I am based in British Columbia, Canada. For almost 20 years, I have worked across direct clinical practice, health education, and leadership, primarily in mental health, substance use, concurrent disorders, and forensic health.
Clinical practice, education, and leadership
I currently serve as Director of Learning and Development with BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services. My work has included developing provincial education, competency-based learning, interdisciplinary training, practice development, and technology-enabled approaches to learning.
I also maintain a counselling practice and teach in clinical settings.
The question connecting my work:
What are we missing when we describe someone as unmotivated, resistant, or not ready?
I bring that curiosity into clinical conversations, leadership, workforce development, and technology.
Turning ideas into practice
I am the Founder and CEO of MotLearn Labs, where we are developing practice-based digital and AI tools that help people rehearse difficult conversations, experiment with different responses, and learn through feedback.
My current writing and teaching also include the developing Values-Based Motivational Interviewing framework—an MI-consistent approach to exploring what a behaviour provides, protects, or makes possible.
We start with ourselves
Before focusing on changing how someone else speaks or behaves, participants examine their own learned assumptions about motivation, autonomy, approval, ambivalence, resistance, and what they believe ought to happen.
This self-reflection helps create the curiosity and humility needed for genuine collaboration.
Training is active and practice-based
Depending on the audience and setting, sessions may include:
Concise teaching
Demonstrations and video analysis
Guided self-reflection
Real plays and case examples
Structured skills practice
Feedback and opportunities to try again
Digital and Simulated practice environments
Participants do not simply learn about OARS. They practise using Motivational Interviewing during the conversations they actually find difficult.
The learning fits the work
I adapt each learning experience to the realities of the participants:
Nurses and physicians may need memorable approaches they can use during a five-minute interaction.
Counsellors and therapists may have time to explore conversations in greater depth.
Leaders may be supporting employees through uncertainty and organizational change, or during supervision.
Interdisciplinary teams may need a shared way of approaching motivation across different roles.
What I want people to take away
My goal is for participants to leave feeling more grounded and capable during difficult conversations, and feel more in control when supporting and helping others.
I want them to be better able to hear what matters, by knowing how they think about motivation, so that they can explore ambivalence without judgment, protect autonomy, and help people discover possible ways forward—without trying to control the person or force an outcome.
