My Journey
I am a Registered Nurse currently practicing at Options for Sexual Health as a Clinical Resource Nurse and a Certified Reproductive Health Clinician. I have been part of the organization since 2015. Alongside this experience I have worked in several Emergency Departments in the lower mainland, and now currently at Sechelt Hospital. I started Options’ Sexual Health Educator Certification program (SHEC) in 2017 and have been teaching in community since 2018. (I’d like to clarify here that although I work for Options and I completed the Options SHEC program I am not an Options Sexual Health Educator. Options Sexual Health Educators can be found here.).
My journey to empowerment within my own body began in the Sacred Learning Space of the mountains where I started to understand and learn the strengths and weaknesses of my own body. By immersing myself in several different mountain communities I was able to find more clarity in that I wanted to further explore this concept of sexuality not only for myself, but also of others through the sharing of stories. Stories of sexualized violence, gender identity, gender inequalities, body image, reproductive challenges to name a few were told and heard. It was through the telling and sharing of these stories that the idea of Sacred Learning Space emerged.
Empowerment
It is my goal to facilitate discussions alongside participants to engage conversations that empower folks to understand and respect their own bodies and views, and to influence respect for all bodies and points of view.
To these discussions I bring experiences gleaned, from stories shared, in the clinical and community settings, and in workshops I have attended as a learner, and workshops I have created and facilitated. All these experiences have motivated my ambitions to provide a Sacred Learning Space for people to talk about their sexuality and contextualize this very complex topic in a way that is safe, positive, all-inclusive and meaningful. I guide participants to reflect on the concepts of:
trauma-informed practice
decolonization, truth and reconciliation
gender identity, LGBTQ2+BIPOC, STEAM, representation
sexual and reproductive health and rights
media messaging and body image
empowerment of youth and mobilization
communicating to diverse audiences
My hope is that participants gain a different perspective about sexuality that encourages more compassionate relations with themselves, within their families, and within their community.
Complex Trauma
Some of the most recent movements such as the #Me Too Movement, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, #Racism is a Pandemic, alongside my own professional experiences caring for people who have experienced trauma, and my own experiences with trauma has guided my innate curiosity to understand complex trauma from many different perspectives and its effects on our community. My curiosity led me to attend and participate in workshops and community development projects. I attended Dr. Lori Haskell’s workshop on Trauma-Informed Practice and Salal Sexual Violence Support Centre’s (Formerly WAVAW) Decolonizing Workshop, as well as The Little Warriors Prevent It! Workshop. I volunteered with the Howe Sound Women’s Centre and worked under the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator to improve access to sexual assault services in the Sea to Sky Corridor.
In 2014 I experienced an event in the backcountry that influenced my focus to expanding my knowledge and practice to heal my own complex trauma I experienced in childhood and simultaneously try to process this event in the backcountry. Through continued movement in the backcountry, skiing through beautiful terrain, moving through mountains in various ways all over the world and connecting with nature and people in different spaces felt like I was on my way to healing. When I met my child, I then dove deep into understanding and practicing the power of attachment and interdependence in our little family unit and feeling held by community.
My focus is on providing a safe space to discuss complex topics such as sexuality and trauma alongside participants and integrating gentle movements and positive sensory experiences into the program. I work with children, youth and adults.
My Experience
Clinical Experience
Registered Nurse in Emergency Departments in Squamish, Vancouver, North Vancouver, Sechelt since January 2014
Options clinics as Reproductive Health Clinician since November 2015
Clinical Resource Nurse at Options for Sexual Health since May 2021
Professional Development
Sexual Health 2015 2-day conference on Building Clinician Confidence & Competence - May 2015
Options for Sexual Health SAR Workshop - August 2015
Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW) Decolonizing Workshop - April 2016
Violence, Victimization & Trauma: The Complexity of Trauma Responses, facilitated by Dr. Lori Haskell - January 2017
Options for Sexual Health Sexual Health Educator Certification Program - November 2017 - July 2019
Women Deliver Global Conference - June 2019
Crosshatch Training Forum - Squamish Lil-wat Cutlural Centre - March 2020
Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Foundational Training - May 2023
Community Volunteer Experience
Community and Public Health Nurse, Kipkaren, Kenya, Africa - December 2013
G-Day Volunteer - November 2014
Sexual Assault Response Committee - April 2015 - September 2021
Partnerships
School District 48 - Sea to Sky
Island Discovery Learning Community, Vancouver, Bowen Island, Roberts Creek, BC
Howe Sound Women’s Centre, Squamish, BC
Sea to Sky Community Services, BC
Southern Stl’Atl’Ixm Health Society, Mt. Currie, BC
SHIFT Education, Sunshine Coast, BC
CCRR - Child Care Resource and Referral Centres, Squamish, BC