I was born in New York City to a couple of young hippies who were not well-suited to the task of parenting. Fortunately my grandparents adopted me and gave me the stable and happy childhood that my grandmother, herself twice displaced as a refugee in her teens, worked hard to provide for me.
That said, it wasn’t always easy to be an only child with parents who were a generation older than those of my peers. I was always the sole child at parties and holidays, and didn't get much exposure to contemporary American ways. As a result, I felt like an outsider in our lovely but conventional suburb where conformity was highly valued.
Perhaps this desire to find a place where I could fit in explains my compulsion to experience life in so many different places. I attended Wesleyan University in New England and The University of Chicago in the Midwest before spending 2 decades in Southern California, with brief stints in Australia, New York, and Colorado before settling in Amsterdam.
The one constant in my adult life has been my husband, to whom I’ve been married for 25 years, and who is my true partner, best friend, and co-parent to our 2 grown daughters. We have 2 horses, 2 cats, and a dog, and hope to add a couple of donkeys to the mix someday.
My professional path has included teaching preschool, working as a nanny and a dogwalker, conducting research in maternal and child health, and starting a family development center. I have a bachelor's degree in government, a master's degree in public policy, and a diploma from the Academie voor Coaching en Counselling (ACC), and am a member of the Landelijke Vereniging voor Supervisie en Coaching (LVSC).
I am currently pursuing further studies ACC to deepen my expertise.
My career as a coach-counsellor is the culmination of my lifelong interest in understanding the impact of our experiences on who we are, and in helping people realize their potential. I am so grateful to my clients, whose courageous work to change their lives has changed mine too.