I was introduced to the practice of conflict management and mediation in the mid 1990s through the Carolina Peace Resource Center in Columbia, SC. I was immediately taken with the idea that conflicts could be worked through intentionally and peacefully.

From there, I dove into furthering mediation as an available option to everyone who wanted to try it. I joined a local effort to form a community mediation center and had the amazing opportunity in 1999 to come on as the first, full-time executive director of what is now called the Midlands Mediation Center. I've been a full-time mediator ever since.

I have a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Peace Studies.

Adding to this peace work, I started meditating (just add a "t") off and on in the early 2000s but couldn't quite make it a habit. Through a work retreat I met a woman who also wanted to make meditation a regular habit. We excitedly agreed to be each other's accountability buddies for meditation. We texted each other every day that we sat and it worked!

Through my own discovery and practice, I've learned what it takes to make living in presence a regular thing and how it improves lives. Not just you but those around you benefit because you're setting an example of how to be truly peaceful.

That calm energy flows!