Present day. It is my mission to help women embrace all their talents, skills, and intuition. If they are not living the life they’ve imagined, it’s time to pause and examine why. I am an example of someone who has designed a life imagined. The artist me has been actively painting and exhibiting in Southern California. The coach me has been working with women to help them get focused on creating a life only THEY can imagine. If you’d like to work with me, I would love to connect with you.

As a small child, I had two interests: I wanted to be an artist, and I wanted to take care of people. I had an active imagination. I loved painting, drawing, and sharing my work with others. It brought such joy and bliss. I grew up in a household of doctors who were very practical and protective. I did not get the encouragement to dive deep into art and was told that I’d be rich and famous after I died! I remember feeling like I wasn’t capable of making “right” decisions. As an adult I know my parents were looking out for my best interest. Life as an artist just didn’t seem stable or practical.

I also was drawn to becoming friends with children who were on the outskirts and alone. As one of the few Filipino children at my pre-school, I felt different. My dark hair and skin was a contrast to the other children around me. I didn’t want others to feel like I did. I would always befriend the new kids in town. I didn’t want them to feel left out. I remember walking up to a new girl in my ballet class from Canada and invited her to join me and my group of friends. Reaching out was something I always did. I became the “go to” friend who would listen, reassure, encourage, and just be with whatever situation was going on. I found I had a knack for making people feel welcomed.

As children we have a good sense of who we are, what our natural disposition is, and sometimes our wishes for what we want in life get pushed to the side. We become influenced by the environment around us. Can you relate?

I put my creative endeavors to the side and focused on being a practical person. As a teen and through college, the most creative I got was taking up a new language: French. I have vivid memories of visiting my Godmother in Paris, spending the summer there in high school, practicing this new skill. I enjoyed conversing with my college French teacher Pascale.

All the other university courses I took were business classes because I thought that was the “right” thing to do. I finished up with a double major in Marketing and Human Resource Management. I saw marketing as the “creative” side to business, and human resources, the “people” side to business. By the time I left college, I also missed my paints. I hadn’t drawn or painted a single thing.

Like many 20-somethings out of college in my time, I didn’t have a clear sense of direction for work. I took whatever job I could take to make money. I had a short-lived career in retail management. I learned hospitality and how to interact with customers, provide excellent service, while making sales goals. Those were things I felt naturally good at. In my mid-twenties I decided to pursue something new and get closer to an art career. I went back to school for graphic design. It took awhile to get employed in that field. My in between days were spent in different positions at different companies, but in the end I did it. I had a creative career for just under 10 years as a graphic designer. And I got back to my art. During my graphic design years, I got back into painting and invested in myself to go to artist retreats and get immersed with other artists. What I wished as a child was coming back, and it felt good.

One thing I also noticed throughout all my various jobs was organization dysfunction. I was the person people came to vent and ask for advice. “How do I deal with this person? I don’t know if I’m in the right place.” I got the itch again to reinvent myself and explore the “people” side to business. I went back to school and finished my doctorate in psychology with a focus on organizational development. I took a keen interest in coaching right away. While I was working on my doctorate I also finished a coaching program through CTI (Coaches Training Institute). I found my home in the healthcare industry working with clinicians and teams. I got back to one of the things I love the most, connecting with people and helping them with their goals. Over the years, I have had the opportunity and privilege to support hundreds of individuals and teams with topics like conflict, communication, leadership development, team performance, and self-care.