I am delighted that you have found your way here to Breakthrough HQ, and I hope to have the opportunity to meet you soon, either virtually or in person. I will share a bit about myself so that you can get to know me before we meet.

I am a Floridian by way of NY. I was born in Brooklyn, and my mother moved us to Ocala, Fl, when I was ten. Moving from Brooklyn to Ocala proved to be a significant adjustment. The move initially felt like a massive mistake to me, but my mother wished for a different way of life for her children. In Brooklyn, all my playtime, such as riding bikes, skating, playing double dutch, running, and playing school with friends, was all learned and carried out in the corridor of an apartment building where we resided. As time went by in Ocala, I realized my mother’s dream for us was… FREEDOM. I started to love this different way of living. The freedom to ride a bike for hours upon hours, explore new roads every day, play outside with friends, being able to safely walk alone to my friend’s house down the street was all a part of my mother’s dream that I also grew to love and appreciate Florida for, and still do today.

My family is from a small island, roughly 20×15 miles big, situated to the east of the West Indies, called Barbados. I have enjoyed time in Barbados since I was a toddler. After all these years, there is still something special about getting off the plane, walking onto the tarmac, and taking in that first breath of Barbados air. The culture, the food, the beaches, and the people will always remain dear and close to my heart.

This is an excellent time to share my educational background with you and how I got to this point in my career. I started my career at 19 as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant). A few months after working as a CNA, I entered the US Army Reserves and completed their rigorous LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) program, formerly called the 91C program. I worked in various settings as an LPN, ranging from the county jail to nursing homes. After a few years, the desire to experience and learn more was insatiable and led me to complete the LPN-RN program at the local college. As an RN, I started working with complex patients in the ICU at Shands at UF and then shifted to the ER after a couple of years. I loved the thrill and agony of the ER. That burning desire to learn more and do more in healthcare led me to Jacksonville University. I completed their Family Nurse Practitioner program with an Emergency Medicine sub-specialization. While working in the ER as a Nurse Practitioner, often bearing unfavorable news and seeing many patients anxiously waiting, I realized that patients’ mental health is often overlooked, judged, and dismissed unless in crisis. Ultimately, this led me to Florida State University to complete the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program, and I have not looked back. My goal is that every single patient I have the honor and opportunity to care for will not feel overlooked, judged, or dismissed. I see you, I hear you, and I am here for you.

I do not want to take up too much of your time, and I thank you for sticking with me this far. I will end this with a few fun facts about myself, which some of you may identify with also. I have three beautiful animals, 2 French Bulldogs, who are affectionately named Miley and Tash, and a black cat named Cooper, who warms my heart. I thoroughly enjoy traveling with my better half and friends. I have visited many states within the US, along with Ireland, England, France, Greece, and Italy in Europe. In the US, my favorite places to travel to are mountainous states where I can hike and enjoy other outdoor activities. If I were not living in Florida, I would love to live in a state with plenty of mountains for me to summit and be surrounded by. I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie, and I embrace doing things that scare me a bit. I have thus far enjoyed sky diving, parasailing, white water rafting, and canyoneering, and I hope to continue growing that list. I am an ally with the LGBTQ+ community. I enjoy trying new restaurants, Broadway shows, biking, concerts, interior designing rooms for others with one of my best friends, spending time with my spouse, CrossFit, among other workouts, and I have saved the best for last, MMA, mainly UFC. If I am not busy with others on a Saturday night, you can find me at home watching all of the UFC fights.

I will end this with one of my favorite mantras to live by. Nothing changes if nothing changes. I do not know where you are in life or the direction that you want to take your life, but absolutely nothing will change if nothing ever changes. If given the opportunity to play a small part in helping you toward change in your life while improving your mental health, we can work to change your life’s landscape to match your vision for yourself.

All are welcome here!!

I look forward to meeting you soon!