a lil’ more about me….

the personal version:

I love trees, I love music, I love dancing, I love friends. The closer I get to each of these, the more excited I am about life. I have been blessed to have access to a fair amount of joy in my life, and in more recent years of been acquainted with it’s dear relative: grief.  After losing my father and a meaningful relationship in 2022, as well as completing a chaplain residency the same year, I became a hospice chaplain at Hospice of New York.

I feel drawn to the direct experiences and expressions of life. Enough with “talking about,” and more of “being with.”  I have been doing this by hosting meditations, rituals, and opportunities for sharing songs.  The heart is a powerful vessel for transforming love, and that is my intention in this next phase of life.

the “Professional” version:

Prior to being a chaplain, I worked with runaway and homeless youth, various communities affected by incarceration, as well as with folks with disabilities. I started moving more deeply towards a spiritual path in my late 20s, which would bring me to New York City, where I studied Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement at Union Theological Seminary.  I had the opportunity to study ritual in the context of grief and climate change, as well as interning as a chaplain at Rikers Island.  As part of my seminary experience, I wrote my thesis titled “Transforming Ritual Through Music and Sound.” Through my own practice of using sound and mantra, I experimented in guiding others through various ritual experiences involving sound and sometimes movement.  I still rely on these lessons in my spirituality and in working with others.

After graduating, I entered into a year-long chaplain residency at Mount Sinai Hospital, a deep, challenging, and experiential training.  I now have four units of CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education), which means I have sat with plenty of suffering (mine and others, if there’s a difference) and have proven myself able to sit with more!

I also have extensive experience working with altered states, and completed Naropa’s Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies Certificate, and Cora Center’s Psilocybin Practicum in 2025.

Education

and Trainings

Psilocybin Facilitation Practicum, Cora Center, Portland, Oregon, April 2025.

Naropa/Memoru Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies Certificate. Completed December 2024.

Master of Divinity.  Union Theological Seminary. New York City. Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement. Graduated May 2022.

Clinical Pastoral Education Training (4 units, 1.25 years of full-time formal chaplain training) at Rikers Island Jail, and Mount Sinai Hospital. 2021—2023.

Processwork Winter Intensive, Processwork Institute. 2019.

Zen Yoga Teacher Training, Blue Cliff Zen Center. 2018.

Reiki Practitioner Training, 2018.

Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training. Zenways. 2017

Bachelor of Arts. University of Oregon, Holistic Justice with Minors in Music and Ethnic Studies. 2013.