credentials

Curious about my credentials? Good.

It's important to select a good match for your needs.
Ask any questions you may have.
I'm happy to schedule a call.

Education

My first AA was at a Community College in NJ, the next was OCCC - RN, then New Palz for my BSN, VC is where I earned my MA in Therapeutic Arts and Spiritual Sociology, The New Seminary is my M.Th, as well as my D.Min in sacred dialogue, engagement, and activism with a special focus on the questions of What is Wholeness?

I've had the privilege of learning from greats, like Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Sir Thomas Moore, Megan Devine, Rev. Dr. Dorsey O. Blake, The New York Zen Center, Thich Nhat Hanh, Natalie Goldberg, Deb Dana,
and others.

Certificates

I hold certificates in areas such as: types of grief and loss, death literacy, anxiety and trauma, adult ADHD, Touch Drawing Facilitation, Creative Fitness, Movement Chaplaincy, end of life doula studies for people and companion animals, spiritual direction,
master spiritual life coaching, relationship models, non-violent communication, holistic companion animal nutrition,
writing intensives, meditation, hypnotherapy, and others -
including a 2 year program in studying the psychology, biology, sociology aspects of over 200 Mollusks! Yup. Mollusks. Who knew?
Ask me, I'll tell you cool mollusk stuff. Learning is fun. Sharing is also fun.

Volunteering

LGBTQA+: events, advocacy, panel discussions
Domestic Violence: client advocate, support, parenting support groups
Animal Care: organizing fundraisers, community education, bird counts
Environmental: community clean up, invasive species removal, habitat creation
Housing Insecurity: Stay in school initiatives, LGBTQA+ safety, dignity and bias education
Death Literacy: Education, rights, awareness, navigation, grief care and support groups

One of My Most Meaningful Awards:

The Howard Thurman Community Building award was a complete surprise.

This award had not been given out in over a decade. I was going about my business in seminary, being me, doing what I do. I was grounded, helpful, organizing, clear, connecting, involved.
Much of what I do is nothing flashy, or could be behind the scenes, like linking with and supporting my cohort members and seminary community.

I also was a developer and facilitator of the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week.
Interfaith believes by understanding and respecting each other from a soulful perspective, and living as an advocate for finding commonalities among differences, we embody a durable strength to make the world a more harmonious, kind, and less divided place. How we live, and die, is very much tied to the values of our soul and spiritual beliefs.

Whatever the admin saw in me was my unique spark shining, as I am, as I came here to be (like us all).
It is lovely to be witnessed when you're not striving or trying, when you are just you-ing around.
So often in this world, we don't see the sparkle in each other or our own selves. It was very special to be surprised that my heart and intention had been seen as enough and exemplary in some way.
Feeling witnessed contributes to our sense of belonging, even when we are not setting out to be acknowledged.

Howard Thurman is an aspirational person for me, and to be awarded in his name sets like a star as I navigate my Self.

What is an Interfaith Minister?

For me, it's the hokey-pokey. (that's what it's all about)

In the 1980's I first came upon the Interfaith concept. I was raising a little baby on my own and studying to be a nurse in the NYC area for a bit more safety and security than as a paramedic. This time was also the height of the AIDS pandemic. The political and societal struggles were hostile to say the least. Professional and personal expectations were wild. I knew there was another way we could grow as a world culture to improve the way we treated one another and our own being, if we knew how. I believe this still.

At the same time, hospice was a newly rooting, novel care model and made sense. When mixed with the interfaith movement, it lit up an integrated path of peace advocacy and bias disruption. As a young adult, forming my beliefs and next steps, these were the base elements that healed my heart and brought my career into soulful purpose and back into alignment.

It is important to slow down and ask: Am I recognizable to myself? Who am I now? What is my grain of sand that I add to the beach?

I was ordained in the late 1980s as I became a hospice nurse, and re-ordained in 2021, having left nursing behind years before for other forms of empowering care models. It was important after Covid Chaos and reversals on national policies to review my values, contribution, and purpose.
AND, there was a lot of living experiences in the decades between!

Why be ordained instead of simply living my beliefs? Because I have a drive in my very cells toward freedom and intrinsic value. If I can be even a small part of bringing an inner calm, respect, and curiosity to the world, I will have fulfilled a ministry that honors what I hold true. More than a title or yet another credential, ordination is a promise to myself to live outwardly and be an instrument of kindness, to disrupt and challenge status quo. As a naturally introspective person who relishes time alone, this disrupts my own status quo, reminding me that it's imperative to remain connected and invested in what matters for a functional world.