I started my career via the misfortune of requiring after school tutoring for algebra. My algebra tutor was an alumnus of Berea College, one of the only tuition free colleges in the United States with a mission to provide education for those who otherwise don’t have the means to attend college like myself. My tutor’s mention of Berea provided a way. So maybe tutoring wasn’t such a misfortune after all (although I did have to make two attempts at college algebra). After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, I inexplicably signed up for more punishment education by pursuing a Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Kentucky.
As a newly minted graduate in 2014, I joined the staff of WellStar Health System, one of the largest health care systems in the state of Georgia, to develop the psychosocial services for both their Cancer and Women’s Health service lines. In 2020, I transitioned to the Medical Staff at Yale New Haven Hospital as an Assistant Professor within the Yale University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry to assist in the development of a collaborative care psycho-oncology program at Smilow Cancer Hospital during the Covid 19 pandemic.
Most recently, I’ve continued my adventures by relocating to Ireland in 2023 to join the staff at University Hospital Waterford in Waterford, Ireland to serve as program lead for the development of a multidisciplinary team in psycho-oncology.
I’m lucky to be involved in a number of national and international leadership roles and projects, including serving as an Executive Committee member for the Irish Psychosocial Oncology Network, Deputy Chair for the Survivorship Special Interest Group for the International Psychosocial Oncology Society, and as an expert consultant for the EU-wide CCI4EU project, coordinated by the Organisation for European Cancer Institutes.
I’m the proud author of the book Navigating Cancer: Research Supported Tools to Help You Cope with the Emotional and Physical Impact of Cancer. I’m an absolute nerd for all things cancer psychology and will talk about this at length to anyone willing to listen (and maybe even those not so willing).
I live in Wexford County, Ireland with my husband and spend my free time devouring books and pastries and finding new places to explore.