I was born into a landscape of grief—my father lost his parents within my first year of life. Although I was only an infant at the time, I believe these losses had a profound effect in shaping me. I was passed around to comfort the heartache of my family and this nurtured my deeply intuitive and sensitive nature. Throughout childhood I used art to cope with a surplus of feelings. I went on to study documentary filmmaking and then earned my MFA from the University of Michigan. While at Michigan, I took graduate-level courses in social work, public health and psychology and received a Specialist in Aging certificate. I spent several years teaching art and film courses at various universities before working in art museums and film archives in the Bay Area. In 2021 I completed the University of Vermont's EOL Doula program. My focus is emotional companioning and creative legacy projects.