Clinical expertise. Therapeutic touch. Mindful movement.

My story

As a child of the Back-to-the-Land movement, I grew up in the rural mountains of the Emerald Triangle. Surrounded by Redwood forests and a tight-knight hippie community - and with the good fortune to have parents who loved low-budget international travel - I learned the values of being a global citizen and caring for the world around me.

I also had an innate interest in movement, mind-body practices, and holistic health from a young age. I studied a myriad of dance styles, played the violin, wrote my senior paper on midwifery, lived for a year in Argentina, and wanted to be a medicine woman.

This led me to the study of bodywork, nutrition and botanical medicine, traditional and indigenous medical systems, yoga and mind-body practices, and ultimately licensed massage therapy and certification as a holistic health practitioner.

At the same time I studied cognitive neuroscience, human development, nursing practice and management, health systems and finance, health policy, quality improvement, research fundamentals, and implementation science. I completed ADN, BA, MSN, and DNP degrees and became licensed as a registered nurse.

After continuing to study dance intensively in college, I went on to train, perform, and teach salsa and bachata partner dance in San Diego, CA, Seattle, WA and Eugene, OR.

I bolstered my academic, holistic health, and dance experience with diverse professional roles. I started in direct patient care in outpatient reproductive health and inpatient orthopedic surgery. I went on to leadership roles as the Nursing Director of a hand surgery center, and nursing faculty at a community college. During the pandemic, I took the job of Communicable Disease Nursing Supervisor for our county Public Health department, which included leadership roles in the Emergency Operations Center. I concurrently built thriving massage therapy practices in three cities, and helped two studios evolve from small dance practices to vibrant businesses,

My belief in community service brought me to India and Vietnam as a medical volunteer, and diverse roles on professional boards and committees including the Integrative, Complementary, and Traditional Health Practices section of the American Public Health Association, the Public Health Nursing section of the Michigan Public Health Association, the Mattawan Public Education Foundation, and the Integrated Center for Group Medical Visits.

I currently work in integrative medicine research at the MAGIC Implementation Science Lab at the UNC School of Nursing. I also provide clinical consulting services, have a massage practice and offer workshops, and provide private dance lessons.