Every calling begins with a moment of clarity—a spark that reveals how our gifts connect to something larger than ourselves.
Mine started at 17, sitting across from my high school counselor, trying to make sense of my future.  My aptitude tests confirmed what I already knew: I was creative and loved helping others.  Still, I quietly wondered, would choosing creativity mean choosing the life of a “starving artist”?

Discovering My Calling

That day, we pored over stacks of college catalogs, scanning for possibilities. Then I found it: Occupational Therapy, unusually housed that year within the School of Fine Arts at the University of Kansas.  The description leapt off the page. While arts and crafts were part of its roots, what drew me in was much broader: how creativity forms the foundation for designing activity-based interventions that restore function and meaning in people’s lives.  It was the perfect intersection of my skills, my heart, and my values.

From Healing to Human Flourishing

I became an Occupational Therapist, a path that led to more than three decades in clinical and operational leadership roles. Along the way, I discovered a deeper passion; the profound connection between well-being and work.  The same principles that helped patients reclaim their lives could also transform workplaces, empowering people to align performance with what matters most: their humanity.

As I deepened my understanding of human flourishing, I realized that workplace well-being isn’t just about ergonomic chairs or wellness programs.  It’s about creating environments where people can bring their whole selves, both to work and back home again. These environments are shaped by work cultures, leadership, managers, and our responses to these simultaneous influences.

After earning another degree and pursuing certifications aligned with this evolving focus, I made my pivot.

Today: Occupation Humanity

As the Founder of Occupation Humanity and Career Journey Strategist, I help people navigate their professional lives from the exploration phase to their exit or legacy career with intention and strategy.  And it’s all done with the same blend of creativity, strategy, and respect for the human spirit that first called me to my vocation.

Through Occupation Humanity, I’m dedicated to helping each person achieve fulfillment across the many roles they choose in life, creating sustainable success that honors both purpose and humanity.

Our Core Principles: Authenticity, Adaptability & Well-being

Stand in Authenticity!

Authenticity: Starts with knowing and honoring your values, strengths, and the interests that energize and fulfill you.

Client Journey: Noel recently transitioned into a new role (Advancement Career Stage), which he’d been eyeing for a long time.  I’ll never forget the moment he went silent during a coaching session, as if searching for the right words to describe what he had just realized.  “I guess I haven’t exactly asked for what I need, because I didn’t know what to ask for.”

Core Issue: Not honoring his values and not leveraging his strengths in a balanced way.  He got unstuck once he clarified his values and stopped overusing his strengths of responsibility and focus, helping him to fully engage the benefits of a willing team.

Stretch through Adaptability!

Adaptability: Adaptability is the dynamic self-regulation that allows an individual to fluidly modify their internal methods (mindset, behavior) or external work interactions (tasks, environment) to successfully meet personal and professional challenges.

Client Journey: Tam’s main complaint was Imposter Syndrome.  She was trying to find her footing in the Establishment Stage of her career and described the anxiety she felt when reporting in meetings as paralyzing, even though she somehow always pushed through. The cost?  She felt drained for the rest of the day, muddling through critical tasks and interactions with her co-workers.

Core Issue: Habitually believing she was underprepared instead of adapting with greater social-emotional agility and creating a flexible system to prepare for meetings. This included internalizing a routine to assess and enhance her competency between meetings.

Sustain with Well-Being!

Well-being: The satisfaction and self-efficacy gained from managing life and work demands while actively protecting all aspects of one’s mental, physical, and emotional health.

Client Journeys: Although Vera and Mike were in the Maintenance Stage of their long and successful careers, one struggled with the stress of a heavy workload after half of her team was recently laid off, and the other felt a deep sense that he was no longer passionate about his work. Both needed to continue working for the foreseeable future. Both were experiencing sleeplessness, agitation, and distraction at work and at home. Mike was beginning to worry about his health, and Vera had lost her motivation to exercise, even on weekends.

Core Issue: Burnout and an unrecognized shift in each person’s sense of meaningful work.