I believe that one of the most effective ways to create positive change is by cultivating balance. In the work that I do, I incorporate all aspects of the heart, mind, body and spirit for whole person integration, and promote transformation through knowledge and empowerment.

EXPERIENCE

PARENT EDUCATION

As a Certified Positive Discipline Facilitator I have done family counseling, mediation, parent coaching, and taught parenting classes to adults and teen moms. Using a strength-based perspective, my goal is to help families stay develop the skills they need to thrive.

I served as the Board President of Positive Discipline Community Resources, a community change center in Santa Cruz County that helps people foster respectful relationships (i.e. in parenting, schools, etc). 

In the past I have worked as a counselor, family advocate, and family literacy program coordinator at the Walnut Avenue Women's Center, a domestic violence and family resource center. Part of this work included supporting families experiencing crisis, poverty, and social adversities, in identifying and achieving their personal and familial goals. Through mentor meetings and home visits we fostered respectful relationships, built skills, and addressed their children's developmental achievements and needs.

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COUNSELING

I am licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist (#116439). I am currently only seeing clients at specific schools in Santa Cruz County and am not doing private practice at the moment. If you are interested in connecting for therapy, please contact me and I will notify you once that service becomes available.

RESEARCH

I am currently a PhD graduate student at the University of California Santa Cruz, studying Social Psychology and Participatory Action Research. My research focuses on creating empowering settings in K-12 school systems. A few studies that I am working on look at empowering settings and Positive Discipline with a 4th and 5th grade after school program, and another study examines access and support for historically underrepresented students in higher education. I also assisted with a grounded theory research study on the effectiveness of Positive Discipline. This qualitative study involved interviewing participants who had already taken a Positive Discipline class.

YOUTH

In addition to parent education and research, my passion lies in working with youth. With all the nuances that the developmental stage of adolescence presents, I find teens to be insightful and innovative! I have had the privilege of counseling youth at Costanoa High and Ark Independent School, and facilitating youth groups that foster healthy relationships and build confidence in identifying choices. My direct work with youth allows me to learn more about how they think and make decisions, what's truly important to them, and why they do what they do. I enjoy connecting with youth and empathizing with what their world looks like while also helping them to prepare for, and navigate the responsibilities and opportunities that lie ahead.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT

I have studied child development through my masters program in Psychology and through practical experience as an early childhood teaching assistant, home visitor, and parent educator to mothers of infants and toddlers. My work incorporates Attachment Theory, Developmental Assets & Trauma-Informed Care.

POSITIVE DISCIPLINE IN THE CLASSROOM 

As a Certified PD Classroom Educator I train teachers and school staff to implement Positive Discipline into their schools. This provides an opportunity for kids to learn in a socially and emotionally integrated system and acquire the tools they need for self regulation, positive relationship development, and empowered identities. I have had the pleasure of working closely with teachers and principals and observing classrooms in all stages of progress. 

INTEGRATION