It doesn't get easier.
You get stronger.

I needed to level up my game as a parent.

First and foremost, I'm a mother. I came to coaching as a second career (I'm an epidemiologist) when I saw the damage that school was doing to our son after 12 years of effort to reduce the harms and optimize the good. It didn't get easier in high school, nor even a great university, it got harder. I knew I needed to level up my game to be the best parent and spouse that I could be. We have intelligent, intense boys. Our house is peaceful but chaotic. How does that dialectical work? Through the transformative power of understanding your energy and being highly conscious.

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How is coaching different from therapy?

When I started coach training, I was taught that therapy helps us understand how our past influences our present, while coaching helps us grow into our ideal selves. During my training, I began to work with a therapist for the first time and found a powerful synergy between the professions. Now that I have experienced working with a very intuitive therapist, it is clear that action-focused people can become highly functional through doing, but can still get in their own way and impede growth. In fact, self-judgment can be a powerful propellant but ultimately hold you back from developing into your ideal self. Coaching can help you shift to being at the cause of your life instead of the effect.

 

 I was drawn to the iPEC(R) approach because its foundation is energy as consciousness, a way of being and responding to life. Energy is a word frequently used to describe me, so it seemed a natural fit. Being active in nature and with horses is where I have always found beauty, joy, and love, which form the energetic pulse of my soul. Coaching is rooted in positive psychology and integrates elements of cognitive behavioral therapy to help you activate change. Think of me as a short-term, solution-focused catalyst, setting off a chain reaction you sustain through awareness, acceptance, authenticity, and conscious choice. Many years of raising and training horses has greatly enhanced my ability to connect with clients and create rapid transformation. Why is that? Horses are excellent mirrors. They respond to the energy we bring.

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A coach helps you shift from functional to optimal. 

My mindset is one of growth, a natural fit with coaching. I believe in people, and see the best in them, even before they fully appreciate their own strengths. At various crossroads, my instinct for humor and ability to reframe challenge into an uncommon chance has saved me from despair.  Being creative and resilient has kept my mind busy and my spirit fulfilled. I work with people who are seeking where they want to go, and how to get there. My clients want to transform from functional to optimal. They've worked on healing, sometimes in therapy, and now they want to grow. 

 

I love to work with people who...

... have tried everything else and are complex thinkers who tend to hyper-analyze. I’m told that I am a very intuitive listener and creative thinker.  Through building a strong partnership with you and relying on a good sense of humor, I help you catalyze a chain reaction of positive steps working toward your goals. By working with me and practicing conscious leadership in our sessions, you will gain the skills and confidence to carry this strength and presence into the rest of your life.

 

How does the coaching process work?

First, I help you build awareness of what you really want by identifying your core values and your inner purpose and passion. We also work on accepting your unique challenges in response to your experience of life thus far. Next, we partner to help you develop authenticity and conscious choice as you identify action steps that are achievable. Each session holds you accountable until you are ready to be autonomous.  

 

How long does it take?

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Typically I work with clients for about 10 sessions while others appreciate a structured program in self leadership that is carried out over 6 to 12 months. I start out building momentum with weekly sessions for a month, then every other week. This format lasts about a semester (or four months). Some goals can be tackled in 4 sessions. 

 

How do you integrate your science background into coaching?

 

There is ample evidence that simple life changes can yield big results. We integrate nature and movement into every session - for both in-person and virtual clients. Some days I end up walking for more than 6 miles on top of running or lifting and don't realize it because the experience is so engulfing and rewarding. I also try to make time for providing practical ways to optimize the gut microbiome to influence your overall health, including the central nervous system, endocrine and immune systems.  As we close out our first sessions I typically share strength work - isometrics - which support spine stability. This practice is one I picked up in response to a serious spine injury in July 2023. I now faithfully practice isometrics every night as a way to discharge the stressors of the day, the intensities of connection through prayer, and regulate my nervous system all while building strength to continue in the active life I love. Because of my inability to let a messy metaphor rest peacefully, I connect this core stability work (which is quite literally growing strong while trying NOT to move) with your ability to withstand the jolting experiences life throws at you. I will also offer various resources from experts I trust on giftedness and positive disintegration so you can explore and develop a greater awareness and appreciation of your unique traits and talents.

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Who is your ideal client?

People who are sick of their current situation and are committed to making some changes experience rapid growth. However, even if you're not sure what needs to shift, coaching can help you sift through your core values, gain insights on potential new directions, and create a path toward the future you desire. I love people and their stories, and look forward to hearing yours. 

 

What else should I know?

As an epidemiologist, I am a natural skeptic who is comfortable with numbers and a keen researcher. This work informs my research and coaching. For the past two decades, I have worked as a preventive health program manager, vaccine sales manager, and a freelance developmental editor for academic researchers. During the pandemic I shifted again to leading the first risk-benefit analyses of the mRNA vaccinations and highlighted the fact that young males are at high risk for myocarditis. I also advocated against vaccine mandates for college students and military service members given the likelihood that vaccine mandates will cause more harm than good.  

 

My coaching includes working with a first-time author who published his executive leadership book (inset).  As a public-facing scientist, I write for HealthNews.com and was featured in a 90-minute appearance on the Megyn Kelly Show for a debate and discussion about the HPV vaccine. Two recent interviews include a call for less timid parenting with Restore Childhood and a conversation about courage in science with Elliot Kaminetzky, PhD. 

 

I'm a human who loves messy metaphors, animals, kids, an active life, splitting wood, camping, hiking, riding horses, boxing, dancing and singing badly!  I'm a mother of two teen boys (hockey mom), a military spouse of 22 years, and I deeply love the friends I've met from around the world. I look forward to hearing your story and how you'd like to grow together!