The seeds of my work as a coach in the recovery world have always been a part of me, but were only able to germinate when I finally admitted to myself that it was time to enter the world of recovery myself. This happened seven years ago, shortly after my 40th birthday. I have always been drawn toward vocations that support my passion for the well-being of others. After college, I taught high school in an underserved community for 2 years while earning my Masters of Curriculum and Instruction. This ignited my love for youth and a deep understanding of their wisdom and capability to comprehend the world and each other in such a unique way.
Shortly after that I became interested in women's health and trained as a doula and as a childbirth educator. Additionally, I began facilitating and coordinating a program at a non-profit organization in my community for pregnant and parenting teens, which I happily did for nearly 20 years. This program was very focused on the needs of this age group at a very difficult and transitional time; and I was again able to experience how truly unparalleled and underappreciated their insight often is.
At this point, my experience as a doula acted as a catalyst for my decision to attend nursing school. After graduating from nursing school, I worked for several years in Labor and Delivery and as an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant. A move to relocate brought me full circle back into the world of education as the lead school nurse for the Oxford School District and the school nurse at Oxford High School in Oxford, Mississippi - ultimately bringing me back to being in service to the community's youth. My 10 years as the nurse there were some of the most nourishing of my professional life. I absolutely loved getting to be the safe space and foundation of support for the students at Oxford High School.
It was during this time that I started my own recovery journey. I learned and put into practice tools to help me get and stay sober and to navigate all of the feelings that inevitably come to the surface with this journey. Some of my most important tools included yoga, mindfulness, meditation, and breathwork. I earned my yoga teacher certification and additionally my yoga therapy certification with a focus in Yoga for Recovery. I also got certified and began facilitating Yoga for 12-Step recovery and completed a year-long mindful teacher certification with Mindful Schools in Oakland, CA. As I began to implement these skills individually with students in my office, I felt more and more convinced that if we could teach students these tools to help them with emotional regulation and self-care; then we could prevent addiction, self-harm, and support their long-term well-being.
I teamed up with a colleague at Oxford High School, and we created a peer support and education group called RISE (Reach Inspire Support Empower). What started as a group of 9 students in 2018 who wanted to change the world by making a difference in their own school, has gone on to become the first certified peer educators in a public high school in the country. Today this group of more than 75 students, continues making a difference through peer education and programming in their school community.
It was during this time that I began implementing yoga and mindfulness weekly with the behaviorally challenged students in the alternative school and the in-school suspension classroom. I saw a profound difference in the students that I worked with during that time. I went on to spend 2 years working as the yoga therapist at Stonewater Recovery Center. Stonewater Recovery Center is an adolescent recovery center for young males ages 13-19. It is a dual-diagnosis treatment program crafted by a team of experts that address the specific needs of adolescents; even as those needs evolve over time. My role on this team was as an experiential therapist, and as such - I created a yoga therapy curriculum designed for adolescents, based on the 12 steps, the philosophy of yoga, and its sister science Ayurveda.
In December 2023 I earned my Board Certification in Health and Wellness coaching - bringing together all of my experience, education, training, and dedication to serving young people and their families as they navigate this difficult road of recovery. After achieving my board certification, I went on to become certified in Mental Health First Aid for young people and as a certified recovery coach through the International Association of Addiction Recovery Coaches.
These difficult challenges are never best faced alone. Let me be the guide and companion that you and your family need during this time!