How I Got Here:

I’ve always wanted to make the world a better place - to do GRAND things and to do them well. It started with human rights work, which lead to a graduate education at University of California - Berkeley, and then to managing international public health campaigns across three continents. I worked hard. I hustled. I managed severe anxiety. I married. I got really good at my job. I had children. I said goodbye to sleep.

And that’s when things got interesting.

No amount of ambition or lust for life can conquer the need for rest, at least not for any significant period of time. And without rest it is difficult to get much else done. My anxiety increased, patience with my children decreased, self-care disappeared, and I questioned the one thing I’d always taken for granted: my quest to make the world a better place.

And that’s when self-doubt showed-up to the party, an excruciating bedfellow I might add.

I lingered with this unfortunate guest a bit too long, but I did manage to recognize the impasse. Forward movement had ceased. The dream of making even a small impact had ceased. My ability to appreciate the gifts in front of me - my family, health, good food, art, sunshine - had ceased. Simply showing up and being present in my own life, in the moment, had ceased.

And that’s when I realized my old beliefs no longer served me, or the world for that matter.

I made changes - not GRAND pursuits that I instinctually wanted to force. I made small and subtle and often difficult deviations from my life’s status quo. I redirected a career that hadn’t delivered on the promises I’d forced upon it. I started to cook more becuase I found deep joy in sharing meals with friends and family. I slowed down long enough to realize that my idea of GRAND had evolved, and that I needed to evolve with it.

And that’s when I discovered my own version of spirituality.

I don’t use the term spirituality lightly - it is loaded with religious idioms for many - which is why I’ve modified it with the term practical. Grounded in the science of Positive Psychology, it is a mindset that honors life’s deepest questions - meaning, purpose and value - while remaining grounded in the tangible tasks of every day living. It’s about applying principles such as gratitude, curiosity and zest to every day encounters. This mindset has changed my life.

And that’s when I started teaching and coaching others suffering under old belief patterns.

I now work with families with children that experience cognitive development at a different pace from other children, and have shared with them the joy and gratitude that is possible when they retire old beliefs about their child being somehow delayed. I now work with women struggling with anxiety, and have shared with them mindset tools for building resilience. I now work with people seeking more holistic ways of living a fulfilling life.

My idea of making the world a better place has evolved. I still believe international public health campaigns are critically important, but I am no longer the person to serve in that role. My current calling to GRAND-ness is about subtleness. To help people be present in their lives. To sift through the noise of modern living. To be, to serve, and to thrive in their own skin.