About me

God, I hate writing bios.

I loathe, avoid, or cringe at nothing more than having to write a bio for myself. Lord in heaven, why do I live a life where I need bios so often?! I say this while shaking my fist at the sky. But also, why does the world around me make it feel so cringy to talk about myself positively? I think that is the bigger question.

I will be updating my LinkedIn soon, and I will have to update my bio. I will have a new inquiry/landing page up soon and I will have to update my bio. I want to flesh out this Substack publication and I will, again, need to update my bio.

So here goes nothing, a long-ish winded about-me, that I can pull from for the various bio updates coming.

Origins.

I’m Ariana. Ari, to a lot of the people I grew up with. But I prefer Ariana and I prefer that you try to pronounce it correctly (with the rolled R) more than once before deciding you can’t. I used to let that go, I don’t anymore.

I’m in in my mid-30s. WHAT. Who said I could grow up, and have bills, and be someone’s mom, and need retinol?! I am a pretty proud millennial. All the trash the world talks about us but we are out here being grown ups, overcoming crisis after crisis, and healing for the stubborn or unaware generations before us. I take being labeled someone who is choosing healing over the status quo any day.

I have got the most wonderful parents. Truly, my besties. A younger sister who made a leader out of me at 4. A hubby and a daughter. I grew up in church. It was a small Spanish congregation when I was a kid and the church grew into a mega English-first but Spanish-friendly congregation of Latinos in the inner-city of Chicago. My family is full of pastors and church leaders and I grew up encouraged and trained to be one too. I am a ministry leader and minister of the gospel but not in a traditional pastor-at-a-church way. And I am not mad about that but I am sorting through it as I grow.

Ministry and online presence.

I started writing and reflecting on Instagram as a way to serve the women of the church a few years ago. My love for women's ministry started when I was pretty young watching my mom lead at our church. I joined her team around 19 years old and really found myself among the women. My gifts found a home with them. Hosting them, loving them, learning with them by teaching from the bible. Now, ministry for me is outside of the umbrella of a local church. I no longer attend the church where I grew up. I rarely attend church on Sundays at all because of a lack of transportation. I wrote about that in an earlier Substack post, The Sunday Nap.

I founded a ministry with a couple of close friends called Latinas Loving Jesus. It has been a dream come true. It marries so many of my passions and gifts. We are building a community of women and I am proud to be part of what God is doing among them. If you’re interested, Latina or not, you can follow us on Instagram, visit or website, or subscribe to our podcast.

Professional.

I worked in retail all through and for a few years after college. I was a fashion girl. It was my identity for so long. It was how I first learned to express myself publicly. But after years in a very competitive sales environment, I got bored. I wanted to do something that felt more meaningful. So I took a big pay cut and started a coordinator job at a small nonprofit. It’s been almost 10 years since then and it was a huge risk that I am so glad I took. Now, I work for a Christian global NGO. I manage programs and experiences that serve the pastors whose churches fund the work around the world, helping families lift themselves out of poverty. It’s part strategy and part pastoral care. It’s full-time ministry without the ordination.

Loves and life-giving.

I love my husband and one-year-old. They are the most life-giving thing for me. I look at and love them every day with so much gratitude. For the longest time, I didn’t think family life would be for me or what I’d say was life giving, but here we are, thanks be to God.

Fashion is still a love of mine but in this postpartum body, it is mostly a love I look upon. Pinterest, magazines, fashion blogs, reels, I love it all - from my rotation of sweats.

I love sunlight and plants. These things ground me. Standing in the sun can snap me out of any poor mood. Tending to a houseplant challenges my constantly racing brain to slow down. Honorable mention: flowers and walks in my neighborhood.

The most life giving thing for me is conversation. To sit and chat over a coffee and just get lost in catching up if my favorite plan.

My second favorite is gathering women. My ministry career began with women’s retreats and leading small Saturday bible studies over donuts. Returning to these things is my deepest desire and highest hope.

And last, I used to love writing but I no longer feel good at it. I am out of practice but want to love it again. That’s why I joined Substack. I’ll be chasing the high of my senior year creative writing class for the rest of my life.