As a teenager, when contemplating “What do I want to do when I grow up?”, I was torn between a career in music and one in helping people. I have straddled the worlds of music and human services ever since, with a recent and surprising discovery: There is a deep confluence of these streams to which my values, dedication and experience have brought about my mission. I want to bring wholeself care into the lives of children through the triadic of writing books, creating songs, and providing workshops. 

I started playing recorder at age 7, and as much as I laughed playing the music games my teacher did as warm-ups, I loved playing the recorder even more! At age 8, I started piano lessons and as much as I savored the Halloween pumpkin candy from my teacher, I enjoyed playing the piano even more! I was brought to the oboe compelled both by its sound and, frankly, the school’s music requirement that everyone earn music credits each year. Luckily, I came to love the oboe tremendously! I started composing music since it started “coming in the window” to my mind as a teenager,  urging me to bring it to life. I studied oboe, music theory, composition, and psychology in college. 

At the end of college, I didn’t yet see the connection that music has to helping people, and I really wanted to make a positive difference in people’s lives. That desire brought me to human services where I ultimately became a psychologist, with my main focus being adult individual psychotherapy. My love for music remained strong, so all of my clinical training and work has been accompanied by an active music life. After raising 3 children, working with hundreds of clients, and performing on oboe, teaching, and composing, I am thrilled to have arrived at this time in my career where the roads I have taken can come together to hopefully make a difference in the development of resilience in children.

Sometimes (bordering on usually!), I am thinking about this work while doing my hobbies, like biking, hiking, walking, running, and playing tennis, or when I am cooking food (vegetarian) for my family, doing the musts of cleaning and shopping, completing the basic routines for being ready for the day, or even when dreaming or awakening in the night.  Finding this confluence of music and helping people is my passion.