I didn't set out to specialize in Third Culture Kids and expat families. I set out to be a therapist. But life has a way of making your education for you whether you plan it or not. When my husband's career took us overseas, I became genuinely curious about something I was living firsthand: what does it do to a child to grow up between cultures? What happens to a person's sense of identity when they don't belong fully anywhere? I watched my own son navigate that in real time, across six countries and nearly two decades. I volunteered, I observed, I connected with families carrying the same questions I was. One of the most disorienting questions you can ask a Third Culture Kid is the simplest one: where are you from? For most people it's small talk. For a child raised between worlds it can feel like an impossible test with no right answer. My son lived that confusion. I watched it shape him. And it taught me something I carry into my work every single day, that the need to belong, and the pain of feeling like you don't, is universal. You don't have to grow up between countries to feel like you don't fit. You just have to be a kid who doesn't match the mold someone else decided you should fill. I see those children in my office every week; kids who are grieving, struggling, or simply trying to figure out who they are in a world that keeps telling them who they should be. My years abroad gave me the eyes to see them clearly and the instinct to sit with them without trying to fix what was never broken in the first place. Curiosity about one specific experience quietly became a calling for something much bigger.

Navigating the VA disability claims process was harder than rappelling down a wall or finishing a 17-mile ruck march in the Army. At least in the military, you were given training to know the mission, the chain of command, and how to obtain success. With the VA, it often feels like you are dropped into the middle of chaos with no map, no briefing, and no backup. Initially, I just wanted to know why I kept getting denied while only a very small number of people around me seemed to get approved. But the more I looked into it, the more I realized I was not alone. Veterans all around me were getting denied, underrated, or simply giving up because the process was too confusing, too frustrating, and too overwhelming. What angered me most was realizing that many veterans were not losing because they did not deserve benefits. They were losing because they did not know how to tell their story, connect the evidence, or fight through a system that seemed designed to wear them down until they gave up. What started as frustration turned into obstinance. Obstinance turned into research. Research turned into helping other veterans. One conversation turned into ten. Ten turned into late-night phone calls, stacks of records, regulations, and strategy. Before I knew it, I had turned my frustration into a mission. That mission became Boots 2 Benefits, my consulting firm dedicated to helping veterans navigate unfamiliar waters, receive the benefits they earned, and avoid paying for the same mistakes twice. I learned the VA disability battlefield so they do not have to learn it the hard way. I wrote an easy-to-follow book, Boots 2 Benefits: Operation FUBAR, created a free workbook to help veterans work through Operation FUBAR, and built dozens of free resources and helpful materials on my website. No Veteran Left Behind; not on my watch.

I did not become successful because life was always easy!! I became that woman because I stayed resilient through every season. I learned how to rise after setbacks, stay focused during uncertainty, and keep moving forward when things did not go as planned. Every challenge strengthened me, every lesson refined me, and every step shaped me into a stronger, wiser, and better version of myself.