A former tenured faculty in the Liberal Arts context and leader in a national organization in my field, I experienced burnout. I learned the hard way that prioritizing students, institutions, community, and caregiving over my own well-being was not sustainable. I learned that I had to take my well-being into my own hands. No one else would do it for me. It wasn’t until I left academia that I was able to understand the fracturing of the mind, body, and spirit I experienced. Today, my purpose is to support changemakers and heart-centered leaders, especially those from historically marginalized groups, in integrating connection to their truth as an essential part of community care, caregiving, and social change work.

As I discuss in my forthcoming book on Chicana spiritual activism, learning the stories of women in the Chicana movement in Texas and the histories they uncovered transformed me. They led me to earn a PhD in cultural anthropology and to my work as a storyteller, facilitator, and coach today. These encuentros/ encounters with the women led me to a new way of seeing the world and coming home to myself, stages of transformation that inform my Conocimiento Coaching Framework, inspired by the work of Gloria Anzaldúa.

As a published author, award-winning educator, former faculty member and department chair, mentor, and chair of a national professional organization, I continually return to the power of story. Stories can silence, damage, and deter—but they also empower, heal, and allow us a deeper connection to ourselves and others.

I am guided by the wisdom of my own teachers and continually reminded that aligning with and operating from our truth, as in (re)writing our own stories and charting our own paths, inspires self-empowerment and healing for ourselves and the world. In the words of Gloria Anzaldúa, “I change myself, I change the world.”

Please reach out to discuss how I can support you and your community!