Inner Adventurer, Author, Teacher

I have long been an adventurer, studying, teaching and writing about the inner terrain of the human condition and the relationship between the patterns of our egoic lives and the mystery of who we are beyond the ego. Recognizing that the journey inward is every bit as adventurous, vast and perhaps even more rewarding than the outward journey, my own exploration continues.

Since I was a child growing up in rural America, I’ve been drawn to the preciousness of this human experiment and to the big spiritual questions of life. While I didn’t always have the words for it, I felt deeply connected to the sacred in all that exists, and to exploring the great mysteries of life. After a substantial and painful period of ‘forgetting who I am,’ I found my way back to a deeper guidance while inquiring into what it means to be fully human in the midst of an unpredictable and often insensitive world.

Thought Leader and Catalyst for Change

After the profound experience of working professionally with individuals with varying abilities and disabling conditions in my early professional life, I served for nearly 20 years as undergraduate and graduate faculty at San Jose State and Boston Universities, teaching dozens of undergraduate and graduate courses in leadership, research, and interdisciplinary therapeutic and wellness-based subjects. I co-authored a leading-edge textbook, authored dozens of articles and gave hundreds of presentations, primarily focused on new ways of thinking, working, and being — both personally and in social systems. Later, I was on the faculty for the Core Strengths Coaching Program created at San Francisco State University by Lauren Vanett, and one of the first university-based coaching programs to be grounded in positive psychology.  

Drawn to focus my attention on growth-oriented professionals, I began my executive and life coaching practice in 1997. The profound wisdom of the Enneagram then re-entered my life at full-force. After years of studying and researching ways to incorporate this wisdom into coaching, my first book in the Enneagram field, Deep Coaching: Using the Enneagram as a Catalyst for Profound Change was published in 2007. Adopted internationally, it led to the development of the Deep Coaching Institute, where I served as a partner and senior faculty until January, 2022.

Writing is one of my spiritual practices. Through the process of listening inwardly and allowing words to reach the printed page, my own awareness deepens and expands.

Deep Coaching: Using the Enneagram as a catalyst for profound change, 2nd edition, (2022), incorporates over 40% new or heavily revised material from the original edition with 15 plus years of evolving my own coaching, and teaching coaches from across the globe.

Deep Living with the Enneagram: Recovering Your True Nature, revised and updated, 2020, was written to increase self-awareness and impart the experience of the powerful healing and transformation available through a presence-based approach to the Enneagram. It provides ways to build on our innate capacities for developing a strong core foundation to serve as an anchor to more effectively engage in today’s world.

“This fascinating and penetrating work speaks to one’s soul, as if it recognizes and knows you.”

Deep Living Lab (deeplivinglab.org), was born out of the Deep Living book. This nonprofit organization offers a unique framework of transformative experiences to those seeking to experience and engage from their true selves through a presence-based approach to the Enneagram. I serve as board co-chair and founding teacher.

Retreat Leader

The “Beyond Duality” retreats explore openings and obstacles to experiencing expanded states of awareness as part of daily living. With a radically compassionate approach to inquiry, somatic and contemplative practices, I use the Enneagram and EnneaCrossings™ as vehicles of wisdom to support the movement toward presence and wholeness. EnneaCrossings™ is a body of work that has been developing since 2012 and is the focus of my next book.

I live with my husband in the beautiful high mountain desert of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where the beautiful, spirit-infused landscape and nature nourish my soul. The ethnically diverse peoples of this land and the creative spirit in its many expressions coalesce, flourish and inspire me.

 Credentials

• EdD in Learning & Instruction, Counseling Psychology emphasis,
      University of San Francisco
• MA in Therapeutic Recreation, San Jose State University
• BA in Social Work and Sociology, University of Iowa
• Certified teacher, The Enneagram Institute, New York
• Accredited Teacher, International Enneagram Association
• Certified Coach, International Coach Federation
• Certificate in Mediation
• Founder, Deep Coaching Institute
• Founder and co-board chair, Deep Living Institute