As both a trauma educator and person with lived trauma experience, I know the pain of being stuck in in the cycle of trauma. I also know recovery is possible and that people are remarkably resilient when given the right tools, support, and validation to heal.

I’ve been working as a trauma educator and special needs parent advocate for more than 15 years, and I became a Certified Trauma Integration Practitioner (CTIP) for one simple reason—the process works. It changes lives for the better and allows people to move forward and release the burden of trauma. It is the process that finally brought me peace.

I’m also the adoptive mother of a young adult with intellectual disabilities, FAS, autism, mental illness, and complex trauma from spending her first five years in an abusive orphanage. She taught me how to love and to receive love, and that trauma can be transformed into growth, empathy, and strength.

I have lived on both coasts and now divide my time between Salt Lake City and Sanpete County, Utah. My life joys are nature photography, jazz, singing, reading, animals, special needs kids and adults, chocolate, flowers, laughter, and all bodies of water.

Professional Experience

I’ve created trauma education trainings and courses for organizations such as the National Center for Trauma Informed Care, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Office on Women’s Health, Childhood Cancer Guides, the Maryland Department of Juvenile Justice, and Harvard Medical School’s Department of Population Medicine. My writing and education materials are used to train behavioral health professionals, direct care givers, peer mentors, and survivors about trauma, its effects, evidence-based interventions, and creating a safe, healing environment.

I have worked as a special needs parent advocate/coach, raising awareness of the needs of people with disabilities, helping parents find resources and support,  assisting with development of a residential setting for kids and youth with complex trauma and neurological disorders, and raising funds for a musical theater company for special needs adults. 

I have a master’s degree in communications and public relations, am a Reiki II practitioner, and have done training in Trust-Based Relational Intervention and Voices: A Program of Self-Discovery and Empowerment for Girls.

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller,