My path here has been anything but linear — but it's all pointed in the same direction: understanding how people relate, and helping them do it better.

I've worked inside organizations where culture and poor leadership was quietly breaking people, cycled across Canada navigating one-off moments of intensity and fear while healing a broken heart, and spent a decade building a company and community introducing people to adventure. I've sat inside beautiful and difficult professional partnerships and romantic relationships, navigated transitions, and learned — sometimes the hard way — what it means to communicate under pressure.

In my own relationships, I've done, and continue to do the work too. It's a never-ending process — uncovering patterns, making hard decisions, starting over, healing forward. I even gave up on romantic partnership for a moment. I had a dream in which I would pursue parenthood as a single parent, and worked diligently towards that goal. Partnership took me by surprise, and after a lot of personal work I stepped into a relationship built on monthly check-ins, honest conversations, and a lot of intention. I know firsthand that our closest relationships can bring out both the best and the hardest in us — and that conflict and transition, when met with curiosity, can be an invitation rather than an ending.

But what does it take to shift conflict into something constructive? That is the question is what led me to pursuing my Masters in Conflict Analysis and Management, and into becoming a counsellor.

As I continue to learn and grow through chapters of my life, it is counselling that has become my favourite. Whether it is a couple navigating partnership, a leader navigating leadership, or an individual navigating life, the most meaningful work is the honour of sitting with someone as they get curious about their own story.

And it is the greatest honour I can imagine.