Leadership, Education, and Program Development

Certified Child Life Specialist and Certified Grief Counselor with 17.5 years of experience leading strategic initiatives, building scalable programs and resources, and strengthening developmentally appropriate support for children and families across healthcare, educational, and community settings.

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About

My portfolio highlights selected work across child life leadership, bereavement support, education, program development, and resource design. My work focuses on translating identified needs into practical, structured, and meaningful solutions that improve support for children, families, students, and professionals.

I bring experience in program development, curriculum design, psychosocial care, strategic implementation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and resource creation. Across settings, my goal is to strengthen quality, consistency, and accessibility in how support is delivered.

Areas of Expertise

Built and expanded child life services, systems, and resources to meet organizational and family needs.

Program Development

Designed courses, presentations, and learning experiences for students and interdisciplinary professionals.

Education & Training

Bereavement/Communication Resources

Created practical resources to support developmentally appropriate communication with children around death, grief, and serious illness.

  • Focus Area: Childhood Bereavement Support / Resource Development / Family-Centered Care

    Identified a recurring gap in how families and professionals are supported when telling children about the death of someone they knew. Developed a developmentally appropriate resource designed to guide these conversations with greater clarity, consistency, and sensitivity.

    Key Contributions:

    • Identified practice gap through direct professional experience

    • Developed a child- and family-centered communication resource

    • Focused on real-world usability in emotionally high-stress moments

    • Supported consistency in bereavement communication

    Skills Demonstrated:

    • Bereavement support

    • Resource development

    • Developmental communication

    • Family-centered practice

    • Trauma-informed design

Led system-wide projects that required planning, coordination, implementation, evaluation, and collaboration across teams.

Leadership/Strategic Initiatives

Scope of Work

My work includes projects and initiatives across the following areas:

  • Lead strategic program development and operations aligned with organizational priorities. Oversee workforce planning, cross-team coordination, and resource allocation to support effective implementation and sustainability. Manage budgets and donor engagement while designing and evaluating developmentally appropriate resources, curriculum, and training grounded in best practices. Secured $267,000+ in grant funding to expand initiatives, strengthen programs, and increase measurable impact.

  • Design and implement programs, services, and systems that strengthen psychosocial care delivery. Focus includes identifying gaps, building structured solutions, and improving consistency and access across multiple settings.

  • Development of resources, approaches, and programming that support children and families before, during and following a death. Emphasis on developmentally appropriate communication, real-time application, and increasing consistency in how grief support is delivered.

  • Design practical tools and materials that support children, families, and professionals in healthcare settings. Focus on usability, clarity, and integration into real-world interactions.

  • Development of creative, interactive, and technology-driven solutions that enhance learning, engagement, and real-world application. Includes digital resources, interactive programming, and innovative approaches to delivering psychosocial support and education. Also involves designing operational tools that improve efficiency and reduce manual workload, including development of a mobile inventory tracking system to streamline supply management and automated notifications.

  • Creation of educational content for students and professionals. Includes course development, lectures, and learning experiences that integrate theory, application, and professional competencies.

Featured Projects

  • Focus Area: Childhood Bereavement Support / Resource Development / Family-Centered Care

    Identified a need to support children of adult patients in understanding a loved one’s prolonged hospitalization and heart transplant journey. Developed a developmentally appropriate book to help explain complex medical experiences, reduce fear and uncertainty, and maintain connection between a patient and children during hospitalization, that can be customized to each interaction.

    Key Contributions:

    • Translated complex medical information into developmentally appropriate language

    • Designed a personalized, child-centered narrative to support understanding and coping

    • Supported family communication during a prolonged and uncertain medical experience

    • Promoted emotional connection between patient and grandchildren during hospitalization

    Skills Demonstrated:

    • Developmental communication

    • Family-centered care

    • Therapeutic resource design

    • Psychosocial support

    • Clinical creativity

  • Focus Area: Program Development / Leadership

    Contributed to the development, growth, and advancement of child life services through leadership, program development, staff support, and strategic planning. Work included developing then strengthening services, building systems, supporting team development, and identifying practical ways to expand impact across the system.

    Key Contributions:

    • Supported development and growth of child life programming

    • Created systems and structures that improved service delivery

    • Mentored staff and students

    • Advanced interdisciplinary collaboration

    Skills Demonstrated:

    • Leadership

    • Program development

    • Systems thinking

    • Mentorship

    • Interdisciplinary collaboration

  • Focus Area: Education / Curriculum Design

    Designed and taught structured educational content: Intro to Child Life, Therapeutic Play Interventions, and Death, Dying, and Bereavement. Created engaging learning experiences that combine theory, application, and professional relevance.

    Key Contributions:

    • Developed course content and instructional materials

    • Created lectures, activities, and assessments

    • Supported student learning through applied professional content

    • Integrated developmentally informed and family-centered concepts

    Skills Demonstrated:

    • Teaching

    • Curriculum design

    • Higher education

    • Instructional planning

    • Student engagement

  • Focus Area: Innovation / Educational Resource Design

    Created interactive and creative tools to support professional learning, student engagement, and child/family programming. Projects included immersive educational formats, interactive activities, and visually engaging resources designed to improve learning and application.

    Key Contributions:

    • Designed innovative educational materials

    • Built interactive learning tools for varied audiences

    • Focused on accessibility, engagement, and practical use

    • Translated complex topics into clear, approachable formats

    Skills Demonstrated:

    • Innovation

    • Content design

    • Educational strategy

    • Audience engagement

    • Digital resource development

View Resume

  • Focus Area: Clinical Practice / Collaboration

    Provided developmentally appropriate psychosocial support across diverse environments while collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to improve children and family experiences. Emphasis included preparation, coping support, developmentally appropriate communication, and family-centered care.

    Key Contributions:

    • Supported children and families across multiple care areas and environments

    • Collaborated with interdisciplinary teams

    • Promoted developmentally appropriate care

    • Strengthened psychosocial support delivery

    Skills Demonstrated:

    • Clinical practice

    • Family-centered care

    • Interdisciplinary collaboration

    • Preparation and coping support

    • Psychosocial care

Resume

For a fuller overview of my experience, leadership, education, and project work, please view my professional resume.

Professional Focus

My work is grounded in child- and family-centered practice, practical problem solving, and the belief that strong systems, meaningful resources, and thoughtful collaboration can improve how support is delivered across settings. I am especially interested in projects that strengthen consistency, accessibility, and quality in services for children and families.