languages and studied several other languages on top of those. Now I’m working to learn Khmer!
Writing helps me make sense of myself, my story, and the contexts I have grown up with. And amid all the languages, a fascination – and necessity! – for words and communication just grew.
I’m a creative who also likes to do things to create positive change, so the concept of an “artivist” came out of combining art with activism and is my personal commitment and a reminder to myself to “create forward,” try always to improve on myself, and to do what I can to promote human dignity and fundamental human rights.
Professional Biography
Heather is a transformational communications leader with over a decade of experience in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors. Heather’s work has been featured in The Washington Post and on Fox5 TV. Notable awards include 2018 Alumni Appreciation Award and 2019 finalist for the Washington Women in Public Relations Emerging Leader Award. She was also a panelist at the 2017 Association of Writers and Writing Professionals Conference.
Heather has worked in communications for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. She is passionate about Human Rights and presided as Chair of the Human Rights Committee for the United Nations Association – National Capital Area (UNA-NCA) from 2017 – 2020 and Co-Chair from 2015 – 2017. Heather also served on the UNA-NCA Board of Directors from 2018-2021. As Chair of the UNA-NCA Human Rights Committee, she led a team of dedicated members in collaborating with State Department and UN officials; the diplomatic community; and local NGO’s, think tanks, and agencies to publish articles and reports, host events, and advocate on vital human rights issues.
Under Heather’s leadership, the UNA-NCA Human Rights Committee was awarded a Stand Up for Human Rights grant by the UNA-USA in partnership with the UN in October 2017. In 2019, she led the committee through a seven-month, city-wide campaign in Washington D.C. that included five major events, a radio show appearance, advocacy, and ultimately, two human rights reports that were submitted to the United Nations Office of Human Rights in Geneva and are available on that website (JS33 & JS35 respectively).
In her previous role at World Hope International, Heather led the Global Communications Department as the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, leading the global alliance’s media, marketing, advertising, website, and communications efforts across 20+ countries. She leveraged her lifetime of experience living and working across four continents to skillfully navigate complex, global strategy. From 2014 and 2017, she enjoyed writing reviews and articles for the Maryland Theatre Guide and, later, Broadway World.
Heather currently lectures on Business Communications at CamEd Business School in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and takes on freelance communications projects. She holds a master’s degree from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a bachelor’s from Houghton University, where she served on the Alumni Board from 2018 – 2021.
Recent Activity
Heather frequently travels (except in pandemics) and is currently living in Cambodia. She particularly loves the intersection of art, civic engagement, and activism, and enjoys writing and speaking on the topics.
It’s been a year
This week, I’m excited to be attending an art exhibition opening, where a selection of my paintings will be featured for the first time ever! I was thrilled to be invited to share my portfolio with the gallery and have a few items chosen to be exhibited along with 4 other artists. If you’re in town, come out for the opening event on Wednesday the 22nd of March…
March 22, 2023 – Srey Art Exhibition
Sra’Art is pleased to announce “Srey Art”, a group exhibition in lieu of International Women’s Day featuring 5 emerging female artists from Cambodia, USA & France. Each artist has developed a series of artworks addressing themes of identity, history, childhood and social observations across a wide range of media. The artists featured: Dahlia Phi, Ny Vannak, Raphaelle Martinez, Kari Podboy, & Marie Hill.
March 6, 2023- SPEAK: A Spoken Word Poetry Showcase
Join us for a live poetry showcase event. We celebrate work from some of Phnom Pehn’s most fantastic poets. Come and be a part of something incredible. Bring your clicks!