I began my career in healthcare as a very young single mother, working on the weekends delivering pizzas and juggling overnight shifts at a small Children’s hospital in my Ohio hometown. I finished my Associate Degree in nursing in 2004 and became an RN, completed one year of Medical-Surgical nursing and then immediately moved to Psychiatry. As an RN, I worked in community hospital settings as a charge nurse, at a state run forensic hospital, and also in outpatient community mental health. Witnessing the closure of the state run hospital reinforced my commitment to increasing access to care for marginalized communities, and I returned to school in 2015 to complete my Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Ohio University and immediately after my Master of Science in Nursing at The  University of North Dakota.

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Since becoming Board Certified, I have been fortunate to work in outpatient community mental health with children and adults, inpatient acute and forensic psychiatry with adults and geriatric patients, and community Telehealth adult psychiatry. Each of these positions has furthered my knowledge, and I have most enjoyed the ability to bring mental health care through Telehealth to those that may not otherwise have access. 

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I very much value the opportunity to develop relationships with my clients. Practicing in mental health is so very different than in other medical fields; there are numerous areas of life, past and current experiences, and physical issues that can affect anyone’s mental well-being. It takes time to develop trust between provider and patient, and even more time to be able to gain an understanding of what the person in front of you is experiencing. Earning the privilege of my patients’ trust is never something I take lightly, and it is my goal that no person leaves an appointment with me feeling unseen or unheard. 

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