A Bit About my Professional Journey:

“It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” A powerful quote by Madeleine K. Albright expresses my experience in finding my voice when “coming out” 20 years ago. Not only do I love knowing that I am part of a great community, but I also love being able to advocate for the community I belong to.  

In 2003, I graduated from Trinity International University with a BS in Psychology and Social Sciences. I minored in Biblical Studies. Before I graduated, I started working for Walgreens Health Initiatives in Customer Service. I advanced into Project Management type roles in the Pharmacy Benefit Management field. I was not satisfied with where I was going in my career, so I went back for my master’s in psychology. My goal at that time, was to transfer to a university and achieve my PsyD. However, the recession of 2008 had other plans for me. For the next decade, I stayed in a role that was not satisfying for my soul. I wanted to help and educate people.

In 2013, I was dealing with anxiety and depression symptoms. I was bored, miserable, and not satisfied in my life. My mom introduced me to a yoga instructor who was also a Native American Shaman. This was the beginning of my transformation and healing. I experienced my first healing journey, which was deeply healing mentally, physically, and spiritually. This experience led me to the Himalayan Yoga and Meditation Center in Palatine, Illinois. I studied the 200-teacher training program in Hatha Yoga.  As I worked as a Project Manager, I started teaching yoga classes at different studios in the Chicagoland Area. I was starting to find myself as I learned deep meditation techniques, and attending Shamanic retreats, which led to deeper healing and understanding.

In 2018, I met another holistic healer. This healer continued to share with me holistic healing techniques. One of these techniques was to see in myself, where I really want to be. I saw myself, counseling and leading people. I decided to take a leap of faith and start the process of obtaining a second master in Mental Health Counseling. In 2018, I started my second masters at Concordia University. During the next 3 years, I learned different therapy techniques, and how to bridge my previous education in Psychology and Hatha Yoga into the mental health field.

As I finished my master’s program, I started working for Kids Above All working with children, adolescents, and couples. During my time at Kids Above All, I was a camp counselor part time for their Camp Sheilah program. I also took this time to go back to achieve the 300-teacher training program with Yoga Renew, along with a brief certification focusing on Yoga for arthritis.

After Kids Above All, I started working for the Lake County Health Department in their crisis program for children and adolescents. Here, I assessed youth that were in crisis, and providing short term therapy both individually and in the group setting. Today, I work for the Fitness Restoration program at the Lake County Health Department, helping adults become fit to stand trial.