Born and raised in southwest Michigan in the ’90s, I grew up singing in church and school choirs, ensembles, and show groups, often spending time with my adoptive grandfather, a local musician, learning about the music industry. As a young girl, I would adventure through the Michigan wilderness, vast countrysides, and wooded forests, finding a love of animals and the learning about the wonders of the world.

Around the age of 8, I began learning how use computers with my mother, who was a computer repair technician. When my mother asked me to dismantle a desktop PC, I happily did so… until she asked me to put it together again! As I grew older, I would learn how to assist with computer repairs, custom building, malware/virus cleaning, data recovery, invoicing, and file organization.

At age 11, I began writing song lyrics, poetry, and playing the piano. I still remember the first song I ever wrote, Simple Rappin’, and it’s about as bad as you can imagine. I was a member in a local teen band, Blak’nd, performing covers and original songs in bowling alleys, parties, and private events. In 2004, I earned a publishing contract from New World Publishing for my original song lyrics, but was unable to pursue it due to my age and school commitments.

At age 14, we moved to Youngstown, Ohio in 2005. During the early rise of social media, I began learning how to develop MySpace templates in HTML/CSS for classmates, friends, and family. Through trial and error, my self-taught skills eventually led me to developing custom websites for small businesses, startups, and non-profit organizations around the Mahoning Valley region.

At age 15, with the encouragement of my maternal grandfather, Donald Asa Harman, I began releasing songs, lyrics, and music under the stage name Ammie Harman, using my maternal family surname. In August 2006, I wrote and produced my first digital song, “Goodbye Love,” using the French music software, Melody Assistant, by Myriad, releasing it on MySpace. Subsequent music produced on Melody Assistant include “Follow Me”, “Insane Christmas”, and “The Pink Hair Dye Waltz”. In 2017, I became a member of ASCAP as a songwriter and publisher under Ammie Harman Music.

As a high school student in Youngstown, I participated in Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) state leadership conferences, winning 2nd Place for Website Design at the Ohio FBLA-PBL State Leadership Conference twice (2007, 2008), and 8th Place in Word Processing (2007). In the summer of 2008, I competed at the FBLA National Leadership Conference in Atlanta, GA, after the 1st Place winner for the state of Ohio was disqualified for using a WordPress/Joomla template.

At age 17, as a Senior during the 2007-2008 school year, I was a Student Board Member for the YCSD Board of Education, representing the student body of the newly built East High School. I was a Public Motivational Speaker for the district, often speaking at private and public fundraising, sporting, and academic events with then-Superintendent Dr. Wendy Webb. In February 2008, I represented the Youngstown City School District (YCSD) during a campaign stop for then-Democratic potential nominee, Hillary Clinton, advocating for the upcoming elections and the district levy at Chaney High School in Youngstown, Ohio. I graduated from East High School in June 2008, as an alumni in the first graduating class of the new generation.

In September 2008, I moved to Pittsburgh, PA for college, pursuing website development as a field of study. I graduated with an Associate’s Degree in Graphic Design Management from Bradford School in December 2009 and a Bachelor’s Degree from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in November 2014. During the 2011-2012 school year at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, my classmates and I designed the Can*TEEN Career Exploration Interactive Game in a partnership with the Carnegie Science Center, utilizing XML, XHTML/HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Adobe Flash.

Between 2012-2015, I was the developer, copywriter, and graphic designer for two mobile apps on Windows Phone platform. In 2012, I developed my first mobile app for Windows Phone 8 called Divvy, a mobile app for budgeting where users could “divvy” up their budget into weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly spending or saving goals. I was the Graphic Designer and Copywriter for Bikercise, a mobile app for logging miles, exercise goals, and time ridden on bicycles. “Divvy” and “Bikercise” mobile apps continued to be updated and downloaded by Windows Phone users until the platform was discontinued in 2015.

Between 2013-2015, I developed and managed BritneyJean.com, an online community and trading marketplace for fans of Britney Spears. Fans created music videos, photo collages, and audio remixes for weekly awards or recognition and would trade merchandise and memorabilia with other fans around the world.

In 2013, I married my college sweetheart, Jay, in Oahu, Hawaii. We have three girl dogs (Penny, Bailey, and Arya) and two boy cockatiels (Thor and Loki). In my spare time, I enjoy songwriting, playing the piano, singing, writing, volunteering, traveling, and sharing new experiences with friends and family. We’ve made our life in the City of Bridges, where you can often find us exploring Frick Park, watching the sunset from Mount Washington, or enjoying the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at Heinz Hall.