Bio

I grew up in a family-owned waste management business in southern Ohio. So yes, I picked up trash literally. Long before I ever had the words “career coach” on a website, I was learning about work, leadership, people, pressure, family business, and what happens when identity gets wrapped up in what you do for a living.

After college, I spent time in Human Resources, recruiting, and recruitment marketing, working across manufacturing and technology and getting a front-row seat to almost every part of the hiring process. I learned how companies hire, how people make career decisions, and how often those two things completely miss each other.

Long story short, I became obsessed with the question: Why do so many smart, capable people end up in work that technically “makes sense” but no longer fits who they are becoming?

That question eventually led me to start my own career coaching business in 2017 and later join the Happen To Your Career team, where I’ve coached clients, helped build coaching programs, trained other coaches, and worked with people navigating everything from career change and burnout to leadership growth, job search strategy, and major life transitions.

Over the years, my work has evolved beyond helping people simply “find a better job.” Don’t get me wrong, I still love a good career strategy, a strong LinkedIn profile, and a well-timed negotiation. But what I care about most is helping people move through the deeper transition underneath the career decision.

Because career change is rarely just career change.

It’s identity change. It’s grief. It’s letting go of who you were, who you thought you had to be, and the version of success that used to make sense. It’s learning how to have better conversations with yourself, your family, your boss, your team, and the people who can help you move toward a more aligned life.

Today, I work as a mentor career coach helping high-performing professionals, leaders, and organizations navigate career change, identity shifts, and meaningful work with more clarity, honesty, and courage. My work sits at the intersection of careers, identity, grief, leadership, and the future of work.

Outside of coaching, I’m usually training for an Ironman, traveling somewhere that makes me feel very alive and slightly underprepared, reading something about psychology or leadership, or having a conversation that started with “quick question” and somehow became existential.

FAVORITE BOOK: 

I’ll always have a soft spot for Start With Why by Simon Sinek. It was one of the early books that helped me understand that meaningful work isn’t just about what we do or how we do it, it’s about why it matters.

These days, I’d also add books on transitions, grief, identity, organizational development, and human behavior to the list. Apparently, my idea of “light reading” is anything that explains why humans are complicated.