About

The Author

I am a human (woman) of many interests and passions who sometimes refuses to choose— either a path (career) or a way of being (life). I consider myself, a renaissance woman, a scanner, or a multipotentialite, depending on who is doing the describing.

My latest book The Belonging Paradox was born out of the lived experience of feeling like a fish out of water in the various life spaces I have occupied, as a professional, para-professional, peer, or parent. I couldn't find anything that spoke to the uncomfortable paradox of belonging and non-belonging, so I wrote about it.

I always knew I would have some sort of career in academic research. Consequently, I went to graduate school for my PhD (Temple University) after training and licensing as a pharmacist. This, after a three-year detour to go work in management consulting after pharmacy school because 1) The pay was good and 2) I wanted to know what it was to do something different other than what you were trained to do. Some people called me lucky, others called me weird (that's a common theme in my life journey).

In graduate school, I got deeply interested in the science of pharmacogenomics and genetics because I had found something that could explain from the inside (our DNA) why we tended to be so different from the next person on the outside (our personalities). Again I went, now with a young family in tow, to Nashville, Tennessee, for post-doctoral studies and research in genomics at Vanderbilt University. All through this, I had no intention of being an R1 or R2 researcher, I simply wanted to teach and do research as it came along. So, I applied and got a job as an Assistant Professor in a private university in New Jersey.

While in Jersey, after having worked as a pharmacist in various health systems, I wanted to learn more about human behavior in organizations based again on my experiences. I returned to graduate school and got a Masters in Organizational Psychology, with emphasis on leadership development and coaching. I am a certified professional in talent development (CPTD) and a certified facilitator and trainer in Cultural Intelligence (CQ-CF).

In addition to academic research and writing, I cherish my world of non-academic writing. I love all things to do with words (I used to read the Oxford English Language Dictionary for fun as a kid). I don't just love words for myself, I love helping people win with words in their various professional endeavors. I do this professionally and with honed expertise as a member of the American Editors Society (ACES), and a holder of the industry-acclaimed Poynter ACES Advanced Certificate in Editing.

I am an avid Bibliophile (I read and hoard too many books for my own good), I sew, I cook (a lot and well too). I run/ran a cooking channel on YouTube where I produced and taught lessons on how to cook foods from various parts of the world. I am also the co-author of a book on marriage, and host of a marriage and relationship channel on YouTube. I write a career newsletter on LinkedIn and I am the co-founder of the Intentional Leader Project, a leadership development academy for under-mentored early career pharmacists.

I ran five half marathons in a five-year period until I got derailed by a running injury. I have no regrets here, I would only like to do it again as soon as I can.

I am interested in and committed to the good life and to the idea of tapping into our interests and desires to do good and impactful work in any life space. I believe all humans are agentic beings (in the psychological sense) who can take decisions on their own behalf and live the life they choose within the responsibilities that life requires of us.

Speaking of life responsibilities; I am a mom/nurturer/parent of two amazing male humans (because every parent thinks their child is awesome, right?), a spouse, daughter, sister, aunty (the y is important), godparent, friend, colleague, and proud citizen.

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