In 2004, I was guiding land use planning processes between indigenous nations (First Nations - we say in Canada) and government to reconcile differing interests, historical pain and government commitments indigenous rights.

NVC landed in my hands as I reached out to add to my tools to help me guide people through the high level of conflict and tension that was present with these issues. NVC was a natural fit for who I was and what my role was, and it gave me the language and structure that I was longing for to really help people hear each other and find connection.

It had ripple effects in cleaning up my relationships in my personal life, but it was eight years later with young children and at a pivot point in my marriage that I plumbed the depths of what I could reach with NVC. In the years since, I stepped into leadership roles as a Trainer, Assessor and an elected member for CNVC. I am passionate about our need in this world for people to work together as ambassadors for addressing the individual, relational and global level disconnects that are taking place.

NVC has been with me through hard journeys. I have been through a significant health crisis, the death of loved ones, the end of my marriage to a beautiful soul partner and of course, like all of us, the experience of a pandemic. There were times when my health left me with no capacity to give empathy let alone offer trainings. There were times when I wondered how aspects of life could hurt so much despite all the gifts that my consciousness practices offered.

And there was my re-emergence and I wonder at the beauty that life has to offer. And the endless curiosity around what will unfold and what I will find within myself, with others and in this world. And gratitude for the capacity to both mourn and celebrate fully. And to do so in relationship and to bring this forward as a global movement.

I dream of an ever expanding global movement of increased emotional range and capacity, of people able to listen and hear each other deeply, of people capable of translating judgement and of people capable of holding the complexity of our relational and environmental challenges.

I focus my energy on longer programs such as retreats, immersions and programs for Trainer Candidates. I continue to offer facilitation/mediation on occasion. I enjoy offering facilitation training and explorations of the spiritual realms of life and NVC. And finally, I love connecting to, growing and strengthening our CNVC community. What a beautiful thing it is to connect with like-skilled people. I committed to generating more diversity in our network while celebrating all that binds us together.

Throughout my career I have worked in several different countries: India, Ecuador, Switzerland, Chile and Mexico. I have developed community-based planning processes that were implemented at the municipal and national level in Ecuador. I have held space for significant decisions related to National Parks, Land use Plans, Community Policing, Environmental Assessment, Wildlife Management, Leadership in Urban Slums, Indigenous Heritage Management, International Development, Indigenous Rights and Co-Housing.

I have gone from these widespread global topics and tunneled deep into the study of the body, our emotions and what influences our ability to connect. I am a lifelong learner in this pursuit. I am humbled by all there is to know and explore and I am committed to what it is I have to share with others.

My role as an Assessor for CNVC brings together all I learned in my leadership studies together with my passion for supporting the unique light found in each person and serving as a mobilizer for their self exploration and expression.

Finally - I have a book to share with you all. It is not published yet. The number of pages are MANY and admittedly they still cover my living room floor many days as I work my way through another draft. The working title is: "Dancing with Dreams and Dirt: The Welcome Wake"