My path into health coaching began after experiencing burnout firsthand and realizing that the way I was approaching success was no longer sustainable. That turning point inspired me to better understand the connection between health, purpose, and well-being—and to help others create more aligned, meaningful lives. Through IIN’s Health Coach Training Program, I discovered a whole-person approach to wellness that gave me the tools, language, and framework to transform my own experience into a way to support others.
Today, as the CEO of Health that Heals, a keynote speaker, author, and Health Coach, I help individuals and organizations rethink burnout, reconnect with their values, and create healthier, more sustainable lives. The lessons I learned through IIN—especially the power of Primary Food and the importance of looking at health beyond nutrition and exercise—continue to shape the way I coach, speak, and support others on their own journeys toward greater well-being.
YOUR WORK TODAY CENTERS AROUND HELPING PEOPLE PREVENT BURNOUT AND CREATE MORE SUSTAINABLE LIVES. CAN YOU TAKE US BACK TO THE BEGINNING? WHAT FIRST LED YOU TO THIS WORK?
A: This work found me before I found it. I experienced three episodes of burnout, and the third one became my breaking point. I had been running at a pace that looked successful from the outside but was quietly destroying me on the inside. The version of me that came out the other side of that was fundamentally different, and from that place, I knew I had to do something with what I had been through. I did not want other people to reach the same point I had before someone helped them understand what was happening. That became my purpose. Burnout is not a part of a successful career.
BURNOUT IS SOMETHING MANY PEOPLE EXPERIENCE BUT DON’T ALWAYS RECOGNIZE UNTIL THEY’RE DEEP IN IT. LOOKING BACK, WHAT WERE SOME OF THE SIGNS YOU WISH YOU HAD UNDERSTOOD SOONER?
A: The exhaustion that sleep did not fix. The loss of joy in things that used to light me up. The sense of going through the motions, showing up physically but being somewhere else entirely. I also wish I had understood how much of it was living out of alignment with my values. I was spending my energy on things that did not actually matter to me, and that disconnect is one of the deepest drivers of burnout that nobody talks about. Nobody talked about burnout back then; it was an unspoken word associated with shame, stigma, and failure.
HOW DID YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE WITH BURNOUT CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK ABOUT SUCCESS, HEALTH, AND WHAT IT MEANS TO TRULY THRIVE?
A: It changed everything. I used to measure success by output, by how much I was producing, how busy I was, how little sleep I could survive on, how many hours I could work, and how useful I could be to everyone around me. Now I measure it by how I feel, how present I am, and whether I am living close to my values. Thriving does not look like grinding. It looks like a life where your work, health, and well-being are not in constant competition with each other. I call it synergy and alignment.
AT WHAT POINT DID YOU REALIZE HEALTH COACHING COULD BECOME PART OF YOUR OWN HEALING—AND EVENTUALLY YOUR CAREER?
A: When I started to recover, I became obsessed with understanding what had happened to me. Why had I kept going when every signal in my body was telling me to stop? What was I missing that kept me from seeing what was right in front of me? Health coaching gave me a framework for that understanding, and the moment I started applying it to my own life, I knew it was what I was meant to do with other people. I had always had an interest in health, nutrition, and exercise, reading and learning more whenever I had the opportunity.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO ENROLL AT IIN, AND WHAT STOOD OUT TO YOU ABOUT THE PROGRAM?
A: The depth and breadth of the IIN curriculum was what drew me in. The fact that it looked at health in its fullest sense—not just nutrition and exercise, but relationships, career, joy, purpose, and the things that genuinely nourish or deplete us—was exactly aligned with what I had learned through my own experience. IIN took what I instinctively knew and gave it structure, language, and credibility.
WHAT LESSON OR CONCEPT FROM IIN CONTINUES TO SHAPE THE WAY YOU APPROACH HEALTH AND COACHING TODAY?
