How I Work

I don't have a signature methodology or a proprietary framework. What I have is a genuine interest in the person across from me — what they're actually carrying, what they actually want, what's actually getting in the way.

I work with people who are doing hard things in a hard world: men sitting with grief they don't have words for, queer folks building lives that didn't come with a template, social justice coaches trying to sustain themselves while sustaining others. My job is to create a space where the real stuff can surface — and then to be useful with what shows up.

I tend to be direct. I'll name what I notice. I'll ask the question that's sitting in the room. I'll also know when to back off and let something breathe. I've been told I have good instincts for which is which.

I also believe that grief and joy are not opposites, that pleasure is not a reward for productivity, and that the most important things are usually the ones people have the hardest time saying out loud. These convictions show up in the room.

A Little History

Before coaching, I worked in nonprofit arts and culture for sixteen years — managing organizations, building programs, navigating the specific terrain of doing values-driven work inside institutions that don't always live their values. That history is part of how I hold this work. I know what it's like to be a mission-driven person inside a complicated system.

I got my coaching training through the Co-Active Training Institute and have been coaching since 2006. I completed Claire Bidwell Smith's Grief & Loss Training Program in 2024 and became a certified End-of-Life Specialist in 2025. Being with people at the end of life teaches you things about living that you can't get anywhere else — that conviction is part of what drew me to grief coaching for men.

I'm a member of the ICF Coaching Supervision Community of Practice and an affiliate coach with several social justice organizations, including The Equity Lab, Imagine Us, Rise Consulting, Roadmap Consulting, and WithIn Collaborative.

The Rest of It

I live in Sebastopol, CA — between the Coastal Miwok and Southern Pomo indigenous territories — with my husband Tsukasa. I’m learning to play bass. I cook A LOT. I throw dance parties. I play tabletop games. I take ritual seriously and I don't take myself too seriously.

That last part matters more than it sounds.