Profile
About
Background
I am a single parent with two wonderful teenage daughters. I am also a Certified Divorce Coach and longtime divorce recovery group facilitator. Our journey has had its ups and downs. God is good; life is hard. We should never confuse the two.
My coaching practice is the result of a lifetime of learning and working around the world in several sectors. Having served some great organizations, I realized along the way that I'm more passionate about human flourishing than I am about organizational effectiveness. Though both are good.
The Lord has allowed me to go through some hard things, and I believe the cracks in our lives are not only how the light gets in; they are how it gets out, as well. By His grace, there have been some wins along the way, too.
My early career consisted of international roles, including positions with Coca-Cola in the South Pacific, NATO in Western Europe, and the US Department of Defense in Washington DC and Afghanistan. I've been privileged to live and study overseas (graduate school) and travel extensively, experiencing the benefits of vastly different cultures. While living in Washington DC in the early 2000s, I sensed a call into vocational ministry. Following that leading, I spent the next 20 years serving in the global faith-based non-profit space, including Christian philanthropy, international ministry, and non-profit leadership consulting.
Recently, the Lord called me back to my first love: serving individuals. Over the years, I have worked with generals and political appointees, senior executives and philanthropists, enlisted military members, school teachers and missionaries, struggling families and individuals from all walks of life.
At our core, I believe we are all the same. Our unique circumstances, personal priorities, and daily pressures may differ, but we are all created in the image of God. We are endowed with dignity and worth. We are capable of acts of beauty at exactly the same time that we have blind spots. We're all subject to the brokenness of our own weaknesses and vulnerable to the weaknesses of those around us. And the end, we're all only one phone call from our knees.
Whatever season we are in, God is good. We can grow,
Approach
Coaching and Christian Spiritual Direction are similar in several respects, and all three of our service lines - Divorce Coaching and Recovery, Life Coaching, and Spiritual Direction - have overlaps. There are also certain differences and distinctions between them. In terms of approach, however, there are underlying commonalities. My goal is to listen first because your story and your circumstances are uniquely yours. Additionally, you are created in the image of God, imbued with inherent dignity and endowed with unique gifts, values, and experiences.
A second reason the listening and question asking is a critical part of all three processes is this: you have agency and the Lord is uniquely at work in your life - or open to being at work if your desire is to align with Him. So an important goal of our work together is to build you up rather than create dependency or outsource your answers and direction. At the same time, I have worked with and walked alongside many people over time - those in seasons of acute stress like divorce or unexpected job transition- as well as those simply wanting to heal and grow further in their lives and in the Lord.
Based on the unique gifts and experiences the Lord has entrusted to me, I will also serve you when and where appropriate with feedback or suggested guidance, professional recommendations, biblical perspective, and occasionally perhaps even a little wisdom. Hopefully, we'll also smile and maybe even laugh occasionally. I know for some of you the concept of laughter may seem a lifetime away, and I understand that. Very. Well. However, I want to encourage you: you'll get there. If this is a hard chapter, it is only a chapter, and it is not the title of the book. If this is more a 'good to great' chapter, then praise the Lord for that, as well.