About Me

Hello again, I'm Aaliyah—the friendly force behind The Foodie Newbie, hence the domain. ;)

Before we delve into the amazing highlights of my work experience, let me first bore you with a bit of my history. After graduating with a Bachelor’s in International Relations from the Philippines, I immediately moved to Los Angeles. The post-grad plan was to become a lawyer, or the President of the Philippines. Instead, I took an 8-week acting course for fun (and out of boredom), and this began a series of eye-opening experiences. In the following year, I embarked on a journey of self-exploration, navigating the unfamiliar landscapes, cultures, and faces that surrounded me. This newfound freedom and the creativity I was being offered levitated me into unknown dimensions.

The Foodie Newbie was an Instagram persona I created to share all the photos of the handsome dishes and drinks from all the places I travel to. I then added more social and content channels such as YouTube and TikTok, and I’m proud to say that I did this back then, before it was cool, before the Emily Marikos and Keith Lees of it all.

My first big girl job was becoming a digital marketing associate to a now unicorn SaaS startup, Tebra. Digital marketing, I realized, was so different from what I knew in traditional marketing and public relations (How dare you lie to me, 13 Going on 30!). It’s more numerical and data-driven than what I initially intended. And I liked it. From there I’ve worked with other early stage startups including TikTok (circa 2019), Breathwrk, PrismPop, and MyyShop to help with content strategy, digital marketing, influencer relation management, sales ops, all of which I was able to juggle and spearhead at some point in my eight year-long career.

I thrive best when I’m able to marry my love for creating and strategizing and my need for building and operationalizing. I love getting into the weeds of things and getting my hands dirty. My life goals revolve around living, learning, and experiencing as much as I can.

Among my career highlights are surreal moments like having Martin Lawrence repost one of my memes for Bad Boys for Life on Instagram, steering a network of Instagram accounts with a billion impressions, and gracing the stage at SXSW 2023.

But what truly lights up my day is crafting digital content and experiences that inspire, delight, entertain, and connect with others on a deeply human level.

Nowadays, beyond the internet, you may find me joyfully rearranging my new home, painting on canvases and on the walls, perpetual questing for the best coffee shop and trying out new dishes, and sharing cuddles with my canine companion, Bonito.

If it wasn’t that obvious, I'm an avid enthusiast of food, pop culture, films, and memes. If there’s something meaningful we can collaborate on, shoot me an email or a message and let’s set up a coffee chat. Attach your favorite gif!