My story

I grew up in a sleepy rural town in southwest Kansas, the youngest of four children in a conservative Catholic household. It was clear from an early age that I needed more out of life than could be found on the high plains of Kansas. Nonetheless, I went through the motions of rural life, occupying myself with school, church, and social activities. To the outside world, I looked like an ideal daughter, student, and citizen. On the inside, I felt stifled by my surroundings and smothered by the weight of familial and societal expectations for who I was supposed to be and become.

The good life, as I understood it, resulted from going to college, finding a nice Catholic husband, getting a respectable job, buying a house, and raising 3.75 kids. I accepted this as truth while also daydreaming of a world where I could travel to Ireland or Italy, be smart enough to pursue an advanced degree, or relocate to a city with actual suburbs and a skyline. Despite feeling like an awkward misfit, I squeezed myself into the boxes set before me, believing that doing so would transform me into the confident, happy, high-achieving person I appeared to be.

Well, adult life didn’t quite turn out according to plan. Instead of settling down with a toxic college boyfriend, I declined his proposal and went to work abroad. By twenty-six I had not only visited Ireland and Italy but had been to multiple countries on multiple continents. At twenty-nine, I was the first person in my paternal family line to graduate with a master’s degree. By my mid-thirties, I had lived for years in a major metro area just a few miles from the beach. And, at thirty-nine I surprised the masses by marrying my now-husband wearing hot pink and gold in an abbreviated Hindu ceremony.

I love where my life has ended up in so many ways with the support of some key individuals, but it has also been riddled with plenty of unnecessary adversity, criticism, and judgment from overt and covert voices and systems directing me about the “right” way to live and do things. I’ve spent more time than I would like to admit battling self-doubt, feeling like an imposter, and being terrified by the mere possibility of failure. It has both forced and encouraged me to deeply explore internal and external belief systems, biases, and inequities, fueling the way I approach my personal and professional life with a growth and human-centered life design mindset.

I am extremely passionate and supercharged by finding new and innovative ways to help individuals and groups identify greatness, maximize potential, and use their power to do good in the world. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, so I meet people and groups where they are, honor where they have come from, and co-create a discovery process that empowers collective movement to amplify success. Through helping organize, strategize, and leverage the diversity of thought, communication, and ability, I partner to make real, lasting, and inclusive change. We only have a short time on this planet, so let’s have fun doing some serious work.