Soil, Soul, and Swear Words

I didn’t arrive here by accident.

I’ve walked a path shaped by deep questions, sharp turns, and the kind of teenage fire that grows in misaligned environments. That flame never left — it just got wiser.

I’ve been a middle school teacher, education director, operations specialist, a barefoot desert wanderer, and everything in between — including a no-BS sounding board for anyone navigating their own mess. I’m wildly intuitive and relentlessly practical.

I’ve worked inside traditional systems long enough to see where they fail people — and lived outside them long enough to know what we actually need.

Rooting to Rise™ is deeply personal — but it’s also a growing body of work. It was born from what I wish I had growing up, shaped by what I lived and witnessed through Montessori’s adolescent model, and refined through years of listening, unlearning, and experimenting with what actually supports growth.

Rooting to Rise™ offers a suite of creative tools and support systems designed to help others reclaim their story, reconnect to self, and rise through real, rooted growth.

You can find my credentials and professional background on LinkedIn — but the fire? That comes from life.

Expect a mix of clarity, curiosity, and the occasional cuss word when working with me, and a sense of coming home — but with better questions and fewer assumptions.

I care more about truth than comfort, growth than perfection, and authenticity over performance. I value autonomy, joy with depth, clarity with nuance, critical thought, and the kind of honesty that makes room for all our contradictions.

I do real conversations, earned insight, sharp inquiry, and unexpected laughter. I don’t just hold space — I ask the questions that shake loose something real.

What I offer isn’t for everyone — and that’s kind of the point. But if you're ready to explore the mess and the magic, I’m ready to meet you there.

White Sands, NM - one of those rare, magical places that I never wanted to leave. That’s Koda. He gets it.