I am a certified life coach, confidence coach, and therapeutic art life coach who utilizes the arts as coaching tools to help build confidence and facilitate meaningful change.

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I typically work with individuals between 18 and 65 years of age who long to get out of their own way and live a more meaningful, fulfilling life.  That said, I am open to working with adults of all ages.  Contact me and let's chat to see if we feel a positive coach-client connection--so important to an effective coaching partnership and facilitating meaningful change.

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In order for individuals younger than 18 years of age to work with me, I require written permission from and an initial phone or Zoom (video conferencing) session with the individual's parent(s) or legal guardian(s).

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Through my signature DIBA coaching program (Dream. Imagine. Believe. Achieve.) I guide you to embrace your dreams, imagine them coming true, believe they can happen, and take steps to achieve them. I offer an optional arts component in concert with my DIBA program to facilitate that meaningful change. (No need to be artsy, just curious and open to possibilities.) I guide you to:

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• go within to find answers

• use your imagination to rehearse tough conversations, break down barriers, explore various paths, and build confidence

• dig deep to find that nugget of gold, that aha moment, that insight that you've been missing

• ​seek out and forge deep connections to enhance your life and work

• find hope 

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I strive to build trust and form deep connections with my clients as well, in order to make our work together productive and positively life-changing.

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Feel free, get energized, and open your eyes and heart to a world where you can make a valuable contribution and can feel fulfilled. You have a lot to give. You have a lot yet to experience.  I'm here to help you tap into that and allow yourself to shine.

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I have always loved the arts--drawing, painting, writing, listening to music, going to concerts, dancing, singing, watching movies/television, attending craft fairs, going to art galleries, participating in the drama club in high school, and attending community theater productions.  From the time I was about nine years old, I've utilized the arts to reduce stress and better cope and thrive with chronic health issues stemming from spina bifida (L5-S1), a neuromuscular birth defect.  I've struggled with mobility issues, people's limiting beliefs about my abilities, my own limiting beliefs, juggling medication schedules, dozens of surgeries, low self-esteem, lack of confidence, feeling like I didn't belong, physical and percieved barriers, making deep connections/friendships, finding a meaningful career path, and more.  And, along with the support of my family, dearest friends and fellow coaches, the arts have helped me overcome those struggles. 

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My career search has taken me from human services to secretarial work, to writing, and dreams of other careers such as acting, set design, singing, psychology, radiology, counseling, play therapy, and more.

 

I have been writing since I could write:  poems, short-stories, plays--even a non-fiction manuscript of my experiences living with spina bifida (something I intend to dig out of the closet, dust off, and revise in the hopes of publishing it one day).  I began writing professionally in 2004--health-related articles for newspapers and magazines. My articles have appeared in Spina Bifida Association of America's "Insights into Spina Bifida" magazine, and on Livestrong.com, and I contributed to the journal, "Pediatric Clinics of North America's," issue featuring spina bifida.  I have written high school sports profiles for community newspapers in my native New York State and copy for websites, and provided blogging and customer service for a Salt Lake City-based fitness training and consulting business. 

 

Then came fitness.  I became certified as a personal trainer by the National Academy of Sports Medicine in 2009 after falling in love with fitness with the help of the amazing trainers who encouraged and supported me on my weight loss journey.  I got into the best shape of my life thanks, in part, to them. I was an online fitness coach on Sharecare.com from 2010 to 2017 and was a fitness coach for a weight loss medication study conducted in association with Sharecare.com from 2012 to 2014. 

 

I found life coaching in 2014.  I became certified by Fowler International Academy of Professional Coaching, first specializing in special needs and friendship.  Then I transitioned to chronic health issues, later adding teen life coaching, and career coaching.  In 2019, I shifted my specialty to confidence coaching and the arts.  I launched my DIBA program and became certified as a therapeutic art life coach and confidence coach by Transformation Academy.  You can doodle, draw stick figures, paint like Monet, sculpt like Michelangelo or explore other art forms of your choice in order to open your mind, explore possibilities, gain insight, solve problems and facilitate positive life change.  In utilizing the arts as life coaching tools, I have found my calling. In 2022, I will launch my Grow Your Confidence, Recreate Your Life (therapeutic art coaching), and Identity Perception (Life Story Coaching. Being your true self, shifting and owning your identity.) Programs.  Stay tuned!

 

I also have a bachelor's degree in Sociology/Human Services.

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I currently reside in southern Utah with my husband, Jim, five cats, and a parrot.  Jim and I enjoy spending time with our fur and feather babies, reading, exercising, playing word games, listening to music, drinking coffee (Big fan, here!), eating chocolate (Ditto!), painting/drawing--anything artsy, watching DVDs, volunteering at community events, and exploring nature, thrift stores, and historic sites in our local area.   

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