Hi there, beautiful human being! Thanks for checking out my website. Here is a little about me.

In a Nutshell

I am a licensed clinical psychologist (PSY32423), consultant, and speaker. My work is focused on supporting the conscious evolution of individuals and the collective.

Okay… that sounds really nice and squishy. What exactly does that mean?

I focus on:

  • Helping people change their behavior in a way that aligns with their core values (i.e., what matters most to them in life).

  • Helping people cultivate greater awareness, kindness, and equanimity (i.e., developing their mindfulness and self-compassion muscles).

  • Improving relationships (personal and professional) through scientifically supported communication strategies. Hint: it’s really about listening.

  • Encouraging people to become conscious leaders by transforming themselves, first (e.g., developing greater emotional intelligence) so they can help others do the same.

  • Supporting the transformation of organizations through assessing and assisting with employee engagement, relationships and conflict, trust, psychological safety, and well-being.

  • Shifting paradigms in our social, political, and economic systems from ego/separateness to love/interconnectedness via speaking and media.

My deepest intention is to help human beings realize our interconnectedness.

education and experience

-Founder/CEO, The Middle Way Consulting (Present)

-Founder, Zen-prov! - Improv Classes for Personal Growth (Present)

-Licensed Clinical Psychologist in private practice (PSY32423 - California) (Present)

-Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California (2020-2023)

-Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (Health Emphasis) – California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego, CA

-Predoctoral Intern, Providence Family Medicine Center/Alaska Family Medicine Residency, Anchorage, AK

-Practicum Student (clinical and research trainee) at numerous medical centers (e.g., UCSD, Scripps, VA San Diego)

-Speaker/Facilitator of numerous lectures, workshops, and classes (10+ years) in hospitals, clinics, schools, and corporate settings on topics such as:

  • Stress-reduction: mindfulness, self-compassion, resiliency.

  • The art and science of behavior change.

  • Communication strategies, conflict resolution, and team-building.

-Author, Simple Stress-Reduction: Easy and Effective Practices for Kids, Teens, and Adults

-Author/co-author of multiple peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on mindfulness and mind-body health - Google Scholar Page

-Meditation Teacher - 10+ years - e.g., The DEN, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and numerous healthcare and corporate settings.

-Board Certified in Biofeedback, Biofeedback Certification International Alliance

You can download my CV here.

The Long Version…

I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. I was a pretty anxious kid (although I hid it pretty well) with an abundance of stomach aches. I was obsessed with basketball (the two actually worked well together—my anxiety/obsessions made me quite a formidable player). I was also obsessed with making movies and sketches with my friends (a theme that returns later in the story).

I graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor’s in Psychology. After moving to California (peace out, mom!), I lived and practiced in a Zen Buddhist Monastery in Los Angeles. I had been practicing meditation for several years prior to this and, while I found great benefit in the practice, I also experienced a number of “adverse effects.” Now in my early 20’s, and facing life transitions and other stressors, I began feeling more confused about “who I was.” I started to question whether meditation and spiritual practice was doing more harm or good. This marked the beginning of a “dark night of the soul,” a personal experience (and universal phenomenon) that inspired me to make a documentary film on this topic. I began working on this during graduate school and finished four years later. You can view the film here.

My own dark night took several forms. One way it manifested was through intense panic attacks during graduate school. This lasted daily for 1-2 years. I am incredibly grateful to have gotten through that experience - it has given me so much appreciation for the simple joys of life. But the truth is that I don’t believe my dark night is “over.” I have come to see that we go through multiple iterations of the dark night in our lives. Even when it “ends” (hopefully our big ones don’t last too long), we can expect similar cycles ahead of us. The Dark Night is a universal phenomenon of moving from order, to chaos, to new order—from the known, to the unknown, to new knowing. This happens over and over again in our lives. It occurs on both an individual and collective (i.e., societal) level.

Our dark nights often speak to us in symptoms; dark nights can be a call towards destiny, or a higher purpose, and the call comes in the form of symptoms. Over the years, my dark nights have helped me focus my energy on what I care about most: savoring moments with people I love, on a personal level, and speaking, writing, consulting, and being creative, on a professional level. I have also returned to my comedy roots, developing a public course that blends improv with mindfulness and other Zen principles. The little kid in me is grateful for the dark nights and symptoms that led me back home.