I’ve always been captivated by, and have had a deep passion for, the outdoors and adventure. Being in nature—whether swimming, climbing trees, or exploring, is an inseparable part of who I am. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I have ventured across landscapes that stretched from the sea to the mountain peaks. This early love for the natural world led me to begin my career working with youth in the Puget Sound region and with teens in the mountains of North Carolina. I taught outdoor skills such as whitewater rafting, rock climbing, camping, backcountry travel, and helped students discover their true selves and unlimited potential. It was there, amidst mountain trails and winding valleys, as a wilderness guide, that I discovered my true purpose: to support, educate, and empower others.

After studying experiential education, wilderness leadership, communication, and environmental studies, I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Adventure Education from Prescott College. My passion for guiding and teaching continued to grow, and I next earned my Master’s Degree in Teaching from the University of Washington. Coaching and educating people became my mission.

Over the years, as I taught youth and people of all ages in all types of settings, I kept expanding my horizons through additional trainings and life’s curriculum (marriage, a relocation, motherhood, trauma, illness, loss & grief, divorce, a sick parent, and all that accompanies life and inevitable transitions). I experienced joy and sadness, and I learned many things- and I also did some unlearning. Those seasons of life broke me open in ways I couldn’t have imagined—and I came to understand that we must know grief to truly know joy.

As I parented, supported my children, and juggled life- I felt a pull towards something new. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was until the Spring of 2019 when I went into the wilderness for a retreat. It was then, on a warm spring day in the high desert of Oregon, that I heard the inner calling to take a rite of passage guide training through the School of Lost Borders. My calling was to weave my experiences together as a guide and educator to become an Empowerment Coach & Rites of Passage Guide.

Five months later, I found myself sitting alone in the desert on a five-day, four-night wilderness solo experience. No food- just water and my basic essentials of clothing and a sleeping bag. It was during that intentional solo and rite of passage that I claimed all of my parts of being a whole human—as a woman, a parent, an entrepreneur, a lifelong learner, an adventurer, a skier, mountain lover, an explorer of wild places, a grower of dahlias, a space-holder, a wilderness guide, a mother, a sister and daughter, a lover of all people and creatures, a conduit for connection, and a community builder. I am grounded in the belief that you have all the answers within.