about me

Born and raised in New York City, I grew up in one of the most culturally diverse communities in the world. I attended New York City public schools and later lived and worked across Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and New Jersey, surrounded by many cultures, languages, and ways of life. Those early experiences gave me a deep appreciation for diversity, creativity, and the many ways people understand themselves.

My education in the arts was experiential and student-centered, and it shaped how I see creativity: not only as a way of learning, but as a way of exploring, discovering yourself, and growing. That belief is still at the heart of my work.

my journey

For more than twenty-five years, my work has brought together education, the arts, community engagement, health and safety and, more recently, psychology and expressive arts practice. I have been an educator, academic advisor, expressive arts therapy practitioner, artist, program manager, and mentor, including teaching at the university level and supporting artists-in-residence during an international fellowship in Italy.

In recent years in Berlin, I have designed, written, secured funding for, and facilitated expressive arts programs for young women and adolescents with experiences of migration and forced displacement, including those rebuilding their lives as refugees in Germany. Working alongside them showed me how creativity, storytelling, and shared artistic experience can strengthen resilience, restore connection, and open new possibilities, even in times of uncertainty and change.

education and training

• Master of Arts in General Psychology (expected May 2027), Touro University Berlin, a campus of Touro University New York

• Certificate, Expressive Arts Advanced Practice (CAP): Advanced Professional Training in Intermodal Expressive Arts, Step Ahead Institute, Berlin, in collaboration with the European Graduate School (EGS), Switzerland

• Certificate, Expressive Arts Therapy Facilitator: Professional Training in Intermodal Expressive Arts, Step Ahead Institute, Berlin, in collaboration with EGS, Switzerland

• Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.), Aesthetic Philosophy, Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA). Completed all doctoral coursework as part of a five-year doctoral program

• Master of Arts in Education / Art Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Master of Arts in Studio Art, New York University

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts, Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts

My continuing professional development includes training in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), trauma-informed expressive arts, grief, neurodiversity-affirming practice, sensory processing, embodiment and body-based approaches, phenomenology, and expressive arts approaches to traumatic stress.

a final thought

If you have made it this far, thank you for learning a little about me. Choosing someone to work with is a personal decision, and feeling comfortable, understood, and able to speak openly matters.

If my approach resonates, we can begin with a conversation. I offer a complimentary 20-minute consultation to talk about what brings you here, answer your questions, and see whether working together feels like a good fit.