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My Story: Crossing the Gap
I knew how to hold it together for everyone else.
Until the moment everything fractured for me.
For 16 years, I built a career in the high-stakes world of private security and HR leadership. I worked my way up from security guard to Director of Public Safety. I later spent over five years in HR, managing the complex human side of the industry.
I spent those years watching people deal with serious problems at work and in their personal lives. They faced threat assessments and workplace harm. I also saw painful times when someone’s career or life started to fall apart. I was the person who stayed calm in the room. I was the one who knew the protocols.
Then, in April 2025, the crisis became personal.
A midnight fall led to an ER visit, which led to the words no one is prepared for: "You have a large mass on your pancreas." Two weeks later, the diagnosis was confirmed: Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s follicular lymphoma.
At that same moment, I was navigating a workplace environment that no longer aligned with my values. I was facing a "career collapse" and a "health crisis" simultaneously. I chose to leave my job without a safety net. I felt scared and overwhelmed. I faced a future that looked nothing like my plan.
The hard part no one talks about
The hardest part wasn’t only the treatment. It was the isolation.
Through six rounds of chemotherapy and the ongoing reality of maintenance treatment, I discovered a profound truth: the hardest part isn't just the "event" itself. It’s the isolation that follows.
It’s the "messy middle" where the initial support fades, people assume you’re "back to normal," and you’re left wondering who you are now that your old life is gone.
I realized that what people in transition need isn't more generic advice or toxic positivity. They need a guide who has walked the terrain of layered loss—divorce, widowhood, housing instability, and life-threatening illness—and isn't afraid to sit in the hard parts with them.
The Work I’m Here to Do
Before cancer, I spent years in HR leadership roles, and I loved helping people and hearing their stories. I also hold SHRM-SCP and SPHR certifications.
When life made me rethink everything, I found training that matched what I knew: growth isn’t just one part of life. It’s whole-person work.
That’s why the Next, Together™ approach is built around three kinds of “nutrition”:
Physical nutrition
Supporting your body, energy, and routines in realistic ways
Mental nutrition
Thoughts, habits, boundaries, and self-trust
Spiritual nutrition
meaning, purpose, belonging, and connection (your version—not anyone else’s)
Why I Founded Next, Together™
I created Next, Together™ because no one should have to figure out the "becoming" alone.
My background in HR (B.S. in Human Resource Management, SHRM-SCP, and SPHR) gave me the structural tools to manage change. My life experience gave me the empathy to coach through it.
Today, I partner with high-achievers and leaders who are in the thick of multi-layered disruptions. We don’t aim to get "back to normal". We aim to move through the crisis with intention, asking the only question that matters:
"What if anything were possible?"
How we’ll work together
This isn't about toxic positivity or pretending everything is fine. It's about finding your footing and moving forward in a way that's practical and sustainable.
On our calls, we’ll focus on things like:
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creating routines that don’t burn you out
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reducing overwhelm and “all-or-nothing” cycles
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strengthening boundaries without guilt
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building relationships that feel safe and mutual
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reconnecting to meaning, purpose, and community
Book a Free 60-Minute Discovery Phone Call
You’ll leave with clarity and a simple next-step plan for the next 7 days.