Our Story
For much of my life, I was driven by achievement — in sports, academics, raising my daughters, and building businesses from the ground up. After beginning my career as a CPA with one of the Big Eight firms, I founded St. Helena Olive Oil Co., followed by Napa Valley Bath Co. Both brands became nationally recognized, with retail locations, a production facility in Napa Valley, and features in Food Network, Vogue and other lifestyle magazines. I was accustomed to building, leading, and moving forward with clarity.
In 2015, a car accident resulted in a mild traumatic brain injury. The symptoms that followed altered my cognitive capacity, sensory tolerance, and sense of identity. Recovery did not unfold in the timeframe I was initially told to expect. Instead, it required a complete recalibration of how I understood resilience, healing, and the nervous system.
Early in my recovery, Dr. Olcese, a neuropsychologist, introduced me to the brain–body connection and the importance of nervous system regulation. That framework reshaped everything. Healing was not simply cognitive. It required physiological stabilization, emotional integration, and capacity-building over time.
My path included functional neurology, vision therapy, somatic work, plant and energy medicine, yoga training, and ultimately, a deeper study of Somatic Experiencing®. Each layer contributed to rebuilding regulation and restoring functional capacity.
Meeting Roxy, a warmblood mare in the Eastern Sierras, marked another turning point. In her nervous system patterns — activation, bracing, vigilance — I recognized the same survival physiology I had been navigating. Working with her clarified something essential: dysregulation is not pathology; it is adaptation. And with the right conditions, systems reorganize.
Congruence Tucson emerged from that understanding.
What began as personal recovery evolved into a sanctuary rooted in nervous system literacy, relational awareness, and integrative care. Today, Congruence bridges clinical insight and lived experience — supporting individuals navigating life after brain injury through Somatic Experiencing®, regulation-focused practice, and collaboration with trusted care teams.
My journey has taught me that resilience is not returning to who I was, but rather developing the capacity to regulate, adapt, and integrate — emerging into a more fully embodied version of myself.
Learnings that inform my path today —
Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP)
SE Professional Training Program developed by Peter Levine | 2023-2026
Polyvagal Informed - Deb Dana
Deb Dana's Foundations of Polyvagal Informed Practice Training | September 2023 - March 2024
Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy and Learning
H.E.A.L. - The HEAL Model™ Bronze Level Certification - 2025 | Director - Leigh Shambo MSW, LPCC
Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher
Meditation Mindfulness Teacher Program - T. Brach and J. Kornfield | 2021 - 2023
Certified Yoga Instructor
Corepower Santa Barbara | 2018
Reiki Master - Sacred Flame Attunement
The Wisdom School, Kali- Ki Reiki | 2014-2015
Animal Mindfulness - Trust Technique
Trust Technique with James French, GYOE level only | 2018 - 2023
Animal End of Life Doula
University of Vermont | Certified June 2022
Shamanic Studies
M. Harner’s Foundation for Shamanic Studies | 2016 - present | Trained in various FSS practices such as shamanic journeying, working with spirit allies, power animals, nature spirits, divination, and psychopomp work.
Plant Medicine
Aromatherapy, Jeannie Rose | 2011-2013 Flower Essence Practitioner, Floracopeia | 2017
