a bit more bio

As a child I had a real love for the holy. I felt drawn to a goodness in the world. I desired to know “the goodness” better, understand what I could, and most of all I had a strong desire to feel close to The Divine. After getting a Masters in Mental Health Counseling instead of going on to get a PhD in Clinical Psychology as originally planned, I found myself increasingly aware that I wanted to talk to people about The Divine, God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, love, light, their soul, their spirit. So, I went to divinity school instead of getting a PhD in psychology. 

I was ordained an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of East Tennessee in 2011. I have worked as a parish priest as well as a staff chaplain at UT Medical Center serving as the Palliative Care chaplain. Through all my work, it is listening for the holy alone and with others either individually or in groups that feeds my soul the most. So it came to be that now I both serve as a spiritual director and life coach for individuals and write and speak about spiritual matters. 

Education

Harvard Divinity School (2004-2007) Degree:  Master of Divinity 

Internships:  Dana Farber Cancer Institute & St. John’s Episcopal Church (Jamaica Plain, MA) 

University of Tennessee Medical Center (2003-2004)  Program:  Residency year in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) 

University of Salamanca, Spain (Nov.2002-June2003) Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship Program:  Masters in Psychotherapeutic Interventions/ Study Focus:  Medical Family Therapy, Chronic Illness 

University of Tennessee (1999-2002) Knoxville, Tennessee Degree:  Master of Arts/Science in Counseling Education & Counseling Psychology/ Track:  Mental Health Counseling

DePauw University (1994-1998) Greencastle, IN Degree:  Bachelor of Arts in Psychology/ Senior Thesis: Stress and the Immune System 

Certifications 

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Currently pursuing certification as a MBSR teacher with The Mindfulness Center at Brown University. Started training in July 2019. Certification takes several years. 

Board Certified Coach. (2020). Building on my Masters in Mental Health Counseling & Masters in Divinity to offer opportunities for clients to focus on the present moment and where and how they want to move forward in their lives utilizing healthy practices to harness intentional change. 

Certified Daring WayTM Facilitator. (2015). Trained and experienced facilitator of The Daring Way™ curricula which includes Daring Greatly™, Rising Strong™ and The Gift of Imperfection™ all of which are based on the research of Dr. Brené Brown. 

National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. (2002). Successfully met the professional counseling standards established by the Board and in so doing have earned recognition as a National Certified Counselor (NCC).