My Story

Growing up on a small island off the coast of Georgia, I lived an idyllic life until I suffered a traumatic loss at the age of eight. I lost my mother to suicide. Not having a mother left me vulnerable to adults, and for the first time in my life I experienced abuse and neglect on top of my grief. I struggled to learn and pay attention because I was weighed down by what I was emotionally carrying, often approaching teachers with somatic complaints of not feeling well, or my stomach hurting. I did not speak much as I was painfully shy, and I cried a lot, but I was also crying out for someone to notice that things were not right. By the age of sixteen, l was placed in the foster care system which was the first time I was safe emotionally and physically in eight years. 

My dreams of a college education were cut short by an unexpected pregnancy at nineteen. I moved to Los Angeles with my son to escape my past. It was here that the first seeds of my recovery were planted by an acting teacher who told me that I was not in my body and I needed mindfulness and yoga. I had checked out of my body in order to survive my childhood. Returning to Georgia at twenty five, I enrolled and put myself through college studying Sociology, and later became a certified teacher earning a Master’s in Education. 

I taught Special Education in both Gwinnett and Fulton County public school systems. After eight years of teaching, I worked for the district of Fulton County as a mediator and later became a Special Education Facilitator in Forsyth County. It was here that I asked my employer to pay for a yoga certification so I could teach kids and staff and the rest is history. Through yoga I found Mindfulness and meditation as a practice to address my unresolved grief, anxiety, depression and stress. I had lived in survival mode since I was eight. I knew I had to bring these practices into schools to help kids like me build resilience and learn to manage stress and improve wellbeing. Out of this grew my passion project, The Mindfulness Pilot. After seven years working at the district level, I chose to return to the classroom to teach students the life skill of mindfulness.  Partnering with Georgia State University’s School of Public Health we measured the impact of these practices on student wellbeing.

In a full circle moment, I now teach mindful movement and breath to students of all ages to manage stress and difficult emotions. I offer mindfulness as self care to staff throughout the county. I believe mindfulness is the missing link in education, and the foundation to all learning. We can change the way we educate and view wellbeing.