Get to know me better
Who am I
I am a multi-hyphenate creative wellness educator. My first career was as a dancer and performing artist in NYC, then I founded the dance and wellness programs at prestigious private schools, worked in the global yoga festival scene, teaching and running retreats from Brazil to Senegal and Mauritius. Later transitioning to Europe training with Gabor Maté as a psycho-social-emotional coach, earning a Masters degree in education and working in EU policy and as an academic researcher in psychedelics. I’m currently living in Portugal with the sun and the sea and continuing the deeper understanding of myself and my journey, in order to support my clients and greater global community.
My story
Born into an artsy bohemian family, I am no stranger to following a path that differs from the “norm”. I was also given many challenging experiences at a very early age and have spent the better part of my adulthood searching for was to escape them, navigate them and ultimately embrace them as parts of myself that have needs, have wisdom and seek belonging too. The journey and searching have lead my down some very productive roads and down some snake oil rabbit holes as well. My mission is to share the modalities that I’ve found effective and are grounded in a holistic sustainable approach to our wholeness.
My why
I’ve tried the tricks and tips and trainings and self-growth courses, retreats, festivals, conferences and over the past 25 years have gathered the best of the best. Whether the focus is on the body through my experience as a dancer, yoga teacher, personal trainer, Zumba instructor, Thai massage therapist or acroyoga teacher, or through the holistic health focusing on food, lifestyle, psycho-social emotional modalities or psychedelic integration through a spiritual energetic lens or based in substantiated scientific research. My life-long quest for ease, peace and grace that searched for the things externally from teachers, preachers, healers, and helpers, has ultimately led me back to myself. My mission is to share this process of self-inquiry and ultimate liberation with you, through body and mind practices.
My Training
My training is extensive and began as a professional dancer with The School of the Hartford Ballet, completing a Bachelor heeler of Fine Arts from the University of Hartford, choreographing for the Connecticut Opera and winning recognition for my choreography at the American College Dance Festival. As a professional dancer in NYC, I toured regionally with a number of companies and became a certified yoga teacher training with Ana Forrest, Seane Corn, and many others. I was also a personal trainer at Equinox Sports clubs and a certified Zumba instructor. I started the dance and wellness programs at Riverdale Country School and became a Holistic Health Coach with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. After leaving Riverdale, I continued my yoga training with Pure yoga in NYC, Dharma Mittra’s 500 hour training and AcroYoga teacher training in Bali and Thai Massage training. My work included private clients, teaching at boutique studios in NYC including Chelsea Piers, Y7, corporate yoga at Facebook, Pinterest, and Calvin Klein among others, and running numerous retreats internationally. During the Covid-19 pandemic I began training with Dr. Gabor Maté, completing 3 years of training and became a certified Compassionate Inquiry practitioner in October 2023. My graduate school training in Education innovation focused on Psychedelic Education and brought me to running events at the European Parliament with the NGO PAREA, a psychedelic policy and education organization. I’m currently working with private clients and at a select group of studios in Portugal, running retreats and presenting my academic research at international conferences.