I am a proud member of the queer community and find incredible joy and fulfillment working with folks around issues of sexuality and gender. When I came out late in life, I had a difficult time finding resources and support.

My experience fell outside of common coming-out tropes and I didn’t see myself represented in anything that would help me make sense of what I was going through. Since then I’ve been honored and humbled by the work I get to do with people who are searching for language and validation for the physical, emotional and sociological lived experience of queerness.

No single group’s experience is monolithic and I am constantly learning and expanding my understanding of the ways internalized homophobia and transphobia chip away at our humanity and our ability to love and accept ourselves. Shame is an isolating poison. That’s ironic, as shame is a universal emotion and one that many of us who do not fit within hetero- and cis-normative definitions will battle throughout our lives. The programming we receive from early childhood about who and what we’re supposed to be can undermine all our attempts to connect and express authentically.