I worked in the anti-human trafficking field for over seven years. I dove in to the plate-spinning, job-juggling, multiple-hat wearing pressure of small non-profit life. After several years, I took my first steps into direct client care. Immersed in the struggles and crises my clients faced, I developed constant, low-lying, unaddressed stress, interspersed with moments of intense panic, resulting in a subsequent severe decline in health. Alongside the physical ailments, I also experienced symptoms of secondary-trauma, depression, anxiety and compassion fatigue. I was numb, lonely - soul-tired. I had so much passion. I was doing work that mattered with people I cared about. So why did I feel so stuck? So depressed, resentful and exhausted? My short dive into the world of client support also afforded me an even closer look into the daily lives and struggles of other direct service providers. I saw firsthand the toll the work took on their quality of life and the quality of care they were able to provide.

Part of my personality has me always asking, “Isn’t there a better way?” I started doing a lot of soul searching, along with a lot of research. I was seeking a fresh perspective, clear direction on how to create a life for myself that was full of the joy, beauty and peace I so desperately wanted for my clients. 

Ready for something new and different, I decided to pursue a long held passion for health and wellness. In 2020, I graduated from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition as a Certified Health Coach. After learning a deeply holistic view of health from a host of some of the most prestigious doctors and wellness professionals in the world, a vision for a unique opportunity began to form as I saw a place to merge these two fields - providing care for the caregivers. 

My respect for social workers, therapists, case workers, law enforcement, advocates and non-profit staff runs deep. Professionals from numerous disciplines work tirelessly to provide excellent service to their clients to support them through horrific stories of suffering. Usually, this work takes place through linearly constructed “continuums of care” that focus solely on the clients’ progress. While service providers devote their hours, energy and emotion to their clients, it is my belief that someone needs to be equally devoted to them. Someone who will show them compassion, hold space for them and invest in their wellbeing.

I aim to come alongside individuals and organizations embedded in the work of social justice to offer space, education, resources and support, mirroring back the compassion, safety and courage so freely shared with clients. Through a trauma-informed lens of holistic health, lifestyle wellness and stress navigation, I hope to bolster helping professionals to sustain the good they feel and the good they do so that they can serve well and be well.