About Me

In the spirit of creating a space for openness, here are some pieces of my own life story.

Early Life

At just a few months old, I was adopted from Bogotá, Colombia and moved to a predominately white suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio with my parents and older sister (who is also adopted from Colombia). Growing up as a POC with white parents, in the Midwest, questions about my ethnicity were common and often confusing. I grew up mostly thinking I was white and felt completely disconnected from my Colombian background. Growing up in competitive gymnastics, mental health struggles like anxiety and eating disorders were brought to my attention at a young age. I went to a large public high school and graduated in 2010.

Higher Education

I transitioned to a large state college, University of Louisville, and decided to major in Psychology. I took a gap year to work on a psychiatric unit at a Children’s Hospital and in a research lab at UofL. During this year, I realized that I wanted to be a clinical psychologist.

In 2015, I returned to Cincinnati to pursue a PsyD at Xavier University and I focused my training on eating disorders. During graduate school, I was contacted by my birth mom through Facebook. This led to lots of mixed emotions and opened up a desire to learn more about where I was from and reconnect with my roots. My family supported me and we all took a trip to Colombia to meet my birth family. This was a life-changing experience for me.

In my fourth year of graduate school, I experienced a series of difficult life events and went through a major depressive episode. With the help of therapy and medication I was able to remain engaged academically and successfully matched for internship in California. This experience gave me a new perspective on how therapy can support young people during life’s most difficult moments and transitions.

Adult Life

I completed my pre and post-doctoral internships working with college students in the counseling center at University of California, Davis. During my time at UC Davis, I was the Eating Disorder Intern and worked on a multidisciplinary team with MDs, psychiatrists, and dietitians. When COVID happened, my work with students went fully remote and I became well trained in Telehealth best practices.

After earning my doctorate degree, I moved to Oakland and began working in a small group practice in SF and Marin. I worked full time with the group for almost 3 years. During this time, I was able to take an 8 week trip to Bogotá on my own. I spent time with my birth family, improved my Spanish, and dove into the city I am from. After my time in Oakland, I made the move to Los Angeles to be with my partner who works at UCLA.

In June of 2024, my private practice officially opened!