Welcome To The Rabbit Hole!

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Everyone who knows me knows that I love a good “rabbit hole”.

Seriously… don’t tempt me!

Dangle a good topic to think way too deeply about, like a carrot in front of me, and I’m all in! I’m jumping headfirst into the deepest part — overthinking it with a whole lot of nerdy twists and turns as I dive!

Welcome to my latest adventure — a virtual rabbit hole where we can share fun deep dives and delightful rambles about the world around us. Ready to get lost in curiosity? Let’s explore together!

Welcome, new friends!

Good to see you, old friends!

Since this is my first rambling, here’s the obligatory “about me” post. The only problem is that I actually despise writing about myself. I can talk forever about a minuscule topic, but ask me about myself (or better yet - ask for a headshot - gasp!) and I’m out. This post could easily kill this entire journey of rabbit hole-ing… so I decided to make it fun.

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and — SNAP — the job’s a game!” - Mary Poppins

Here are 5 random things to know about me - in as few words as possible (ha!):

1. My academic background is in clinical-community psychology with an emphasis on quantitative psychology.

Here are the details behind the wacky credentials:

• BA - Fairfield University, CT. Psychology with minors in Sociology/Anthropology and Spanish.

• MA - Columbia University, NY. Psychology in Education.

• MA - University of South Carolina, SC. Clinical-Community Psychology.

• MAS - University of South Carolina, SC. Applied Statistics.

• PhD - University of South Carolina, SC. Clinical-Community Psychology with emphasis on Quantitative Methods.

I come from a rich academic lineage, shaped by some of the most notable minds and impactful academics in psychology and health sciences. I present the random error to their beta (← nerd joke). I am forever grateful for the knowledge, skills, and mentorship I received through the years. I truly do stand on the shoulders of giants.

2. My career started in the area of serious and violent offending.

I worked in places where bulletproof vests were in style, gunfights broke out regularly — and small, blonde, white girls in pink stilettos just didn’t belong.

But this was some of the most valuable work of my life. I learned countless lessons that shaped who I am in the process.

Perhaps the most important lesson I learned is that people are not inherently bad. People do bad things, indeed. This is not disputed—nor is accountability for actions.

Yet, when you strip away the behavior and begin to *truly listen* to what’s inside the criminal heart - well, then, you begin to see things a bit differently.

Sitting in a jail cell, listening to someone that society labels as beyond redemption, you begin to see them as they are: a person shaped by a painful world.

The stories I’ve heard… The crises I’ve disbanded… The things I’ve witnessed… (Exhale).

The truth is, we’re all just human—struggling to navigate a world where suffering is handed out like candy, and love and acceptance are guarded like rare gems, only to be given to the select few.

People aren’t inherently bad.
Environments *are* bad.

I’ve learned that when you sit with people nonjudgmentally, you develop a level of compassion that most people will never understand.

I am fortunate enough to be invited into the private lives of grieving mothers, violent gang members, and murderers—many of whom never told their story to anyone but me.

I’ve hugged babies beaten so badly they needed to be airlifted, supported mothers through active psychotic breaks and that moment when they realized they would never see their children again. I’ve worked through stabbings, shootings, and child homicides, and I’ve sat with children so broken that they voluntarily stopped speaking — except to me.

I carry these people with me.
I carry the children with me.
I carry their suffering.

Because I often think:

• What would their lives have been like if we had protected them better as children?

• What if society didn’t just look away from egregious acts?

• What if we protected children’s innocence?

• What if we gave them safer, more loving homes, schools and communities?

• What if we supported their physical needs and gave them real healthcare and real food?

• What if we gave them a world where they were protected - mentally, physically, and spiritually?

…which leads me to the second lesson of this work:

There is so much we still don’t understand about how to truly help others.

My work started with an interest in treatment of serious and violent offenders. I quickly realized that the research on this population—and how to help them—was nowhere near sophisticated enough to make a meaningful impact for the lives of the youth. This led me to a journey of improving the research to better reflect what I saw on the streets and in the jails. I dove deep into the rabbit hole of applied statistics, developing and testing novel statistical models that better reflect reality (e.g., example). I loved this work. I’m a methodologist and statistician at heart.

