Sports have been a central part of my life for as long as I can remember. I am a lifelong recreational athlete who grew up surrounded by sports, athletes, and the culture that shapes them. While I loved competing and being part of a team, I also experienced firsthand the pressures that come with performance expectations—and how those pressures can quietly impact confidence, identity, and enjoyment of the game. I know what it feels like to love sport deeply while simultaneously struggling under its weight.

As someone with lived experience as an underrepresented person of color, sports also represented both belonging and contradiction for me. On one hand, athletics offered connection, community, and a sense of purpose. On the other, it highlighted issues of discrimination, invisibility, and not always knowing where—or if—you truly fit. Those early experiences shaped not only my relationship with sport, but also my understanding of the emotional and psychological realities athletes face behind the scenes.

When I entered the social work profession, it felt like a natural extension of my life experience. I am now a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Addiction Counselor with nearly two decades of experience in mental and behavioral health, and for the past ten years, my work has focused specifically on athlete mental health and high performance. I specialize in helping athletes and high-achieving individuals navigate performance pressure, perfectionism, injury recovery, identity challenges, transitions, anxiety, depression, trauma, and substance use.

Through my private practice, Journey Inspired Counseling, I take an integrative approach that combines evidence-based therapeutic interventions (CBT, DBT, EMDR, Motivational Interviewing) with research-supported mental performance skills training, including focus and attention control, stress regulation, visualization, mindset development, and values-based goal setting. This approach supports both healing and performance—because athletes deserve care that honors the whole person, not just the outcome.

In addition to clinical work, I am a national presenter and frequent podcast guest on athlete mental health, recovery, equity, and performance. I am a listed mental health provider for the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), and the Alliance of Social Workers in Sports (ASWIS), where I also serve in leadership roles.

At the heart of my work is advocacy and destigmatization. Athletes are often seen as strong, disciplined, and resilient—yet many struggle in silence. My mission is to help athletes and high performers achieve optimal performance by integrating mental and physical health, while creating spaces where they feel seen, supported, and empowered—both in sport and beyond it.