I love my work as AHELP Project's President and Executive Director! I have been walking side-by-side our community's caregivers with the benefit of a lifetime's experience of loving my canine, feline and equine family members. After a master's degree in human healthcare counseling, I went on to two careers in family grief and crisis counseling spanning over 20 years. Little did I know I could use all these tools in my toolbox and play a hand in popularizing the field of animal hospice and palliative care for animal lovers like myself in my community and even across the world.

My husband, daughter, and my retired hospice nurse mother all moved to greater Seattle just as the field of hospice and palliative care was just being developed for the animal world. In addition to continuous education and mentorships in our burgeoning field, during this time I would learn many lessons firsthand in senior, palliative and hospice care to my three beloved Boxers and rescued kitty. It was only natural that I would serve over 50 families and their animal family members during the period between 2011 and 2016.

To keep myself abreast of our growing field and AHELP Project in line with our growing field, I have been on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care since 2012, with service on their Education, Certification, and Conference Committees and as their Volunteer Relations Chairperson. In response to the needs of our community, I became a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist in 2016. I'm ready to expand AHELP's nonprofit work and our services to reach more families in our local community and even beyond.

I'd love to hear from you directly! Please feel free to contact me at [email protected], and follow me on Facebook, twitter, and Linked In.

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