I have an MA in Counseling Psychology, and a BA in Child Development. My professional experience includes serving as a Family, Child and Youth Counselor, Elementary Educator, School Counselor, Parent Educator, Child Development Specialist, Early Childhood Consultant, and Associate Faculty for Early Childhood Education.

One of my most important qualifications as a parent coach is being a parent. I have two children and know first hand the stresses, struggles, and complications of modern family life. I have been a step-parent and a single parent, a stay at home parent and a working parent. Parenting is exhausting, exhilarating and enriching; helping others experience greater satisfaction in their parenting and family life is what makes parent coaching such rewarding work.

As a parent coach, I am here to help you find the parenting style and strategies that will work best for you and your children. Each one of us is a unique individual with different needs and preferences. Even husbands and wives who desire to be on the same "parenting page" will have different strengths and capacities. I have included my parenting philosophy as a way of introduction; working with me as a parent coach does not require that you share my philosophy or my parenting goals -- you have or will develop your own.

I advocate parenting in a way that relies on the connection between the parent and child as a base. A responsive, nurturing relationship based on trust honors the uniqueness of each child and the responsibility we have as parents. Parents are teachers, guides, companions and providers -- not just of material goods, but of security, and nourishment for heart and soul as well as mind and body. I believe that building and maintaining the connection with our children is the most important thing we do as parents; from this base, all else grows.

My list of important parenting skills includes patience, perspective-taking, honesty, forgiveness, reflection, self-nurturing, communication, empathy, encouragement, sharing and modeling lifelong growth, playfulness, a willingness to learn from children, and the capacity for joy.

My personal parenting goals are to raise happy, healthy people who know how to take care of themselves physically, emotionally and spiritually. I want them to be competent, feel empowered, and believe in themselves. I want them to have the inner strength to be resilient, and use their difficulties or challenges as learning opportunities. I want my children to live consciously and have the opportunity to develop the gifts and strengths they offer the world.