Thank you for being here. 

I strongly believe that we are alive right now to intentionally be with one another, and written/spoken words are one powerful way for us to stay connected. 

This blog is a space where I reflect on the world around me and what I’m learning through my work, faith, relationships, and creative practice. It’s a meeting point for personal exploration of healing justice and professional insight into the field of community development—and I’m grateful you’ve joined me.

My Background

Ten years ago I took a leap of faith to depart from a stable position in state government and explore project-based work related to my field of study at the time, interdisciplinary social science. Although it was scary to not have reliable income, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because the adventures that have taken place have led me back to myself over and over. To be afforded opportunities that deepen my knowledge of self is a gift that I want to share with the world around me.

During the last ten years, I have established an educational and professional background in community development, an interdisciplinary field focused on improving the quality of life (QoL). I approach this work with a focus on strengthening our health and wellness through collaboration, shared leadership, and the pursuit of systems-change. 

My call to this field is rooted in my love for a small, diverse town in mid-Michigan where I was born and raised. This is where I first learned that the “power of place” and notion of belonging to a community begin with knowing and caring for our neighbors. 

The Foundation: Wellness as a Cornerstone

Over time, I’ve come to recognize that health and wellness—emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual—are not just personal concerns. They are foundational to our capacity to build healthy relationships, become financially stable, and contribute meaningfully to larger arenas like civic life.

When individuals and communities are unwell, it’s difficult to create anything lasting. Our ability to thrive together depends on our willingness to take care of ourselves and one another in real, tangible ways. From rest and nourishment to therapy and spiritual connection, wellness is not a luxury—it’s infrastructure. & it’s under attack. 

You’ll see this emphasis reflected throughout my blog. Whether I’m writing about the challenges we face within team dynamics and social equity, or the opportunities present within embodied learning and storytelling, my goal is to explore how our individual choices (i.e., lifestyles) and collective capacities (i.e., livelihoods) are deeply interwoven.

Fields That Inspire My Work

In my work and life, I am especially drawn to the connections between:

• Project management for change processes
• Embodied learning
• Storytelling
• Community building

The common threads within these robust fields continue to inform the way I think, create, and collaborate. In this blog, I will share about how each field supports my vision for a brighter future and share ways you can engage in each field.

Making Space for New Possibilities

Supporting my family’s business in our hometown led me to coordinate and lead projects that illuminated the complexity of social and economic redevelopment in deindustrialized and rural areas. I learned more closely that social ills like racism, classism, ableism, and sexism are embedded into everyday life. While these problems are complex, our responses don’t have to be. 

When we prioritize connection, active listening, and creating more opportunities for shared decision-making to determine how power and resources are allocated, we can begin to heal what undermines us. These are not theories to me; they are practices that I’ve seen bring people together across differences.

By virtue of necessity, I’m especially interested in how contrast offers clarity. As we navigate tensions between old, harmful systems and new, transformative possibilities, there are now more opportunities than ever to learn. Although crises are greater than ever, the dialectical interactions that they create spark what I see as a divine unfolding of necessary change. The potential for lasting change emerges when we are safe enough to be open and receptive to it.

An Open Invitation

Writing about my personal, professional, and spiritual path is an invitation for you to witness a process of growth. This is a process unfolding before my own eyes and I welcome respectful, curious engagement within it. I yearn for a more interactive, just, and prosperous world, and I believe that sharing this pursuit openly can be a part of how we get there.

Again, thank you for being here.

My intention is to post regularly and I hope you will stay to find points of connection that may support you on your own journey. If something here resonates, I’d love to hear from you!