A Personal and Professional Calling

My own relationship with grief is deeply personal. I’ve experienced losses that were shattering, complicated, and at times invisible to those around me. These experiences didn’t just lead me to this work—they ground me in it. They’ve taught me that healing doesn’t mean forgetting. It means learning how to live with loss in a way that honors your truth and your resilience.

Loss has shaped many chapters of my life in both obvious and quiet ways. Some losses were clear—like the death of a loved one—while others were harder to name at the time, such as a move that disrupted my sense of home, or the end of a friendship that left me feeling untethered. Each experience brought its own kind of grief, sometimes showing up as sadness, sometimes as anxiety, or even just a numbness I didn’t understand.

Over time, I’ve come to see how these moments of loss have influenced the way I view relationships, change, and resilience. They've also deepened my empathy and strengthened my desire to hold space for others as they navigate their own losses.

Professionally, I’ve been in the grief and loss field for over 25 years. I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Certified in Thanatology (CT), which is the study of death, dying, and bereavement. I’ve worked in hospice, hospitals, community mental health, and private practice. In addition to therapy, I serve as an adjunct professor for the MSW program at California State University Northridge, where I teach future social workers clinical skills, trauma, grief and assessment.

This is not just my profession—it’s my passion and life’s work.

Specialties include:   Grief and life transitions, anxiety and self esteem, stress and burnout, trauma and emotional overwhelm, relationship issues (including communication, conflict, and attachment)alcohol use and gray area drinking.

EXPERIENCE

• Professor at California State University Northridge- Master of Social Work 
• Grief Educator and Community Trainer
• Tech Advisor, A 24 Productions
• Associate Clinical Director of Children and Adolescent Programs at OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center
• Clinical Supervisor for licensure hours. 
• Grief Specialist at Camp Erin-Los Angeles
• Emergency Response Child Abuse Investigator for the Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services
• On-site Critical Incident Responder
• Mother, stepmom, partner, blended family, cyclist, nature lover and dog mom.