Here is a little bit about my social location: I was raised in the beautiful coastal regions of the Abenaki, Pennacook, and Wabanaki people, unceded territory now known as southern Maine and New Hampshire. My current home is on Chelamela, Kalapuya, and Siuslaw unceded land, now known as Eugene, Oregon. I identify as multiracial; I am second generation Arab-American with some Western European roots. I am a cishet, non binary, single, divorced mother. I am also Buddhist, and I experience neurodivergence. As a result of my intersectionality, I have directly experienced discrimination, marginalization, and subtle acts of inclusion at the hands of the dominant culture. Two generations ago, my immigrant family was poor and of lower-class standing. My grandfather worked his way through the “American Dream” and changed our family’s social standing. As a result, I was raised in the upper middle class. For this, I acknowledge the privilege my grandfather’s privilege entitles me.

I have been a mediator since 2016 and recently received an additional 40 hours of training in Equity-informed Mediation from Resolutions Northwest, in Portland, OR. I am currently the Dispute Resolution and Equity Specialist at the National Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE) in Eugene. I have been working with private mediation clients online and volunteering my services at the Center for Dialogue and Resolution (CDR) in Eugene since 2016.

I have a BA from the University of New Hampshire and in addition to 120 hours of mediation training, I have been trained in Internal Family Systems (IFS) levels 1 & 2, Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) levels 1 & 2, Trauma Informed Care (TIC), and Non-violent Communication (NVC). I was on the Diversity & Equity Leadership Team at a local family support agency from 2019-21.

Over the years, I have been fortunate to received intensive and rare training in Tibetan Buddhism through a line of authentic Tibetan lamas starting in 2008, and then in 2012, my root teacher, HE Ayang Rinpoche, gave me permission to teach Tibetan meditation. I have been teaching Buddhist meditation and providing spiritual counsel ever since. My work with clients and students is rooted in a strong foundation of mindfulness, self-compassion, collaboration, and perspective-taking.

After having achieved the publication of my award-winning children’s books, I am trying my hand at a novel for adults. The manuscript speaks to the insidious trauma of children who experience neurodiversity in our culture and who are raised by parents grappling with alcoholism.

On a more personal level, I love the great outdoors! I love being at sea, in the mountains, hiking, paddle boarding, cooking with my daughter, enjoying meaningful connection with my sweet and precious partner, spending time with family, playing games with friends, and curling up with a book and a cat (or two…or three…) I honestly believe that self-reflection, humility, personal accountability, and a good sense of humor are the keys to life. I practice those keys as best I can and embrace my limitations when they arise… when they arise, not if!