My education includes a BS from University of Colorado at Boulder in Broadcast News Journalism. After being part of a live college news show, I enjoyed working on a few documentaries post-graduation in San Francisco with producers while hiking and exploring the coast of California.

My biggest education came from traveling the globe with my (now) husband for 13 years and living on the Big Island of Hawaii while writing. Learning about how culturally diverse and spectacular our planet is shaped who I am as a person. I realized very quickly how little I know and how much I need to learn.

I finished my MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher in 2002, to polish my writing skills in a professional way.

Another essential education came during my husband’s and my journey with his cancer. We went through six years struggling to witness the suffering that comes with cancer.

During this time, I became a RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher) through the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA. Yoga empowered me to welcome suffering and center myself through connection. I learned to witness and offer unconditional love and support, which called me to be a therapist.

I completed my master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Adams State University in May 2014, then became a Nationally Certified Counselor in October 2014.

My husband and I moved to the beauty of Big Sur to complete my California license. My internships at Harmony at Home and Monterey County Rape Crisis Center gave me the opportunity to learn and grow in tandem with heavily traumatized clients. Countless healing journeys of children and adults inspired and humbled me. I earned my license in 2017, also met the requirements for treating couples and family (children). I stayed on at MCRCC until March 2020.