About Me

I strongly believe that with support for growth and development, your life can feel balanced, your work can feel engaging, and you can have a clear vision of your plan, goals, and values.  

I’m a coach, trainer, and facilitator, but I’m also: a loving parent, a feminist, an educator, and a veteran of social justice organizations. I’ve long been committed to women’s empowerment and lifting up girls in all settings.

In fact, I worked for almost two decades as a nonprofit leader, in a job I loved and that made me happy and fulfilled – until it didn’t. You can read more of that story below, which I’m including because I hope you’ll see how I ended up becoming the coach I once needed. Let me be the support for you that I could have used during my time of change and transition.

I’m committed to increasing equity, particularly racial and gender equity. Among other efforts, I offer a sliding scale of fees to make my work accessible to a wide range of individuals and organizations. You can read more about my stance on equity and accessibility below.

I’m also a mother of three teens. My life is a daily exercise in keeping track of people and projects, baking, hiking, working hard, and having fun. I live and work on Muwekma Ohlone land in Berkeley, California.

I strive to be conscious and thoughtful about race, class, privilege, and power dynamics in my interactions with individuals and in the development of my trainings for organizations. Here are some ways I have incorporated these values into my work:

For almost 19 years, I worked at a wonderful organization called Girls Inc. of Alameda County in Oakland, California. Over the years, my roles and responsibilities grew and expanded as the organization grew and expanded. I built new programs, developed structures and systems, supervised staff, and served on the leadership team. I had deep and powerful relationships with the other staff and with our participants. I was deeply fulfilled by my work.

By 2016, however, I realized I wasn’t happy. I felt frustrated every day even though I was still deeply motivated by the mission and I liked my coworkers. It took me more than a year to realize that my job, which had been a great fit for my life, my family, and my values wasn’t a fit anymore. It was very hard to say goodbye.

When I left, I felt lost and uncertain. I hadn’t ever given serious thought to what else I might do.  As a person who likes plans and clear goals, I was adrift when I was released into a world with no targets, no deadlines, and a lot of questions.

I decided to give myself one year – I called it my adult gap year – to focus on learning who I was now, what I wanted to do, and what should come next.

Sitting at my dining room table surrounded by books, sticky notes and coffee cups, I started exploring potential jobs, and perhaps more importantly, my strengths, my competencies and my values.

Right away, I identified some things I didn’t want. I didn’t want to move to a new organization and perform the same job I’d been doing. I didn’t want to be an Executive Director or CEO of a small nonprofit. I didn’t want to work for a company or organization that didn’t offer me a connection to something meaningful. And, I didn’t want to work full-time yet, because I still had three kids at home. Parenting teens was providing me all sorts of challenges and learning opportunities right in my own house. 

For a year, I tested and tried new things. I was without a guide, but I kept my focus on learning and exploring possibilities. I thought a lot about which parts of my jobs over the years I had loved and not loved. I reflected on my natural strengths. I revisited skills I had accumulated, but which were lying dormant. I identified which issues I felt most passionate about. I took workshops and read books. I completed assessments and talked with former colleagues.

I did small experiments and “tried” some jobs.  I became a substitute elementary school librarian. I did pro bono work consulting for a local food bank. I ruled out large scale policy work, curriculum design, and pastry chef.

All of my experiments and focused reflection led to me understanding that my best work was done when I worked with closely with individuals and supported them in their learning and development. The end result was that I started a small business focused on coaching, training and facilitation for people and organizations that I like and want to support. 

While I eventually resolved my “what should I do next” question, I know now that this is a process better done with a partner! I might have gotten to my “just right” job faster and with fewer stumbles along the way if I had had a coach support me. 

I’d love to be the support you need to gain clarity, focus on your values and purpose, frame new goals, and take action for change in your life.