About

Career history

I began working with children and families in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver in 2007. This is the same community where I grew up.

I realized quickly how much I love working with children in the early year's age group (0-8-year-olds) and that I needed to learn more about early childhood to support the children in my care. 

I went to Douglas College and earned a diploma in Early Childhood Education in 2010. 

Early in my ECE career, I gained experience working in various play-based and inquiry-based childcare programs as an ECE. I worked as an infant and toddler teacher, a one-to-one support worker and a supervisor. 

Around the same time, I gained on the floor experience in East Vancouver working as an ECE using inclusive and trauma-informed approaches. 

In 2014, I began working in adult education and I taught ECE, Infant Toddler and Special Needs Education courses. 

Since then I have taught and worked with a diverse group of students (Indigenous-led, Immigrant, International, and local ECEs). 

After having my first baby, I began providing professional development workshops and training to ECEs in my local community in about 2016.

In 2018, I began working in early intervention services (in different roles) providing inclusive and trauma-informed support strategies to parents and caregivers of children with complex needs.

At the same time, I went back to school to earn a Bachelor's in Child and Youth Care (with a specialization in early years) from the University of Victoria (2021). In between these years, I had my second child.

I continued to provide in-person workshops to ECEs and was flown around BC to share my expertise. In 2020, all that changed (thanks to the you-know-what) and I was forced to quickly pivot.

I was one of the first in the Early Years field (in BC) to move all my workshops online. That year, I facilitated over 100 live online workshops and found myself burning out of "live online workshops."

I could see Educators burning out from working through those unprecedented times and I could see parents struggling to manage children, screen time and working from home. As a parent of two young children at the time, I could definitely relate. 

That's when I started collaborating with other ECE workshop facilitators to build a living library of self-paced online workshops. I created Workshop Facilitator Training to support leadership in ECE and I began offering Online Summits to create free and accessible learning opportunities for ECEs.

An unexpected plot twist...

In 2021, our family experienced unexpected adversity and acute trauma.

I won't disclose all of the details here, but let's just say that most of what I thought I knew as an ECE and parent consultant, went out the window.

I had to re-start at the basics and strengthen my knowledge of attachment theory and trauma-informed care. 

It took several months and a painful recovery but once we overcame the adversity, the healing began. I knew what I had to do to move forward with a deeper purpose.

What I'm currently focused on

So here we are now, I have a third baby. I have continued to navigate parent life, and graduate studies (Master of Professional Education in Early Childhood Education) while continuing to grow my purpose driven business, Early Years Thriving. 

I love the work I do. I love helping adults (ECEs, teachers, caregivers and parents) to help children thrive.

That is what I am all about. 

As an educator, I have in-depth knowledge of child development, trauma-informed care and inclusive approaches. 

As a parent, I can relate to the struggles that many parents face.

With these two perspectives, I take an integrated approach in all my work (speaking, coaching, and consulting).

How to get in touch with me

Sincerely,