Welcome to Mining for Gold—a monthly newsletter to come home to your unique brand of leadership. Sometimes we have to look back in order to move forward. Sometimes the challenges and set backs we have faced have the gold we need in order to move forward. The gold we find in our most challenging moments has so much to teach us, and it's the gold in the setbacks that lights the path for how we can work differently. Sometimes we have to steer by starlight before we can get to the open field.

 

Eighteen years ago, I was standing at an inflection point. Like many defining moments, this one happened in my bathrobe—sleep-deprived, covered in babies, and running on coffee fumes. I had been a therapist for about six years when I read an article about a new and emerging field called “coaching”.

 

I finished the article, settled the kids in front of a PBS show, walked over to my computer, and registered an LLC in the State of Oregon. That small, tired, very human decision marked the beginning of an eighteen-year odyssey in coaching and consulting—one that has taken me across the country facilitating, keynote speaking, and partnering with leaders across a wide range of industries.

 

Along the way, there have been epic face-down moments and vulnerability hangovers, as well as standing ovations and deep moments of connection. And it all began with one exhausted mama, one article, and a willingness to believe in “yes, and.”

 

Since then, I have worked with thousands of clients who are experiencing their own inflection points. I create a space where they can land—where they can locate where they are in their lives and careers, and sit with their story in a new way. Together we truffle hunt for the gold and design a career and a life rooted in core values and fully aligned for impact & wellness. 

 

 

I work with leaders at all levels who want to build workplaces of wellness, honesty, boundaries, and deep care. These are leaders who want more courageous conversations, not fewer. Leaders who are committed to cultures where armoring up and self-protection are neither required nor rewarded.

 

 

In a world obsessed with customers, I believe something essential is often forgotten: no one truly loves a company or a mission until the employee loves it first.

 

If you believe work can be a place of dignity, care, and honest conversation, Mining for Gold is for you.

 

This is where we name what’s been harmful, imagine what’s possible, and learn how to lead without leaving ourselves behind.

 

I’m inviting you to a live webinar on February 4th titled 

 

Inspired by the work of Brené Brown and Dare to Lead™, we’ll explore the visible, measurable behaviors that show up on teams and across organizations—and how many of them are rooted in shame. Together, we’ll examine what shame looks like in action, how it quietly shapes culture, and why it so often goes unnamed.

 

While we cannot “shame-proof” our workplaces, I’ll share what research and practice have shown to be genuinely helpful in building healthier organizational cultures—ones where honesty, accountability, and wholehearted work are possible.

 

This webinar is for leaders who want to name what’s happening, understand it more clearly, and begin creating workplaces where people don’t have to armor up to belong.

 

I find that a lot of life is about remembering & forgetting.

 

We forget how important we are, we forget that it’s not heroic gestures that build trust and create meaning in our lives. We forget to put ourselves on our own list of priorities. We forget we have needs. Under the stress, speed, and competing priorities, we forget what helps us.

 

And then we remember what actually works:

 

 

Now booking 2026 sessions!

Today’s work needs leaders who are self aware and can lead through uncertainty, risk, and change with grounded confidence. When leaders don’t do their own internal work, they work their issues out on their people and cause harm.

Teams thrive on two essentials: courageous leadership and effective communication. When leaders build trust and teams understand how to connect across different communication styles, collaboration deepens, innovation grows, and accountability sticks.