First, let’s push rewind on my tape deck.

I grew up in a home decorated with maps, rocks and dried moss. Summers in the Canadian Arctic with my researcher-parents were filled with stories of polar bear and wolf encounters, flooded rivers and helicopter crashes.

It was an intellectually stimulating home, grounded in a simple outdoor life—where wooden skis were lined up along our porch all winter. For my parents, adventuring wasn’t only taking place in remote field camps but in our hearts.

Long days hiking the tundra as a young teenager— and devouring books from Gandhi, the Christian mystics and Zen Buddhists—instilled in me a passion for the sacred and social action. I grew up asking big questions: why am I here, how can I alleviate suffering and where are we headed as a planet?

To answer those questions, I followed a trail of academic awards and scholarships in feminist geography but was dissatisfied by a corporate culture that expected everyone to excel, often at great cost.

I remember a distinct moment on a graduate field trip on a mountain farm, when I realized I needed more than just theory. I needed to be on the ground.

So, I turned to front-line work at the epicenter of Vancouver’s urban drug and housing crisis. Here, I experienced the impact of, and human resilience to, inequality, sexual exploitation and racism. Through my friendships and teachers in the Downtown Eastside, I turned up my commitment to change those systems. 

At 26, I took an executive position in the public service in Yukon. Here I led a growing gender equality department, collaborating across the country to amplify policy change on housing, finance, health care and education.

I thrived in working across sectors to support non-profits and self-governing First Nations. From activist Indigenous leaders throughout our territory, I leaned into Response Based Practice, which centered the dignity, resilience and resistance of people to inequality in their lives. 

After 16 years in this field, something else was calling me.  I felt the desire to align my growing passion for personal development (the inner life) at the convergence of social change and leadership.

Increasingly sought after for support, advice and coaching by emerging leaders, I began to explore transformational approaches to social change with Robert and Judith Gass. Soon after, I discovered the work of Joanne Hunt and Laura Divine at Integral Coaching Canada and Otto Scharmer, at the Presencing Institute.

After 18 months of intensive study and practice, I received my Master level coaching certification from Integral Coaching Canada. During this time, I also studied with wisdom teachers like Cynthia Bourgeault and Diane Musho Hamilton.

Throughout my journey, I’ve been an integral part of systems change at many scales. I’ve experienced heart-broken discouragement of slow change and the groundswell of inspiration from visionaries who make a difference.

My calling is to support the growth of change-makers, visionaries and leaders who want to contribute to a thriving, loving and regenerative world.