Education

I received my B.A. in French from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987.

I graduated from a 720-hour massage therapy program at the National Holistic Institute in 1997.

I received my Visionary Cranio-Sacral Therapist diploma in 2012 from the Milne Institute, after five years of study.

I completed the Hakomi Institute of California's two-year Comprehensive Training program in 2018 and became a Certified Hakomi Practioner in 2020. (See my C.V. here.)

Professional highlights

My first ten years of professional experience were earned in the financial services, sales, and administration sectors. Highlights include using my multilingual skills at a prominent international bank, and working for an early tech start-up.

I began practicing massage full-time in 1998, and in 1999 opened a private massage practice in Berkeley, CA. In  2001 I relocated to Princeton, NJ where I taught Anatomy and Physiology for three years at Health Choices massage school. I reopened my private massage practice in 2004, and in 2005 moved back to the Bay Area where I  maintained a private practice ever since. I later began working at Wilbur Hot Springs as a massage therapist in 2012.

In 2015, I retired from massage therapy to become a full-time cranio-sacral therapist. In 2020, I became a Certified Hakomi Practioner, with post-graduarte training in Trauma. I have been a Teacher's Assistant with  ISITTA (a somatic-based trauma training) for the past 5 years.

I was born in Brazil to American Presbyterian missionary parents, who served there for 25 years. I returned to the U.S. in 1974 where I have lived ever since, except for a year in France during college. Besides fluency in Portuguese, English and French, I enjoy the opportunity to humbly practice my Spanish.

I love travel, discovering wild places, listening to music, creating good food in the kitchen, swimming, hiking; reading and writing poetry;  I also love soaking up stillness -  either on a meditation cushion, in nature,  or better yet  - submerged in a hot spring!

Personal highlights