When I was a teenager, I tried stupid stuff to help me with tough issues. At age 13, I had adult mentors who knew exactly what to give a struggling young adult: respect and the autonomy to make their own choices. It wasn’t until my twenties that I discovered the tools to create and meet my own goals. It took even longer to learn how to quell my anxiety, boost my self confidence, and find genuine contentment.

Emulating my mentors, I earned a Master of Education degree and spent 17 years teaching in schools across the country. When I realized that as a life coach for teens, I could support kids without taking attendance and giving tests, I knew I’d found my calling.

While studying adolescent psychology and the evidence-based life coaching approach, I found proof that my mentors were onto something. Research shows that in order for kids to create positive change, they need attentive listening and guidance on developing and meeting their own goals.

 

 

Everything I do today is connected to my work as a teen coach. I have two award-winning young adult memoirs; they show at-risk kids that they’re not alone. I write for major media outlets on strategies for understanding and supporting teens. I speak to groups of kids about how I found my way up, from homeless kid to living-the-dream adult. In my down time, I go out in the woods with my dogs and I meditate…and then donate a percentage of my coaching income to dog rescues and teach kids how to practice mindfulness.

Education and Achievements:

  • Board-certified life coach for teens via International Coach Federation (ICF), the “gold standard in coaching”
  • Trained with rigorous, research-based Youth Coaching Institute
  • Youth Coach Training Facilitator & Practicum Supervisor, Youth Coaching Institute
  • Master of Education degree, University of Massachusetts, Boston
  • Bachelor of Arts degree, double major English and American Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston
  • 17 years’ teaching & coaching in K-12 schools
  • Teaching licensure in Special Education, English, and ESL
  • Two award-winning young adult memoirs, The Dead Inside and We Can’t Be Friends
  • Appearances and bylines in international media including CNN, NPR, CBS’ The Doctors, HuffPost, Reader’s Digest, Today’s Parent, Yahoo News, Newsday, She Knows, The Progressive, and others.
  • 1000s of youth and young adults mentored, ages 11 through 28