The Human Behind Tending & Co.
We were all born to die, yet there is a profound art to living, aging, changing, grieving, and dying that our modern world has largely forgotten.
For more than twenty years, I have worked as a registered nurse, spending much of that time alongside people navigating illness, caregiving, loss, and the end of life. I have witnessed extraordinary tenderness in those spaces. I have also seen how easily we can become disconnected from ourselves when life changes—how quickly a diagnosis can become an identity, how uncomfortable we are with grief, and how often we hand our knowing over to systems and experts when we feel uncertain or afraid.
Over time, I became interested in something larger than helping people navigate healthcare.
I became curious about how we navigate being human.
How do we remain present to our lives knowing they are finite? How do we tend grief rather than rush to resolve it? How do we honor change, aging, memory, creativity, connection, and the many thresholds we cross throughout a lifetime?
Those questions became the beginning of Tending & Co.
A Different Kind of Space
Tending & Co. is an evolving collection of gatherings, conversations, creative experiences, books, resources, and community offerings centered around the experiences that shape and change us.
Some of that work is about death and dying. Some is about grief. Some is about caregiving, aging, identity, belonging, creativity, or finding our way through a transition we didn't necessarily choose.
And some of it is simply about making room to notice our lives while we are living them.
My role within Tending & Co. isn't to provide answers to all of those questions. I'm much more interested in creating places where we can explore them—through conversation, education, creativity, reflection, nature, and community.
An Invitation
You don't need to be dying or grieving a death to belong here.
Tending & Co. welcomes people across backgrounds, beliefs, identities, and ways of understanding the world. You don't need particular spiritual beliefs, and you don't need to arrive with the right words or even know exactly what you're looking for.
Curiosity is enough.
This is a place for conversation, creativity, reflection, connection, and tending the complicated, beautiful, sometimes uncomfortable experience of being human.
What I Bring with Me
My years in nursing remain an important part of who I am and how I approach this work. So do my experiences and training in end-of-life care, grief education, somatic practices, and energy work.
But Tending & Co. is not defined by a list of credentials.
It has grown from decades of sitting with people during vulnerable moments, my own experiences of grief and transition, an enduring curiosity about mortality, and a belief that some parts of being human are better tended together than managed alone.
I serve as a trusted extension of care for referring professionals in Culpeper, Fredericksburg, and Charlottesville, working alongside doctors, hospice teams, and therapists to ensure patients are emotionally regulated and families communicate effectively.
20+ Years as a Clinical Registered Nurse
Certified End-of-Life Doula & Midwife
Certified Somatic Coach
Reiki Master Practitioner
Certified Grief Educator
My Commitment To You.
My practice is built on a foundation of absolute inclusivity and respect.
I welcome and honor individuals of all backgrounds, beliefs, and identities, especially those who do not feel comfortable in traditional or highly religious institutional settings.