“I am the oldest of seven children, raised in a highly creative, intellectual environment steeped in medicine, philosophy, art and yoga. In the mid 1970s, my parents—a doctor and a musician—decided to leave their comfortable, conventional life and move our family to the wilderness of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains to create an existence based less on materialism and more on nature and simplicity. We lived in a two-bedroom home with a wood-burning stove, and I rode horses bareback to school, where I wrote poetry, read Sanskrit texts and made stained glass. This period had an enormous impact on my life.
Fast forward to the 1990s, when I have a highly successful, fast-paced career in the healthcare communications field. Within eight years, I tragically lost my mom, dad and younger brother. These early deaths and life-defining moments were catalysts for me to change my path. They challenged me to never sleepwalk through life.
I live with my husband and teenaged son (both techies and musicians) in Austin, Texas and Western North Carolina. I love dancing, yoga, making soup with local veggies for friends and family and taking long, meandering hikes to magical natural settings.”
Professional Background / Training
Coaching/consulting professionally since 1990.
My coaching, leadership, training and organizational development background includes more than 25 years direct experience working within corporations, organizations and in collaboration with numerous leadership and development institutes.
For more than fifteen years, I have served on faculty as a presenter at the prestigious Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, Esalen Institute and 1440 Multiversity—four of the largest and most well-regarded learning and personal growth institutes in the world. My sold-out retreats and workshops include attendees from around the globe.
Innovator and pioneer.
In 2002, after the birth of my son, I launched an exploratory group coaching program (Personal Renewal Groups) to help women reconnect with themselves while learning the art and science of self-care. The groups rippled around the globe, and my team and I have certified more than 450 facilitators in more than 10 countries to lead Personal Renewal Groups for thousands of women using this award-wining self-care curriculum.
Guide to thousands of women.
Since 1988, I’ve been a passionate mentor and guide to thousands of women and girls, through leadership, advisory roles and speaking roles with the Association for Women In Communications, Girls on the Run, Girls Empowerment Network and The National Charity League, as well as through three nonprofit organizations I founded to support and connect women and parents.
Fortune 500 experience.
A communications executive for more than 15 years, I managed the national advertising/public relations account for Whole Foods Market; created branding campaigns for the third-largest medical-device manufacturer in the U.S.; developed public-service campaigns for national health organizations and secured national media coverage for clients on CNN, the CBS Evening News, NOVA and in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine and more. In 2000 I founded Austin-based boutique career coaching firm Career Strategists which has helped professionals and entrepreneurs around the globe create passion-filled careers and successfully navigate their career path. Career Strategists’ clients work for Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, small businesses and consulting firms. I closed the firm in 2020.
Education/leadership training.
My background includes a double major in Journalism and Creative Writing with honors from Texas Christian University’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication, and I have graduate-level training and education in leadership and organizational development, executive coaching and human potential through the University of Texas at Austin, the Center for Creative Leadership, the Organization Development Network and the International Coaches Federation, among others.
Mindfulness/meditation background.
A life-long yogi, meditator and somatic coaching practitioner, my stress management/resiliency background includes training with some of the most progressive authors/teachers/neuroscientists in the world, including Dr. Richard Carlson’s Psychology of Mind Program, Dr. Kelly McGonigal, Dr. Martha Beck, Dr. Joan Borysenko, Louise Hay, Byron Katie, Dr. Claudia Welch, Kathleen Woodward Thomas and Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks and more. My yoga/mindfulness/meditation training includes certifications and workshops with Jill Miller (Yoga & The Polyvagal Theory), Amy Weintrab (Yoga for Depression), Sarah Powers (Insight Meditation), Shiva Rea, Seane Corn, Gary Kraftsow and adult attachment/trauma experts. I am a Level I Yoga Nidra Meditation teacher through psychologist Dr. Richard Miller’s world-renowned Integrative Restoration (iRest) Institute. I have been studying cutting edge mindfulness, wellness and somatic healing practices at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health–the largest retreat center in North America–since 2008.
Neuro-based movement facilitator, community song leader and forest bathing guide.
In 2020, after moving to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western, NC and based on my 20+ years experience/training in conscious movement, I created and began leading an interoceptive dance experience called Wild Souls Authentic Movement.
I was also trained in 2020 through Lisa Littlebird’s internationally-known Song Leader Flight School (and have received additional training through Heather Houston and Maggie Wheeler) to be a community song leader. I regularly integrate brain-based singing in to many of my workshops and retreats as a way to help participants regulate their nervous systems, foster connection, raise oxytocin and access their creativity.
I also lead experiential, nature-based programming designed to spark participants to feel their “aliveness” through Wild Souls Nature Adventures.
Media Expert
As a sought-after life balance and self-care expert, I have been featured in national and international media outlets including the New York Times, Working Mother, US News & World Report, Woman’s Day and more.
Download our award-winning audio classes or pick up copies of our self-care and life balance books –enjoy personal, timely, 24/7 self-renewal support from the comfort of your own home.
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