About

I am an author and career transition life coach living in Newfoundland, Canada. It was quite a journey getting here! I joined the Great Resignation during early Covid times, retiring from my job as a professor in New York. This choice was precipitated by the US/Canada border closure during those times that resulted in my husband, John, and I being stranded and separated from each other on either side. The border closure made me realize that it was crazy to have a work life that forced me to be thousands of miles away from family and loved ones 90% of the time–when I espoused to myself and anyone who asked that family and loved ones were, in fact, the most important things in my life. I thought seriously about my life, my career, my values, my goals, and what would make “a life worth living” for me if it wasn’t being a professor. I decided to make a drastic change–I moved to Newfoundland where John works as a Canada Research Chair in Social Enterprise, and promptly proceeded to be massively homesick and absolutely lost in my own personal identity. I took up yoga, studied mindfulness, worked with organizations such as Girls Who Fish to gain skills to enjoy an outdoorsy life in my new wild home.

Once I settled into my new life successfully and regained my equilibrium, I knew that I wanted to be the person for others that I wished I could have had guiding me through my own career transitions and life changes. My background as a PhD in management and sociology and my time as a business school professor would be incredibly valuable, of course, because I know how the corporate world works. My expertise in identity from my research is also invaluable for understanding career transitions and personal identity work. But this wasn’t enough. To guide others I knew I needed to gain the formal certifications and skills to help professionals successfully navigate career transitions and life changes. I wanted to be able to teach others the holistic and wellness practices that had been the most helpful to me in finding my new path and figuring out the answers to the time-immemorial question, “Who am I?” So I now have certifications as a life transformation coach, mindfulness educator, forgiveness coach, and life narrative workshop facilitator. I’m almost finished with my yoga teacher certification and will be starting my Reiki training soon. I use all of this experience, training, and education to offer a unique, holistic coaching experience for my clients.

John and I now live by the sea in a tiny mostly-original 1911 house in a working fishing village, and spend our days writing together by our wood-fire stove; hiking, whale/puffin/iceberg watching and blueberry/cranberry picking; cooking and baking; and basically just being incredibly thankful that our wildly disparate pasts have brought us together to this place and time. In addition to his role as professor in Newfoundland, John is also an author and poet. We have co-authored a number of articles together for academic journals, and are currently writing a book from our ethnographic work about social entrepreneurs and identity transformation to help people who want to make their communities and world a better place start and create successful community-centered businesses.