Key Projects & Highlights: Crafting Systems for Impact

Driving Transformation Through Strategic Systems

1. Cultivating Resilient Leadership in Addiction Treatment

• Impact: Cultivated robust leadership skills among behavioral health professionals across IA, KS, MO, and NE through a comprehensive 12-month program. I designed immersive learning experiences and fostered a lasting community of practice, graduating multiple cohorts.

2. Increasing Accessibility of Implementation Science

• Impact: Demystified complex implementation science for frontline practitioners. I co-led the development of a user-friendly toolkit, providing practical resources and empowering non-specialists to integrate evidence-based practices, accelerating adoption.

3. Convening for Collective Action in Opioid Response

• Impact: I orchestrated high-impact regional summits, these convened diverse stakeholders to accelerate the dissemination of effective opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies. I managed all aspects of event planning and execution for multiple successful convenings across Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa.

4. Transforming Program Operations for Human-Centered Impact

• Challenge: Operational chaos and staff burnout threatened a beloved summer camp's mission. Passion wasn't enough; the "magic" needed a solid, human-centered operational structure.

• Solution: As Camp Director, I completely redesigned the camp's operating model, embedding clarity, care, and sustainability through clear roles, trauma-informed protocols, and streamlined programming.

• Outcome: Achieved a dramatic reduction in staff burnout, enhanced camper emotional safety, and transformed team culture into an energized, present, and sustainable environment.

• Key Takeaway: This project underscores my ability to create systems that protect both people and purpose, ensuring mission-driven work truly works.

5. Building Culture Through Facilitator Training

• Challenge: A vital peer support program needed facilitators who could do more than just follow a script; they needed to create spaces of profound emotional safety, trust, and belonging.

• Solution: I designed and facilitated a trauma-informed training program that went beyond basic logistics, focusing on how to cultivate culture from the very first moment through intentional belonging, rituals, and reading the room.

• Outcome: Empowered facilitators with a holistic framework for leading with care, embedded intentional rituals in group culture, and created a replicable onboarding structure.

• Key Takeaway: This exemplifies my approach: I build systems that don't just function, they hold people well. Operations and organizational culture are inextricably linked; I help mission-driven teams create operational frameworks that foster genuine trust, clarity, and collaboration.

6. Streamlining Access to Care: One System, Clearer Path

• Challenge: At a grief support agency, fragmented intake systems led to staff confusion, client overwhelm, and vulnerable individuals falling through the cracks, resulting in repeated questions and wasted time.

• Solution: I designed and implemented a unified intake system, revolutionizing access to care. This included creating one universal form, a single entry point, and a smart assignment system.

• Outcome: Achieved faster client referrals, clarified staff processes, enhanced the client experience, and aligned teams with a shared, effective playbook.

• Key Takeaway: This wasn't just an operations fix; it was a trauma-informed shift toward dignity, clarity, and equitable access to care, demonstrating how well-designed systems are the backbone of human-centered service delivery.

7. Cultivating Responsive Teams: Feedback as Fuel

• Approach: At Innerwork Strategies, real-time feedback is fundamental. In a previous role, I managed 8 concurrent peer support groups with 16 facilitators, delivering over 250 groups annually. My key to success was structured, honest debriefs after every cycle.

• Impact: I fostered an environment where every voice mattered, asking for input and explicitly asking what I could do better, setting a tone of mutual accountability. This built deep trust, enabled continuous improvement, and cultivated a responsive team where facilitators grew as leaders and became architects of change.

• Key Takeaway: This is the bedrock of my client approach: creating space for honesty, designing for voice, and fostering a culture where accountability is seen as a driver of growth. When feedback is treated as fuel, your team doesn't just endure change—they become the architects of it.

8. Mastering Complex Program Operations: From Vision to Scalable Reality

• Challenge: Managing a sophisticated leadership development program meant a constant juggle of event logistics, budgeting, compliance, and quality improvement, which could easily become overwhelming without streamlined systems.

• Solution: I took end-to-end ownership of the leadership program's planning and delivery, creating a seamless experience. My key actions included revamping consultant contracting, developing precise budget tracking systems, and launching a proactive quality improvement framework.

• Outcome: Ensured operational smoothness, instilled robust fiscal discipline, and positioned the program for continuous, data-driven growth and future external visibility.

• Key Takeaway: This project highlights my unwavering strength in navigating complex operational challenges. I build systems that don't just function; they anticipate future needs, demonstrating strategic precision and a proactive mindset to transform ambitious visions into enduring realities.

Certifications, Scholarships, & Specialized Training

• TIARA Certificate - Training in Implementation: Actionable Research Approaches (2024) – Focuses on implementation science and quality improvement for rapid adoption of evidence-based practices in healthcare.

• Harm Reduction Specialist (HRS) Training (2023)

• International Summer Institute by Dougy Center: The National Grief Center for Children & Families (2022)

• Behavioral Health Scholar, University of Kansas (2017)