“You haven’t gotten a raise in 4 years?!”
It was 2019 and some female colleagues and I were venting about the stressors befalling us women in climate, like the pay gap between us and our male counterparts. And they were shocked at my admission.
“No. No one is getting raises, due to the budget cuts…. right?” I sputtered. They glance at one another, wondering who should speak up first.
I continued, “Well, even if the money was there, I’ve hit the ceiling of my civil-service title salary range. They couldn’t even pay me more if they wanted to!”
Instead of letting me continue to try and convince them of the hopelessness of my raise, one co-worker suggested a coaching podcast called Unf*ck Your Brain. Soon I was working with the coach from the podcast, learning the tools of self coaching that changed my life.
Because not only was I dealing with navigating a tricky career situation, I was also dealing with my own internal struggles with perfectionism and self-doubt. The resulting overthinking, overachieving, and anxiety all negatively impacted my climate work and my personal life. Like:
The time I used to spend writing and rewriting and then rewriting important emails,
The energy I used to spend on worrying what my colleagues, acquaintances, and tinder dates thought of me, and
The distraction I used to seek as the salve to my negative self-talk and low self-esteem.
My unchecked inner dialog was draining me of my potential and preventing me from fully contributing to the climate work that I am so passionate about. With that podcast recommendation from my coworker, I took to life coaching like a fish to water and my life hasn’t been the same since.
Coaching taught me to know, love, and trust myself. I stopped taking everything so personally. Life got easier. I began to have less stress and anxiety. I began to feel more freedom and empowerment. I got to lean into my penchant for planning and scheduling from a place of enoughness rather than not-enoughness.
Coaching was so transformative that I became a certified life coach to help sustainability professionals like me experience the same transformation.
Right now, the world needs as many climate change leaders as we can get, and we need more women at the table; the more diverse, the better. It needs us focused on achieving our goals—switching communities to solar, funding climate tech start ups, and launching sustainable fashion brands— not on the self-doubt and anxieties over what we look like, what we sound like, and whether we are qualified or not— that have kept us stuck.
I want to help you be the most efficient and effective version of yourself—to help you grow your confidence so you can be a leader in the climate sphere, and be your most authentic and powerful you.
The self coaching practices I teach sit at the intersection of CBT-based thought work, somatics, critical thinking, and climate justice. They are radically life-changing yet simple tools.
Get to know me and the coaching tools I’ve used to improve my life by attending a free webinar or reading my blog.
My Coaching Philosophy & Business Values
I believe that self-confidence and confidence can be harmed by patriarchy, sexism, and misogyny. Additional socialization, limitations, and expectations weigh on those who are black, indigenous, people of color; neurodiverse, disabled, fat, gender-non-conforming, LGBTQA+, or any other marginalized identity impacted by institutional and internalized systems of oppression.
Coaching is how you can liberate your mind from socializations, internalized oppressions, and outdated coping mechanisms; how you can build self-confidence, agency, and trust in yourself and your expertise; and how you can love yourself unconditionally, lead with curiosity and compassion, and build strong, healthy relationships with yourself and others.
My coaching business is based in the principle of just commerce, as taught by Trudi Lebron, and guided by the following values:
Integrity & honesty
Stewardship & quality
Diversity, equity, & inclusion
Service & generosity
In addition to being a life coach, I have a dynamic role at the NYC Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) where I have worked on the sustainable movement of people and goods since 2010. Before that, I advocated for sustainable transportation policy with Council Member Rosie Mendez for over four years. Recent examples of my work include producing the Delivering Green freight vision plan, NYC DOT’s contributions to the City’s strategic climate plan, and the $7.25M award winning Filling the Gaps.
My Climate Work
Here I am with my friend Erika at a concrete yard site visit!
My role also includes piloting clean construction initiatives for NYC DOT to reduce the agency’s carbon footprint. NYC DOT has circularity in our asphalt operations, where we used 40% recycled content to pave our streets. I spearheaded pilots to close the loop of our concrete operations through the use of recycled concrete in our sidewalks and the use of glass pozzolan (which comes from post-consumer crushed glass) as a cement replacement in concrete.
Here I am moderating a panel on zero waste for the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board. Photo from Waste360.
In addition, I serve as NYC DOT’s consultant on public realm waste management initiatives. I advised on the Zero Waste Design Guidelines and co-launched the City’s waste containerization efforts, starting with the NYC Department of Sanitation’s Clean Curbs pilot and now expanding to NYCHA’s Clean Curbs for All pilot. I’ll talk trash with anyone, anywhere. I am particularly passionate about ways of reducing GHG emissions and other negative externalities from the set out and collection of waste.
NYC DOT has more than just the Staten Island Ferry. Here I am on the vessel that serves Hart Island, which we recently replaced with a hybrid-electric boat.
I love the waterways of NYC and am working to decarbonize marine vessels and reactivate the maritime highway to reduce pollution from trucks.
If you would like me to speak at your event on topics related to my two decades in NYC government working on sustainable movement of people, goods, and waste, please contact me.
Coaching is an extension of my feminist activism and climate work.
Our ability to secure rights and respect is more effective when we are kinder to ourselves and less worried about what others think
Our efforts to advocate for the environment are stronger when we are emotionally resilient and confident; and
Learning how to plan, focus, and follow-through will support our efforts to dismantle the systems of oppression that exacerbate gender disparities and the climate crisis.
In addition to my public service on behalf of climate issues, I’ve been a long-time activist for women. During college I co-founded the Hunter Women’s Rights Coalition (HWRC), which successfully lobbied for gender-neutral bathroom facilities on campus and emergency birth control at the school health center.