Hello, I'm Stacie. I have both master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology (from Pepperdine University) and have worked as a counselor with youth and young adults to help them explore, grow, earn, create, overcome, hope, and dream since 2003 (e.g., Duke University’s student counseling center, Long Beach Job Corps, and an inpatient adolescent psychiatric ward in Los Angeles). My doctoral dissertation was on the role of hope in therapy, and my enthusiasm for strengths-based approaches and prevention as well as working with adolescent girls led me to pursue a career in life coaching. As a Stressed Teens-certified instructor of mindfulness-based stress reduction for teens (MBSR-T, empirically supported approach originally developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn at UMass Medical Center), I have led MBSR-T workshops in middle school, high school, and community center settings in Orange County. I have also presented to parents and teens on topics related to mindfulness, stress management, self-esteem, and identity.

I am an associate of the International Positive Psychology Association. I have also been involved in Girls Incorporated of Orange County since 2015 as a volunteer, career panelist/motivational speaker, keynote speaker for the Eureka summer camp for girls, and student mentor. I also teach Pilates, have been an academic and scientific editor/proofreader since 2009 (with Scribendi, an international editing company), and published a fiction novel (The Masks We Wear). See my website for more information: www.awareandthriving.com.

In my career I am an editor/writer, life coach, mindfulness & pilates instructor. Personally, I've built my life around my passion for being balanced, multifaceted, and making it hard to answer the question at parties, "What do you do for work?" in one word, I truly love helping others to develop balance, create unique, ideal, inspiring, and ever-changing and expanding lives in which they are constantly growing and gaining new experiences that allow them to feel connected, to flourish, and to thrive.