A: The concept of Primary Food changed everything for me. The idea that what truly nourishes us goes far beyond what is on our plate, that our relationships, our career, our joy, and our sense of purpose are the food our souls run on, became the foundation of everything I teach and coach. It is woven into every session I deliver and every keynote I speak.
YOU OFTEN WORK WITH HIGH-ACHIEVING PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE RUNNING ON EMPTY. WHAT DO YOU THINK SO MANY PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT BURNOUT?
A: Many high achievers still believe burnout is a sign of weakness. Or they think it is just tiredness and that a holiday will fix it. Burnout is neither. It is what happens when capable, committed, caring people give more than they are resourced to give, for too long, without enough replenishment. It is not a personal failing. It is often a structural and cultural problem that the individual has been left to solve alone. I find that way too frequently the high-pressure expectations, along with the signs and symptoms of burnout, are “normalized.”
MANY OF YOUR CLIENTS ARRIVE FEELING EXHAUSTED, DISCONNECTED, AND OVERWHELMED. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE FIRST SHIFTS YOU HELP THEM MAKE?
A: The first shift is always awareness. Helping clients see clearly where their energy is going and what is actually driving the depletion. The second is permission. Permission to rest without guilt. Permission to say no. Permission to matter as much as the people and responsibilities they have been prioritizing above themselves. Those two shifts alone begin to change everything.
WHAT HAVE YOUR CLIENTS TAUGHT YOU ABOUT RESILIENCE, RECOVERY, AND WHAT PEOPLE ARE TRULY SEARCHING FOR?
A: Clients have taught me that people are not searching for balance. They are searching for meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. They want to feel that their life and their work make sense together, that what they are giving their energy to actually matters. The most resilient people I have worked with are not the ones who push hardest. They are the ones who know what they value and use that as their north star—their guiding light around which decisions are made.
AS A KEYNOTE SPEAKER, AUTHOR, AND COACH, YOU’VE HELPED INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS RETHINK WELL-BEING. WHAT CONVERSATIONS DO YOU HOPE BECOME MORE COMMON IN WORKPLACES AROUND BURNOUT AND MENTAL HEALTH?
A: I hope we get to a place where burnout is discussed proactively in performance reviews, leadership development programs, and team check-ins—not just in crisis. I want the conversation to shift from reactive to preventive. And I want people, regardless of the level of responsibility they hold, to feel safe enough to say, “I am not coping,” before they reach the point of no return.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY IS A BIG PART OF YOUR WORK. WHY IS IT SUCH AN IMPORTANT INGREDIENT FOR HEALTHY TEAMS AND HEALTHY PEOPLE?
A: Without it, people perform at the surface and suffer in silence. People feel like they are failing if they are not coping, or they fear judgment and risk being overlooked for promotional opportunities. Psychological safety is the foundation that allows everything else to work. When people feel safe to speak up, ask for help, and admit they are struggling, you can manage burnout early. When they do not, you find out about it in a resignation letter, an exit interview, or a workers’ compensation claim.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST REWARDING PART OF WATCHING YOUR CLIENTS TRANSFORM—NOT JUST PROFESSIONALLY, BUT PERSONALLY?
A: When they tell me they feel like themselves again. That is always the moment that stops me. Because burnout does not just take your energy. It takes your sense of self. When someone comes back to themselves, remembers what lights them up, and reconnects with what they care about, that is the most profound thing I get to witness. These moments give me goosebumps; it’s very special.
LOOKING BACK ON YOUR OWN JOURNEY, WHAT VERSION OF YOURSELF ARE YOU MOST GRATEFUL FOR BECOMING?
A: The one who finally stopped. The one who, in the aftermath of her breaking point, chose to look honestly at her life rather than patch it up and keep going. That version of me was terrifying to inhabit at the time. But she is the reason everything that came after was possible. I learned the hard way, yet I believe this is the work I was meant to do.
IF SOMEONE READING THIS FEELS LIKE THEY’RE CONSTANTLY PUSHING THROUGH EXHAUSTION BECAUSE THEY THINK THEY “HAVE TO,” WHAT WOULD YOU WANT THEM TO HEAR?
