In 1996 my life was a mess. I had recently graduated with a master’s degree in Computer Science and was working in Rockville, Maryland. I was also struggling with my identity. I had only recently had the awareness that I was attracted to men, not women, and coming from a very religious background, it was a rough awakening.
I had the sense that something needed to change. I needed to find a new way of being and a new life. I connected with a friend of a friend in San Diego who had a guest house they would let me stay in. With little money to my name, I packed up my ’68 convertible and drove west. (Yes… that’s my car in the photo!) It was one of the scariest things I’d ever done. I was so idealistic that I thought I would be able to find work and a home because, well, I had a degree.
When I arrived in California, a friend invited me to take a seminar. Fresh out of school, I thought, “Great… I’ll bring my notebook.” It wasn’t that kind of seminar. It was about personal growth and development. I started to learn a new language and get a peek into my psyche. It was eye-opening and heart-opening, something I had never experienced before.
Two weeks later, my car was totaled in Tuscon. I had no job, no home, and now no car. Thankfully, I had created friendships with people I met in the seminar. Up to that point in my life, I had considered myself a fiercely independent person, and now I was forced to receive the charity of others. It was an amazing life lesson, and humbling. And my connections with people deepened.
After renting a car and traveling up and down the West Coast (pre-GPS!) looking for a place to find my footing, I took the second level of the personal growth seminar, and within two weeks I had signed a lease for an apartment, bought a van, and found a job near LAX. I’d found a home.
In 1998, I started my studies at the University of Santa Monica and graduated with a master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology and then certificates in Consciousness, Health, and Healing as well as Soul-Centered Leadership. I volunteered at USM for years and in 2011 worked there as the Director of Information Services. In 2017 I published my first book—Healing Through Grief: Finding Freedom From Depression.
After 25 years in the classroom in one way or another, I knew it was time to put my Spiritual Psychology degree to good use. I left working at the University in 2024 to serve people as a Life Coach and Grief Coach full time.