THE STORY BEHIND THE WORK
I began my professional life as an illustrator. I loved painting people, but after nearly a decade alone in a studio, I realized I didn’t just want to create the portrait, I wanted to do work where I actually engage and help people. Looking back, the clues had been there: I was always the person that people talked to me about their lives. It was time to follow that path in a new direction.
So at 31 years old, I completed my Masters in Social Work at Fordham University. I began my clinical career at a hospital in patient psychiatry and eventually opened a psychotherapy practice that I have maintained in New York ever since. Around the same time, my own health challenges led me into nutrition counseling.
From there, I became an entrepreneur, fundraiser, community leader, coach, and speaker. Each chapter expanded how I understood change, not only what happens inside a person, but what it takes to build something, lead people, navigate setbacks, and keep moving forward when life doesn’t go according to plan.
The roles changed, but the work underneath them remained the same: Listen closely. Look beneath the surface of the problem. Find what’s really getting in the way. Then help make change and transformation that sticks.
A NONLINEAR CAREER
Five chapters. One throughline. Select a chapter to read more.
01
Artist
02
Psychotherapist
03
Entrepreneur, fundraiser and community builder
04
Rebuilding
05
Coach and speaker
WHERE IT ALL COMES TOGETHER
Now the work is all one thing.
Today, I work with ambitious business owners and leaders who are more than capable, but tired of circling the same problem. They don’t need another generic strategy or motivational pep talk. They need help seeing the invisible patterns beneath the visible problem, and a clear path for doing something about them. I bring the clinical depth to recognize what’s really getting in the way, the business experience to understand what’s at stake, and the expertise to turn insight into action. That’s the coaching. My keynotes and workshops bring the same work and a healthy dose of badass energy to an entire room.
CREDENTIALS AND TRAINING
CLINICAL LICENSURE
MSW, Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service · Licensed Clinical Social Worker, New York
COACHING
The Institute for Life Coach Training
ADVANCED PSYCHOANALYTIC TRAINING
Advanced psychoanalytic training · The Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity, · The National Institute for the Psychotherapies · Institute for the Center of Contemporary Psychotherapy’s Center for the Study of Anorexia and Bulimia
ADDITIONAL EDUCATION
Designs for Health Institute · BFA, Syracuse University
COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP
Founding Board Member, North Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce · Board Co-Chair, North Brooklyn Parks Alliance
ON STAGE
70+ workshops and speaking engagements since 2020
BEYOND THE WORK
I’m a proud Brooklynite who believes relationships are the key to a happy, meaningful life. I love being a mom to my awesome son, Decker (the empty nest is now REAL!) sharing life and adventures with my husband, Jeff, and negotiating our house with Carlos and Pablo, our cats.
We love traveling and discovering new places, but we’re just as deeply rooted in the community we’ve built here in Brooklyn. I’m happiest surrounded by people I love, dancing, walking, roller skating, listening to almost ANY kind of live music, or doing things that reminds me how good it feels to be fully alive.
A few things you might not expect: At 20, I traveled around Europe by myself. Long before I started speaking about leadership, I was a class officer throughout high school and was my senior class vice president (early foreshadowing?). Connecting people is genuinely one of my hobbies. I’m rarely happier than when an introduction turns into a friendship, opportunity, or collaboration.
I love reading! I have ever-growing stacks of books; business, psychology, personal-development, memoirs and novels. Just when I make a dent, I get more. I can’t help it, I love books! I’m a city girl through and through, but the beach is my happy place. And I never plan on retiring, I’m having way too much fun!
