Hello

I grew up in Los Angeles, California in the 1980s and 90s. I struggled with a lot of early adversity and undiagnosed neurodivergence. I found the arts and writing to be essential outlets for me. Movement and dance were how I regulated my nervous system. I struggled socially and found myself being a chameleon to survive. What I thought were relentless panic attacks in my early twenties turned out to be a combination of sensory overload, unhealed trauma, and burnout. I discovered art therapy and somatic practices in my mid-twenties, and began deconditioning my survival patterns of overachievement, masking, and people pleasing. I found traditional talk therapy to be lacking in-depth and accessibility. I did not know at the time, but this was because of my bottom-up processing style. When I experienced the effectiveness of somatic and creative therapeutic practices, I recognized how many other neurodivergent individuals and those with a trauma history might benefit from similar modalities. It made sense as a I developed my coaching practice to integrate these modalities into my way of working with individuals. I have found orienting my coaching sessions through a somatic lens to be particularly effective in supporting my clients to transform their lives, make decisions, and break through barriers. 

I have worked with children and families for most of my career, and have always tried to weave in creative and somatic ways of connecting while providing services for the community. Sometimes this looked like doing yoga with my teen clients or producing creative community events. I knew I wanted to work with children from the time I was five years old. Always the caretaker and "little professor" I devoted myself to working with youth at the start of my career. I studied child development, was a full-inclusion aide for disabled children, taught pre-school, directed after school programs, taught dance and movement in schools, worked as a director for Boys and Girls Club, and was a youth success coach supporting high school students who had disengaged from their education. During my time at the Boys and Girls Club and as a youth success coach, I found myself working more with the family system and community in order to support the youth in my programs. I absolutely love supporting parents and caregivers of children who are struggling.

My wife and I  became a foster parents in 2018, and then an adoptive parents in 2020. I have two adopted daughters, 7 and 8 years old and a biological son, 28 years old. My youngest is PDA autistic, my 8 year old is AudHD, and my adult son is AudHD and has OCD. My children (especially my PDAer) have been my biggest motivators for pursuing a career as a family therapist. I love learning and researching everything about PDA. It has become my hyper fixation/special interest. There is something so honest and raw about loving and raising a PDA child. It has me throwing out all the parenting/child development books and tools in the interest of full presence, attunement, and radical acceptance. My children help me to be my most genuine self.

I understand complex parenting experiences firsthand and can walk alongside those navigating unique family journeys. My experience with being a foster parent, adopting transracially, and parenting as a queer woman all inform my approach. I am dedicated to antiracism and transforming the systems of care that bring children into child welfare. I draw upon my lived experience both from a place of privilege and adversity, I listen to the experiences of others, and consider myself a beginner again and again. Every day I am humbled and reminded of how much I have to learn. I am here for it. I hope to be able to show up for you with radical compassion and empathy as I hold space for you to grow and heal.