I thrive in the spaces between where we are & where we need to be.
I’ve spent much of my life bringing people together to address complex challenges that require collaboration. I’m known for taking ambiguous concepts and turning them into practical plans, for thinking in systems, and for creating trust and safety under pressure. I’m comfortable with discomfort, and skilled at making space for people to arrive at their own solutions.
This shows up for you in my capacity to hold space for your relational and practical needs, manage conflict, navigate and set up systems and processes, and help untangle complexity.
My practice is supported by training, as well as lived experience.
End-of-Life Doula Training
1
International End-of-Life Doula Association (INELDA)
INELDA’s approach centers around the concepts of self-awareness, autonomy of the dying, and the dying process, preparing a doula to work with people at any stage of their engagement with mortality, and with their circles of care.
MBA in Sustainable Systems
2
Presidio Graduate School, formerly Pinchot University
This is a fancy way of saying I’ve spent a lot of time considering how we might build lives and organizations that are accountable to more than profit in a world that is (sometimes literally) on fire. I’ve looked critically at the systems and structures we take for granted, and I know what it’s like to operate within their constraints while trying to build something new.
Mediation Training
3
Community Boards, CA; Dispute Resolution Center of King County, WA
I’m certified in facilitative, neighborhood, and community mediation, having completed two 40-hour mediation trainings, in California and in Washington State.
I’m also committed to lifelong learning.
Have a book or article you want to recommend? I podcast I should listen to? A documentary I should watch?
My values & approach.
Integrity, empathy, co-creation, and curiosity are all very important to me. I strive to be in right relation with our human and more-than-human world. I believe deeply in our interdependence, and that our capacity to move through hard things together is part of what makes us human.
These values show up in how I listen, how I name power and history in the room, and how I design support that doesn’t ask people to disappear parts of themselves to get through.
I treat change and transition as thresholds to move through, rather than problems to be solved. I listen for what matters most, help people speak what has been hard to say, and can translate needs into conversations, documents, and plans that can be acted on. I hold steady when things are tender or high‑stakes, and I’m as interested in the quality of how we work together as I am in what we get done.
My background & social identities.
I was born in Australia and brought up in the state of Victoria, on Djadjawurung and Woiworung country. My ancestry is mostly Ukrainian and Scottish/English. I was raised with a particular connection to my Ukrainian roots, which I nourish through learning Ukrainian language and culture. I cook a very tasty borshch!
My home is on the unceded Ohlone land now known as Oakland, CA. I live with my husband, Jon, our dog, Zydeco, our cat, Sherlock, and lots of plants.
I’m proudly queer and non-binary, and my pronouns are they/them/theirs. My other social identities include immigrant/emigrant, middle-aged, and mostly able-bodied. When I’m not working, I’m probably reading, listening to birds, doing things in my community, or messing around with clay at my local pottery studio.