About

My family has been in beautiful Montana for five generations. From an early age, I understood that my connection to myself was deeper when I connected to nature and the people around me. I learned to express those connections through mindful movement, meditation, and dance. I am a classically trained ballet dancer, and as a young person, I drew on the comfort the art form provided during times of adversity while coming into my own.

Staying true to my community and myself, I earned a bachelor’s degree in Health and Human Development from Montana State University. Shortly after graduating, I began my career as a naive but enthusiastic teacher in therapeutic preschools and early intervention settings. It was during those early years that I learned the unspoken truism that would follow me throughout my decades-long career as an educator and wellness advocate.

Teachers are not just teachers. Society expects teachers to be therapists, nurses, social workers, fundraisers, secondary parents, committee organizers, conflict resolution experts, and magicians with restricted resources.

The teacher’s enormous, ever-changing job matched my energy for life, my enthusiasm for my community, and my purpose for social justice, equity, and inclusion.

I obtained my Master’s Degree in Early Intervention and Special Education from The University of Oregon. My studies there were deeply rooted in a strength-based systems approach to intervention. My studies also took me on a deep dive into Applied Behavior Analysis. I developed a passion for using evidence-based strategies to create growth opportunities for students who were severely impacted by unmet needs and lagging skills. But I knew there were more pieces to the puzzle to cultivate wellbeing for the whole person.

That was when I was introduced to Trauma Informed Practices and Healing Centered Modalities. I was ignited by these frameworks and have worked tirelessly as a public educator to integrate evidence-based, healing-centered modalities into the daily lives of my students, my colleagues, and my community by providing lessons, workshops, professional development, college level courses, training, and classes.

In 2023, feeling the effects of the stress endemic to the public education system, I engaged in a year-long intensive course with the Center for Social Resilience and became a Certified Trauma Informed Specialist. I learned a new approach to creating sustainable wellness solutions for educators through unique insight, techniques, and strategies for compassionately disrupting oppressive and retraumatizing systems. I combined this incredible experience with a certification in Yoga/SEL/and mindfulness instruction.

These transformative opportunities, coupled with decades as an educator and a lifetime as a Montana community member, have equipped and qualified me to facilitate truly life-changing offerings for your wellbeing, the wellbeing of your closest relationships, and the wellbeing of our community as a whole.

I am so excited to collaborate with you and create a path for your wellness journey.

Katie

Life experience confirms these findings everyday, but research also says…

Social Emotional Learning reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety in the short term.

Early Intervention Foundation, 2021

Educators with strong social and emotional competence…

*Report less burnout and stay in the classroom longer.

*Build and maintain stronger relationships with students.

*Demonstrate higher levels of patience, empathy, and healthy communication.

Teachers who teach SEL to students also felt more effective at managing behaviors and had lower levels of job-related anxiety.

Columbia University

Social Emotional Learning helps foster “protective factors” to mitigate the effects of mental health challenges including:

*Responsive relationships

*Emotionally safe environments

*Skills development