My Story
For much of my life, I tried to think my way into a good life. I was excellent at it: the strategizing, the solving, the constant efforting to get everything right. I had devoted ten years to studying the human mind, earning a PhD in psychology in 2005. And yet I was still largely a stranger to my own inner world.
In 2014, my whole way of being was burned to the ground. I walked away from a career as a Silicon Valley executive and a marriage that both looked (from the outside) nearly perfect. I couldn't explain my choices with my rational mind. It just felt undeniably true that to stay meant a certain kind of death.
What followed was messy, humbling, and more incredible than I could have ever imagined. With the help of extraordinary teachers and guides, I slowly learned to come back into my body and reconnect with a deeper, truer version of myself. To actually inhabit my life rather than mastermind it. To feel what I feel. To know what I want.
I live my life from the inside out now. I trust my own inner authority. I can be my honest, often-dorky self rather than performing a polished version of me. To my ongoing delight, showing up vulnerably is what has finally made the kind of connection and spark that I always craved actually possible.
I am not someone who has arrived. I am someone who has learned how to trust the process. Life itself is my ultimate teacher; I am her forever-apprentice.
The Work I Was Made For
One of the many unexpected gifts of my journey was rediscovering an ability to see into people and sense what's true beneath the surface, and to help them see it too. That gift, combined with my own lived experience, is what called me to coaching. I have pursued this work with joyful enthusiasm and extensive professional development.
I know what it costs to effort your way into loveability. And I know what becomes possible when you finally dare to follow aliveness. It is one of the deepest privileges of my life to support others who are finding their way back to themselves.
My Lineage
I've had the deep honor of studying with teachers whose work has changed many lives, including mine.
I am so very grateful to each of them:
Dick Schwartz (Internal Family Systems)
Byron Katie ("The Work")
Terry Real (Relational Life Therapy)
Stan Tatkin (attachment)
Jennifer Welwood (integrating psychology and spirituality)
Joe Hudson (The Art of Accomplishment)
Linda Thai (somatic approaches to trauma)
Katie Hendricks (Whole Body Intelligence, Zone of Genius)
Steve March (Aletheia Coaching)
Regena Thomashauer (feminine embodiment)
Lama Rod Owens (queer/social justice lens on spirituality)
My coaching is my own unique synthesis, drawing on and adding to their collective wisdom and specific tools.
Education, Training, & Certifications
M.S. and Ph.D. in Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz
ICF Certified Coach
Hendricks Institute, Big Leap Coach Training
Aletheia Coach Training, Level 1
Relational Life Therapy, Level 1
Completion of NICABM’s Applying Internal Family Systems to Complex Clinical Issues program
Completion of Linda Thai’s Somatic Embodiment and Regulation program
Additional training with The Hakomi Institute & The Conscious Leadership Group
The Art of Accomplishment: Connection Course
3 years intensive study & weekly group therapy with nondual teacher Jennifer Welwood (approximately 1200 hours)
Professional History
Former Visiting Faculty Member, Psychology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz (2004-2017)
Former VP of Faculty & Curriculum, Singularity University
Former VP of Product, Rosetta Stone
20+ years designing & facilitating impactful learning experiences, reaching 2 million+ learners worldwide
Other Relevant Experience
Deeply multicultural: Have lived and worked across many cultures and countries, fluent Spanish-speaker
Lifelong musician and singer-songwriter
Improv theatre teacher and performer
Devoted mother
10 years of personal psychotherapy
10+ years yoga and Vipassana meditation practice