Professional Background and Training
I have over fifteen years of clinical experience, in settings ranging from intensive wilderness therapy treatment programs, a walk-in crisis clinic, Boulder Community Hospital, retreats with female veterans, and private practice.
My education includes a Masters degree from Naropa University in Transpersonal Psychology, an approach that honors the importance of body / mind / heart / and spirit in the therapeutic process. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in both Colorado and Wyoming, and I am an adjunct instructor at Naropa University in the Wilderness Therapy Masters program.
I have training in and draw from the following modalities:
As an educator and outdoor professional, I have fifteen years of experience guiding and instructing backpacking, climbing, and boating expeditions from one to twelve weeks in length. For ten of these years, I was working year-round in the deserts and mountains of Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, California and Oregon, living, working, and teaching in conditions ranging from 70 degrees and sunny to a zero degree blizzard. I absolutely love teaching outdoors and particularly love sharing my passion for baking back-country pizza, reading maps, and making fire from a bow-drill set. I have worked extensively with teens and young adults navigating complex mental health issues.
My leadership resume includes hiring and training guides for Open Sky Wilderness Therapy, serving as a lead instructor for Outward Bound and The National Outdoor Leadership School, and serving as the Executive Director for Women’s Wilderness for four years. As the Executive Director, I rescued an iconic outdoor program when it was about to close doors, tripled the operation budget over the course of 4 years, and led a team of up to 7 office staff in launching transformational new programming, including the Queer Wilderness Project, Trailblazers: Outdoor Leadership for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and Summit Sisters, an annual 3-day retreat for over 120 participants. Additionally, I founded “Jumping Mouse, the Gathering of the Guides,” a wilderness therapy guide conference that ran for 9 years, and Women’s Climbing Circle, a women’s climbing series at Movement Climbing and Fitness in Boulder that has skyrocketed in popularity.
Additionally, I hold a Masters in Education from the University of California at Santa Cruz and have classroom experience teaching in middle and high schools.
My education includes a Masters degree from Naropa University in Transpersonal Psychology, an approach that honors the importance of body / mind / heart / and spirit in the therapeutic process. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in both Colorado and Wyoming, and I am an adjunct instructor at Naropa University in the Wilderness Therapy Masters program.
I have training in and draw from the following modalities:
- Mindfulness and Meditation
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT)
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
- Gestalt Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion via the Avarna Group and OUT Boulder
- Non-Violent Communication
As an educator and outdoor professional, I have fifteen years of experience guiding and instructing backpacking, climbing, and boating expeditions from one to twelve weeks in length. For ten of these years, I was working year-round in the deserts and mountains of Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, California and Oregon, living, working, and teaching in conditions ranging from 70 degrees and sunny to a zero degree blizzard. I absolutely love teaching outdoors and particularly love sharing my passion for baking back-country pizza, reading maps, and making fire from a bow-drill set. I have worked extensively with teens and young adults navigating complex mental health issues.
My leadership resume includes hiring and training guides for Open Sky Wilderness Therapy, serving as a lead instructor for Outward Bound and The National Outdoor Leadership School, and serving as the Executive Director for Women’s Wilderness for four years. As the Executive Director, I rescued an iconic outdoor program when it was about to close doors, tripled the operation budget over the course of 4 years, and led a team of up to 7 office staff in launching transformational new programming, including the Queer Wilderness Project, Trailblazers: Outdoor Leadership for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and Summit Sisters, an annual 3-day retreat for over 120 participants. Additionally, I founded “Jumping Mouse, the Gathering of the Guides,” a wilderness therapy guide conference that ran for 9 years, and Women’s Climbing Circle, a women’s climbing series at Movement Climbing and Fitness in Boulder that has skyrocketed in popularity.
Additionally, I hold a Masters in Education from the University of California at Santa Cruz and have classroom experience teaching in middle and high schools.
