Currently a Medical Social Worker at the St. James's Hospital (SJH) bringing over 14 years experience in integrated care settings. I aim to uphold a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and resilience-oriented framework. In practice I value increasing access to services through collaboration. I bring expertise in integrative practices for stabilization of traumatic stress and emotional distress. I have worked in emergency, inpatient, primary care, and specialist services. I am passionate about transformative change for systems of health and social care. I have been a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) since 2014 after receiving my Masters of Social Welfare (MSW) from the University of California at Berkeley in 2011 and later going on to achieve a Doctorate of Social Work (DSW) at the University of Pennsylvania in 2022.
At the heart of my practice is a commitment to uphold my ethical responsibility to the broader society. Social learning theory influences my facilitation approach to intentionally model the relational spirit of Motivational Interviewing (MI) and provide meaningful practice exercises to support authenticity in presence. I approach this as a process where I am not an expert but a facilitator. I understand the development of a health equity lens begins with recognizing narratives in context. I prioritize group discussions, case scenarios, and role play to assure the learning environment is grounded in a collaborative process of observation and feedback to bridge theory with skills relevant to the practice setting (e.g. emergency, acute, outpatient).
