How I Got Here

I am an Asheville native with multi-generational roots in the southern Appalachian Mountains. In my lifetime I have lived, studied, and worked in North Carolina, in Rhode Island, Nicaragua, Mexico City, Cuba and Brazil. I hold a Master of Social Work from Western Carolina University, where I received specialized training as a HRSA Integrated Healthcare Scholar. I completed a B.A. in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Brown University, with a supplementary course of study in Geography and the Environment at Pontifícia Universidade Católica in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In the past I have worked with adolescents in wilderness therapy, with survivors of sexual and domestic violence, with traditional-age and non-traditional age undergraduate and graduate students, and with immigrants and their families. In addition to my work in the mental health field, I have worked in language justice as a Spanish-English interpreter, in community organizing, international education and leadership development, and the service industry. The wide variety of lived experiences I’ve had greatly shapes how I approach my work as a therapist, and has helped me to develop a holistic and multi-faceted approach to human health and well-being.