This year celebrates my 26th as a wife and 32nd as a mother.  Being gifted four beautifully unique children, I have a passion for child development and parenting. Trained as a home health aide, patient care assistant and former Certified Nurse Assistant in the state of Florida, I have been a caregiver/health care coordinator for my mom, who acquired a brain injury at the age of 39, for the past 19 years.

 

As a qualified mindfulness-based stress reduction teacher, clinical social worker, certified grief educator, and life & grief coach I facilitate the exploration of heart space; mind, body and other emotionally complex relationships (both internal and external).

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My work is guided by experienced mentors, as well as, extensive education and training in areas such as psychology, trauma, marriage and family development, child and adolescent development, professional development, social work, group dynamics, social justice, grief and loss, spirituality, cognition, reflection, goal setting and attainment, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, stress-reduction and effective human communication. I am also a member of the National Association of Social Work, Florida Association of Infant Mental Health, and International Coaching Federation. I value lifelong learning and am committed to continuous personal & professional development.

 

​​My maternal and paternal ancestors made the agonizing journey in captivity from their homes on the continent of Africa to the United States southern coasts of the Carolinas in the 1600s. The matriarchs and patriarchs of both families leaving farm and domestic work in the American south in their teens to migrate with other young relatives to Brooklyn, New York in the 1940’s. In Brooklyn, my grandmothers would birth 15 babies between them, raising their children with scarce social-emotional supports.

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I was born into these family histories in Brooklyn, New York, living within the northeastern United States (i.e., New Hampshire and New Jersey) before moving to south Florida with my nuclear family where I would meet my future husband.

 

Throughout a life that sometimes vividly (at times unconsciously) brings back remnants from past experiences, I continuously practice embracing moments of overwhelm as opportunities to reflect, discover and transform life’s challenging experiences into patterns of more healthy, easeful living.

 

My approach has been shaped by more than professional credentials. It has been shaped by years of education, decades of practice, thousands of conversations, and lived experience as a parent, caregiver, helping professional, facilitator, and lifelong learner.

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I've facilitated groups since 1999 and have served as a national and international trainer since 2005, working with professionals, caregivers, families, organizations, and multidisciplinary teams.

 

My background brings together disciplines that are often taught separately.

 

I teach emotional intelligence, reflective practice, reflective supervision, trauma-informed and relationship-based care approaches, mindfulness, parenting and child development, and team development.

 

I'm also an Infant/Toddler Specialist through FL Children's Medical Services, an endorsed Reflective Supervisor through the Florida Association for Infant Mental Health and a Triple P International Level 4 Accredited Provider, trained to support families of children ages 2–12 as well as families navigating the adolescent years through the faculty at Triple P International in New Zealand.

 

So, when I enter a room, I don't bring just one framework. I bring an integrative developmental, relational, reflective, and strengths-based lens.

 

But credentials only tell part of my story.

 

What group participants consistently tell me they value is how they experience our learning spaces...the listening, the guided practices and meditations, the opportunities to reflect, and the way I support and scaffold growth without assuming that I know someone else's life better than they do.

 

That matters to me.

 

Whether I'm training an organization's team, facilitating a group, teaching mindfulness, providing coaching, or offering grief education, my intention is not simply to deliver useful information. It is to create the conditions for people to reflect on what they already know, discover what they may not yet see, and determine how they want to move forward.

 

As the now mother of four, and someone who became a mother at 18, for nearly two decades I've been my own mother's caregiver following a brain injury, while simultaneously raising children, working, homeschooling, building a business, and supporting other families and professionals.

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So caregiving, transition, competing roles, grief, growth, and resilience aren't simply subjects I teach.

I know something about living them.

 

That's what I hope PPCT offers your organization: professional expertise without losing our humanity.

 

If you are interested in experiencing a mindset, relational or behavioral shift in your life, or you're looking for a partner to help strengthen the people who care for, teach, lead, support, and serve others, I would welcome the opportunity to explore what we can build together and how we can create a plan that will move you closer to your goals!

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