Growing up with undiagnosed neurodivergence led me to pursue a B.A. in Psychology at the University of Delaware to better understand myself. I felt unprepared for the changes and emotional processing of adolescence and young adulthood, especially as my physical health worsened and impacted my mental health. While I had been taught to use amazing tools like optimism and humor in my family, I needed a broader tool belt to assist with the challenges I was facing. In order to support my physical health and to share those lessons with others, I received an M.S. in Nutrition and Integrative Health from Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH). During my time at MUIH, I began to learn amazing concepts such as mindfulness, self-compassion, grief, being a healing presence and more. It wasn't just about nutrition for the body, it was about nourishment for the soul and really finding what it means to be a human being.  

During grad school, my physical health crashed and remained challenging for several years. Chronic illness is like an advanced placement course for being human as you come face to face with complex emotions, family and cultural dynamics, and societal expectations on top of physical symptoms. I wish I had taken Human 101 before I entered the advanced class! That's what inspired me to create "Teach Me to Human" - a compilation of tools that we wish we understood before entering significant life challenges. As imperfect impermanent beings, all of us will face complex challenges at some point, but hopefully with the right tools we can learn how to human more effectively together. 

Education

I credit Maryland University of Integrative Health for first and foremost teaching me how to be a healing presence to myself before I could think about sharing this information with others. University of Delaware gave me a strong foundation in systemics thinking to understand the complexity of human Psychology. 

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