Throughout my career, I have worked in both mental and behavioral health, working with adults with mood disorders, treatment-resistant psychiatric disorders, autism and other developmental disabilities, crisis and suicide prevention, and drug and alcohol addiction.
Initially, I studied drug and alcohol addiction, and while in school I started working in clinics that had substance abuse counseling and Autism support and eventually got certified as a behavioral technician. Working with the clients was an absolute pleasure for me. I was, however, often bothered by how other employees were not as compassionate and caring as they should have been, and even though client care isn’t for everyone, they failed to appreciate their role. It became apparent to me very quickly that if we were to give our clients the care they needed and deserved, the staff would have to be aware of how meaningful their jobs were and truly want the highest quality of care for our clients. I worked my way up to Office Manager and realized I really loved the management side of helping clients and staff. I found it incredibly rewarding to be able to help our staff realize their full potential to best serve our clients. Due to this, I changed my major and obtained a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Management, followed by a Master's degree in Business Administration. Over the course of my career, I have worked in a variety of HR and management fields. In this way, I have gone full circle, back to helping clients and staff in a field that is truly meaningful to me. I am now in the Program Manager role and could not be happier. I get to do what I love and am passionate about.
In my free time, I enjoy outdoor adventures, like hiking and waterfall hunting. Finding myself surrounded by giant trees in a quiet forest or sitting in the sand listening to waves crash against the rocks is very therapeutic for me. In addition, I LOVE building and customizing Gundams and I'm an avid competitive gamer girl. For me, these activities are outlets for stress release and a means of self-care.
