ABOUT ME

Let me just be real. I’m simply fascinated by people - how we become who we are and how we navigate the world with each other. I collected playground gossip in a notebook as a kid, I watch the kind of reality TV where people yell at each other a lot, and I have always been that friend people call for a confidential vibe check on complicated situations. So few of us have been taught the skills to be in conflict with one another in a way that is healthy, and I’ve always wanted to talk about it. After 15 years of study and practice, I’ve honed a set of skills related to nonviolence, belonging, and equity that I am eager to share with people starved to transform their relationship to conflict.

 Quick Bio

    • Born and raised in a big house in little woods just outside the city limits of Spokane.

    • Racially, I identify as white of European descent. My paternal grandparents were both raised in Iowa with ancestors of predominately Norwegian and British descent. My maternal grandparents were predominately influenced by English descent with some of my ancestors also of mixed-race Native identity raised in Chickasaw territory.

    • I identify as Queer & Non-Binary. I feel most seen when people use they/them pronouns when referring to me, and with certain relationships I also may use she/her or xe/xem.

    • I identify as neurodiverse, and do have a brain disorder that qualifies as a disability

    • If it’s fun for you you - ☀️Gemini, 🌕 Aries, 💹 Virgo

    • Graduated highshcool from St. George’s School in Spokane WA in 2009

    • Attended University of Denver from 2009-2012, graduating early. Completed my BA in International Studies with a focus on Conflict Resolution. Minored in Religious Studies.

    • Studied abroad in Rwanda though a School for International Training Program on Post Genocide Peacebuilding and Reconciliation in 2011.

    • Completed Northwest Mediation Centers basic mediation training in 2023

    • 2020-Present: Secretary to the Executive Committee of Spokane NAACP

    • 2023 - Present: Board Member of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Greater Washington and North Idaho

    • 2021 - Present: Founding co-organizer of #CoolSpokane

    • 2016-2022: Director of Movement Building Better Health Together

    • 2018-2020: Vice President and interim President to the Board of NAMI Spokane

    • 2015: Administrative Assistant for YouthForce, a program of the Boys and Girls Clubs of King County

    • Daily dog walker of Smokey - voted the Inlanders people’s choice rescue dog in 2018

    • Avid backyard gardener

    • Singing and guitar at V du V Wine’s monthly First Fridays

    • Loves Sci-Fi and Dystopian genres - in books, movies, and video games

  • Disrupt the duplication of misery - Alok

    We have to get good at belonging - john powell

    We have to practice sitting with fear - Temo Okun

    Without community, there is no liberation - Audre Lorde

    Love is the choice to extend oneself for the purpose of one's own or another’s spiritual growth. It is an intention, an action, and a choice. - bell hooks

    Move from strategic planning to strategic intention - adrienne maree brown

    It’s not what you do but the quality of your Attention that counts - Ahimsa principle of nonviolence

    We don’t rise to expectations; we fall to the level of our training - Archilochus

    Release the framework of failure (perfectionism) and embrace iterative cycles - Kazu Haga

    The goal is beloved community - Dr MLK Jr

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