A: You do not have to. I know it feels like you do. I know the pressure is real and the responsibilities are real, and stopping feels impossible. But the cost of not stopping is higher than you know. And the life waiting on the other side of a different choice is better than you can currently imagine.
As I say to myself and share with clients, listen to your body; it will continue to send you signs that something is not right, and if you continue to ignore this, your body will eventually stop you. Just as mine did.
FOR SOMEONE SIMPLY WANTING TO CREATE A HEALTHIER, MORE MEANINGFUL LIFE, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU SHARE?
A: Start with your values. Get very clear on what actually matters to you—not what should matter, not what other people think should matter, but what genuinely does. Then look honestly at how you are spending your time and energy and ask whether it reflects those values. The gap between your values and your reality is where most of the pain lives. And closing that gap, even incrementally, is where the healing begins.
HOW DID IIN HELP YOU BRIDGE YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THE CONFIDENCE AND SKILLS TO SUPPORT OTHERS PROFESSIONALLY?
A: IIN gave me the language, the frameworks, and the credibility to translate my lived experience into something I could offer other people with confidence. Before IIN, I had the story. After IIN, I had the tools. The combination of the two is what makes my work effective because people can feel that what I am sharing is not just theory. It is real.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE WHO’S CONSIDERING ENROLLING IN THE HEALTH COACH TRAINING PROGRAM, BUT WONDERS IF NOW IS REALLY THE RIGHT TIME?
A: If you have even a hint of interest and desire toward this work, trust it. The right time is rarely when everything is perfectly in order. It is usually right now, when something in you knows it is time to do something differently. The world needs more skilled, compassionate health coaches, and the people who are drawn to this work are usually the ones who are meant to do it—sharing from lived experience that translates into a genuine desire to create impact, encourage positive change, and support others.
WHAT’S ONE NON-NEGOTIABLE HABIT THAT HELPS YOU PROTECT YOUR OWN WELL-BEING?
A: Only one? Okay, it’s running. It is my meditation, my thinking space, and my reset button all in one. It’s consistently when I feel a sense of clarity to reflect and refine decision-making, or simply—not think—just run.
A BOOK THAT’S HAD A LASTING IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE OR CAREER?
A: I love reading and have a stack of books on my to-read list and my bedside table. I’m a big fan of audiobooks too—I listen whenever I can and then make notes in the hard copy of the book! Where the Light Gets In by Ben Crowe, an Australian author, is one that has had an impact on me. Much of the work I deliver aligns with Ben’s approach, and listening to and reading his book re-ignites “my why” for doing the work I do.
IF YOU COULD SPEND ONE AFTERNOON WITH ANY WELLNESS EXPERT—PAST OR PRESENT—WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
A: Brené Brown. The work she has done on vulnerability, shame, and courage is woven through everything I believe about why people burn out and how they heal. I would love an afternoon of honest, unscripted conversation with her.
I would also have loved to meet Louise Hay. Her work became a fundamental part of my healing process; I keep her book You Can Heal Your Life as a reminder of the personal development I’ve done (and continue to do).
IF YOU COULD BE ANY FRUIT OR VEGETABLE, WHICH WOULD YOU BE—AND WHY?
A: I would be a green vegetable or fruit—maybe an avocado. They are delicious on their own and can also be eaten in multiple recipes. I make a delicious healthy chocolate mousse with avocados that are less than green! Green veggies energize me!
WHAT’S THE ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT YOU OUTSIDE OF YOUR WORK?
A: That I am a completely devoted, slightly obsessed dog mom to my Cavoodle, Mollie, and that she is genuinely one of my greatest sources of joy. I talk to her constantly, and I am completely unashamed about it. She has been by my side throughout this journey and probably knows more about me than I know myself! On many a dark day, she has been my reason to take one step forward. Dogs are incredible, intuitive, and shower you with unconditional love.