About Me
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I grew up in southern Arizona and moved to Portland in 1997. I have an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Arizona (Yay, Wildcats!). I worked as a registered engineer in Tucson, Phoenix and Portland for over 20 years. My engineering experience occurred in both the private and public sectors. I had always been drawn to the people side of engineering, though – wanting to engage people to enjoy their work and learn new things, not shying away from dealing with difficult people and realizing that there were a lot of influences on people’s lives besides work ( all very un-engineer like), which contributed to my pursuing a counseling degree. In 2001, I earned my masters degree in Community Counseling from Portland State University. In addition to my graduate studies, I have additional training in addiction studies, play therapy, collaborative divorce coaching, marriage and family counseling, including Gottman Method Couples Therapy, and Gestalt therapy.
I have a variety of counseling and counseling-related experiences in work and volunteer settings. Besides my current private practice experience, my experience includes providing coaching/counseling at a collaborative divorce law practice, working on a crisis line, working at a crisis nursery, volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate and coordinating the SMART (Start Making a Reader Today) program at a Portland elementary school.
I am a licensed professional counselor (LPC) with the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT), registration number C4154 and a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC). I am a member of the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Oregon Counseling Association (ORCA), and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).