My Through Line
I have spent more than twenty years helping people get what they need.
That is not a polished summary of my career. It is just the truth. From my first job, counseling at a residential camp for autistic children, to teaching special education in a therapeutic school serving kids navigating foster care, housing instability, and juvenile justice, to providing in-home executive function coaching for children and their families, every role I have ever held has been about showing up for people inside systems that were not always designed with them in mind.
That thread did not break when I moved into executive leadership.
It got bigger.
As COO and then President of Beyond BookSmart, a national behavioral health and executive function coaching organization, I led a 350-person remote workforce serving clients across 25 states and beyond. I built the systems, culture, and operating infrastructure that let the mission land not just in strategy decks but in the daily experience of coaches, clients, families, and schools across the country.
When our CEO reflected on that work recently, he wrote:
"It cannot be overstated how much you personally built this company. Your leadership led to new programs that reached more people than we ever did before, and your vision and oversight grew a whole team."
I share that not to impress you but because it captures something true about how I work: in service of something larger than any one role or title, and most effective when the work speaks for itself.
THE PERSON BEHIND THE PRACTICE
I am deeply curious about people, about systems, about why things work the way they do, and what it would take to make them work better. Curiosity is not just something I bring to the work. It is how I move through the world.
I am also calm under pressure. Not because hard things do not register — they do — but because I have learned that the moments when everything feels most chaotic are exactly when people need someone steady in the room. I try to be that person.
And I lead with empathy. Not the soft kind that avoids hard conversations, but the kind that makes hard conversations possible because people trust that you see them clearly and care about what happens to them.
I do not know everything. I believe I can learn just about anything. Those two things sit together for me without contradiction, and they shape each engagement I take on.
A few things I have learned to be true across twenty years of my work, thus far:
You can do anything, but not everything. Clarity about priorities is not a nice-to-have. It is the work.
Make it less easy to do nothing. The best systems do not rely on willpower. They make the right move, the obvious one.
Where there is a way, there can be a will. Clarity of path creates motivation, usually, not the other way around.
Be people with people. Every relationship, every team, every organization runs on trust. Build it deliberately and protect it fiercely.
A brain in motion stays in motion. Growth is not a destination. It is a practice.
These principles were shaped by twenty years of practice and the thinkers whose work became part of how I think: David Allen and Greg McKeown on prioritization; BJ Fogg on behavior design; George Herbert's 400-year-old proverb, inverted.
I've never found a citation for the last two; if you do, let me know— but for now, they live somewhere between everything I've read and everyone I've worked with.
A MORE PERSONAL NOTE
What I've loved about each role, organization, and person I've met through this work is that it's taught me as much about myself as it's helped them — and that no two days have ever looked the same. Boring has never been the problem.
I live in the Boston area with my husband, Jason. We met years ago as camp counselors working with autistic kids, and we were both drawn to this kind of work long before either of us made it a career. We have a teenager — she gave me the best title I've ever had and definitely didn't interview for. She has also taught me more about patience, perspective, and knowing when to stop talking than any professional development I've ever done. And then there's Ellie, our mini-goldendoodle, who is my best excuse to leave my phone at home and take a walk. I grew up in a large blended military family in California and Connecticut — the kind of household that makes you adaptable, resourceful, and very good at reading a room before you've taken your coat off. I still do all of it for a living.
Close to home, I care a lot about my community. I am proud to serve on the board of the Research Institute for Learning and Development and volunteer with Concord Indivisible. When I'm not working, I'm usually outside gardening and listening to a podcast, hanging out on our porch while my husband plays guitar, reading across various genres, or trying to be a little more present than I was the day before.
That's the practice. It doesn't end.
Warmly,
The Work Starts Here.
If this sounds like what you or your organization needs,
or if you are just curious whether we might be a good fit.
“A visionary who’s grounded. Goal-oriented and detail-minded. Both inspirational and totally relatable.”
Hear from those who know my work.
“The person you can call on in any situation and she will find the most direct path through it, delivering her advice with authentic kindness.”
“The singular ability to create order out of chaos — and do it calmly.”