My life purpose is to help find a healthy balance between your personal life and your humanitarian work.
I grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and began my career in international development, where I worked as a contractor to the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
My work focused on improving access to HIV and maternal health services in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. I managed health policy projects based in Jamaica and Nigeria, with multi-million dollar budgets and full-time staff.
My Dark Night Of The Soul
My world shattered in 2015 when my colleague and mentor was killed in a terrorist attack in Mali while on a work assignment. In the aftermath of Anita's death, my company sent my colleagues and me to a mandatory off-site “Hostile Environment Awareness Training '' with ex-military trainers. We simulated traumatic events like carjackings and I was re-traumatized by the training. While my colleagues resumed traveling to high-risk countries, I battled anxiety so severe that I could not even ride a subway, an elevator, or be in large crowds without panicking. Seeking more connection with nature as a path to healing, my husband C.J. and I moved to Colorado in 2016.
My Healing Journey
That's when I started working with a career coach who changed my life. While continuing to see a therapist to heal my PTSD, my coach helped me connect deeply with my vision for my future. I got in touch with my values, my gifts, and my life purpose. Coaching also helped me establish a daily morning practice that is rooted in gratitude, self-reflection, and intention-setting.
I also learned how to set emotional and time boundaries, so that I could enjoy a fulfilling life instead of always focusing on how to fix or solve other people’s problems. Working with a coach helped me realize everything is not happening to me but for me so I can learn and grow and share with others.
Soon after my coaching ended, I signed up for the Co-Active Training Institute program, because I wanted to share this powerful set of tools with as many people as I can. Everything was humming along for a while, and then…
Every night I numbed myself with some combination of wine, junk food, and Netflix, and each morning I would wake up and begin the stress cycle over again. I was completely burned out and did not realize it.
I just kept telling myself there were women dying in childbirth every day all over the world, so my problems really weren’t that bad. I engaged a life coach to help me set and hold healthy boundaries, delegate, ask for help, and make sure that I wasn’t taking on more than I could handle. She helped me see that my worthiness is not tied to whom I can help and how much I can produce in a day. I am worthy and deserving of love and belonging, period. When my coaching ended, I was ready to step fully into my calling. I left my day job and I am now deeply fulfilled by my work as a leadership coach to clients within USAID, NGOs and the private sector.
My Burnout Story
In June of 2019, I was juggling my day job as a USAID contractor, and happily coaching clients at night. I was informed that my main project lost its funding and we had to close the country office within two months. This meant I had to lay off my staff who had worked so hard to make an impact on reducing HIV-related stigma in health care facilities. Meanwhile, I was also the sole caregiver for my husband who was recovering from two consecutive back surgeries that summer.
Each day I had chest pains, racing thoughts, and crippling anxiety about my husband’s health and the welfare of my colleagues who were going to be laid off as a result of the funding loss.
My Calling
I am passionate about helping people manage their high workloads, set healthy boundaries, get in touch with their most extraordinary vision for their professional and personal lives, and chart a course towards realizing that vision and living it every day.
I have had the pleasure of coaching clients at USAID in Washington, D.C., and USAID Offices in Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Honduras, Kenya, Liberia, Macedonia, Malawi, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Peru, Uganda, and Uruguay. I have also coached clients from various NGOs, including RTI, Wikipedia, the Global Environment & Technology Foundation, PACT, Palladium, and Tostan.
My coaching style is empathetic, positive, and empowering. I ask you powerful questions to help you apply a strengths-based approach to reaching your goals.
✔️ I leverage 12 years of experience working for USAID implementing partners to teach you how to manage the high volume of work across multiple time zones, and set healthy boundaries so you can enjoy meaningful relationships and quality time outside of work.
✔️ I provide leadership coaching to USAID staff all over the world, and know the unique challenges and opportunities associated with this industry.
✔️ ICF Certified and trained by the Co-Active Training Institute (one of the top coaching programs in the world).
✔️ Completed extensive training in leadership, mindfulness, and Kundalini Yoga. I will teach you daily mindfulness practices that will radically change how you show up at work.
How to Transition from Burnout to Resilience
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On a personal note…
When I’m not coaching, you can find me hiking the beautiful trails in Colorado, hanging out with my husband CJ and our dogs Rudy (left, with the sassy face) and Misty (right), watching re-runs of the Office and Parks & Recreation, or planning our next hiking vacation.