My Story

I am a Board Certified Family Medicine physician, fully trained in Functional Medicine, Classical 5-Element Acupuncture, a Reiki Master & Ketamine Assisted Practitioner with a remarkable history as a physician and healer. Having completed a fellowship in Psychiatry allows me the opportunity to provide an integrative medicine approach to mental health and wellness for my patients.

My inspiration to heed a lifelong calling to serve those most in need came from two powerful women. The first was my mother, who devotedly served the poor and indigent as a community health nurse, courageously serving at a time when women were discouraged from working outside the home. The second was Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood and a pioneer in the areas of women's health and social justice.

I began a nursing career tending to sick children in ICU settings, which led to home health in Chicago’s inner city, then serving  on an AIDS / Hospice unit. During this time, I raised two sons as a single parent, which then, as well as now, has provided me with a unique perspective on the fortitude and resilience necessary to achieve one’s goals. Parenting has indeed been my greatest teacher.

I attended medical school at Loyola University Chicago, followed by my residency at Seattle Providence Hospital. After completing training, my career paralleled those of my two heroes: five years at Planned Parenthood, along with more than a decade of dedication as a physician working with underserved populations in community health centers. I witnessed firsthand the effects of racism, poverty, and indifference on the health of a community, and have spent much of my career serving those who most need care. This includes individuals who identify themselves on the spectrum of LGBTQIA+, and those identified as BIPOC, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

Despite all the knowledge and skill imparted to me by the study and practice of western medicine, I was troubled by the thought that my medicine bag wasn’t completely full. I sought and completed Certification in Classical 5-Element Acupuncture in 2005, followed by a ten year study of the science of Functional Medicine. Concurrently, I explored and embodied through two decades, global traditional cultural ritual practices that I refer to humbly as Shamanic Practice. 

I am certified as a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher in the Vipassana tradition, and will incorporate mindfulness practices into my recommendations for you. I have completed Certification in Psychedelic Therapies and Research at CIIS with the hope to incorporate knowledge and skill towards future expansion of my medicine bag when MDMA and Psilocybin are legalized for mental health treatment.  I am fully trained in providing ketamine assisted psychotherapy with an integrative psychiatry approach to mental wellness & spiritual exploration.