My path to becoming a therapist has taken me many places over many years! Prior to becoming a licensed social worker and completing my Master of Social Work through the University of Iowa, I worked extensively for a youth development organization known at the time as RunDSM. I was a youth mentor for their after-school and summer initiatives. As a mentor, I provided social-emotional support to some of my hometown’s most vulnerable young people and empowered them to be the writers of their own stories as well as change agents in their communities through spoken word poetry, street art, and performance and by involving them in the organizations’ workshops, events, and showcases. Following that, I’ve held various service-related and therapeutic roles within schools, homeless shelters, nonprofit organizations, health care settings, community mental health agencies, and as a nanny to families in Chicago and the North Shore over the last 10 years. These experiences have all shaped me as a therapist and inform my approach to therapeutic practice with youth and families. And in 10 years, what hasn’t changed is my commitment to youth and families and my support for the organizations that serve them. What I’ve learned is anyone can experience periods in their lives that are complicated, challenging, and painful; yet, within ourselves exists the potential and our unique capacities to overcome hardships and experience healing, rebalancing, and restoration of ourselves and our lives. My goal is to support my clients in accessing, or reconnecting, with their own ways of nurturing and maintaining physical, mental, and emotional wellness in order to effectively “grow through what you go through”.