Why did I decide to become a Family Relationship Coach? In my years of experience as a teacher, preschool owner, and parent I’ve gained priceless wisdom observing families. And during that time, my focus has always been to serve my community. But how I served shifted over time through my personal and professional experiences.
Where and how it started
When I graduated from college in 1998, I believed I would make the greatest impact by serving students who were coming from homes in crisis. My first teaching job was a combination first and second grade classroom in a rough area outside of Chicago. There was a homeless shelter for battered women across the street, so my classroom community was always in flux. There were shootings outside of the school regularly due to gang violence. I taught a student who stole money from my purse and witnessed his mother be set on fire and thrown out of a two-story window. These students needed love and stability. I wanted to give them the support they needed to feel secure while they were with me during the day. And if I could provide security, I could also teach and get them back to grade level where they deserved to be. It was such rewarding work, and I remember those students to this day. What a gift it was to serve in this capacity.
Traveling and teaching teachers to impact more students
After a few years of teaching I became restless seeing so many classrooms filled with students led by teachers who did not serve with the same amount of belief, conviction, and compassion. Students were being left behind. It became clear how broken our system was. At this point, I decided to become an educational consultant. I determined that if I could teach groups of teachers how to be effective, I could serve and positively impact more students. I spent the better part of 5 years traveling all throughout the state of Texas as an educational consultant and the work was rewarding. Still though, I felt the brokenness of the system and felt a disenchantment with my work overtime.
Having children and reevaluating
In 2005, and again in 2007, my own children arrived. I wanted to ensure that I could spend as much time with them as possible. I also needed to be sure I was able to financially support my family. It made no sense to teach and spend nearly my entire salary on childcare. I wanted my children to be bilingual as they are half Mexican, so in 2009 I opened Aprende con Amigos, a Spanish immersion preschool in Portland, Oregon. What a gift to serve my community and provide the needed service of childcare with the gift of bilingualism. My background in education allowed me to develop a philosophy and methodology that provided a learning environment where children thrive not only in their learning, but through social and emotional growth. I opened a second location in 2016 as a single parent to further support my family. I am profoundly grateful for serving my community. It was through this experience, however, that I realized if I wanted to make a difference in the community, my focus would have to move from the child to the parent.
Helping families return to the best version of themselves
For over ten years, I greeted families at the front door each morning. That is where I cultivated my superpower. I could “read” each family as they walked in. I could feel their stress, I could see what they were missing, and I could sense their pain. It was at the preschool that I realized, if we support students all day long, they still go home to their family. And if that family is not operating in a healthy manner, these generational cycles of dysfunction will continue. At this point, it became my desire to help families return to the very best version of themselves.
Ending the cycles
Although I’d been coaching and supporting families for years, in 2021 I formally began my parent coaching program. It is my belief that we are all whole, not broken. It is my goal to help you identify your strengths, dreams, and desires to help you co-create the life you need and deserve in order to thrive. When you return to your best self, you will better serve your child/children and your partner. In this way, we end the cycle of lack, the cycle of unhappiness, the cycle of dissatisfaction. And as an interconnected family unit, each member can help to sustain one another as they thrive on their own.
I am ready and honored to take that journey with you. Contact me to get started.
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