Cycles repeat themselves though - and I got tired of developing work that sat in academic journals with no real-world application. Just as we need science that reflects reality, we need reality to benefit from science.

The ivory tower was nice, but I’d rather be playing ‘tag’ in the yard.

This is when I developed a deep passion for bridging the gap between research and practice. After all, what is the purpose of research that sits in journals with no societal impact?

This is where my career currently lives. One foot in research. One foot in practice. Bringing the two together through academic nerdiness, evaluation, and data.

I specialize in implementation science, healthcare improvement, and large-scale system-level and policy change. As a co-developer of leading frameworks for bridging the gap between research and practice, I regularly consult with governments and organizations worldwide to disseminate and scale evidence-based practices across cultures, support capacity building, and implement innovations at the organizational and community levels that enhance both population and individual health.

I never really understood how all these disparate skills would ever fit together, to be honest. Then, the pandemic happened. As it turns out — my odd skill set of being a critical interrogator of quality science and translating the findings to change societal systems is precisely what is needed now. (Oh, how we were born for a time like this!)

3. I’m the proud mom of three boys and two dogs & the wife of a chiropractor.

Boys are fun.
Rescued is the best breed.
Get adjusted.

My family lives a 100% pharmaceutical-free lifestyle—my kiddos never had as much as an OTC painkiller! I have an international bestselling book on the microbiome, and we take lifestyle medicine very seriously.

Our food is food—nothing processed. Our water is filtered, without fluoride. Our personal care products are nontoxic. We play in dirt and with pet farm animals. We protect against 5G. We don’t vaccinate. We drink raw milk and know our farmer—because true medicine is found in nature, not created in a lab!

We live life as God intended.
(and it’s wonderful!)

4. I’m vaccine injured. Twice.

I was vaccine-injured by TDAP as an infant. I turned purple and started convulsing on the table. There was no doubt. There was no “but correlation doesn’t equal causation”. There was just obvious injury.

(I was also later injured by the thimerosal-free version of the flu shot—but that’s another story for another day!)

Fortunately, I healed.

There is absolutely no explanation as to why I survived and thrived, while countless other children suffer.

For some reason, God gave saved me.
He gave me a voice.

The same poisons that took so many others’ voices (and lives) away, left mine intact. I was somehow spared lifelong suffering.

This is why I speak out:
→My voice is my strongest weapon.

I promise every child robbed of their chance to thrive that I will fight relentlessly to expose the injustices that hurt them—and prevent it from happening again.

5. It’s fun to have fun.

I work really hard — like, really hard — but in general, I don’t take life so seriously. You’ll see it in my Substack (please subscribe!) and my overall outlook on life.

Life is meant to be enjoyed.

Work hard.
Play hard.
(and when you can do both at the same time - rock on!)

Too often, people focus on the negative and engage in an individualistic race to the top. In doing so, we lose sight of what truly matters: joy, contentment — and each other!

I choose to live life fully.

I wear pink and sparkles, whenever I can.
(Never dim your glitter)

I love my friends— deeply.
(Hold tight to a select few).

I freely express love without hesitation.
(It may even creep you out!)

I can’t keep a compliment to myself.
(Even when I try!)

I express gratitude and admiration to those around me.
(Always give credit where credit is due!).

I *may* make people uncomfortable in the process... but I don’t see what’s wrong with expressing love a little bit more.

Laugh freely.
Laugh fully.
Laugh often.

Be cynical — but always keep hope and work toward the sunny side of life. (Our children are watching)

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Welp, I suppose #6 should be that I’m never that short on words :)

Hence, the interest in rabbit holes, I suppose. There's rarely a rabbit hole I won't jump into—and even more rare I won't have lots of say on the subject...

Rabbit Hole Ramblings is a Substack where I can share my wandering mind and observations of the world, particularly as they relate to health freedom and societal change. It is intended to be a bit personal and colloquial - because personal-isms create connections, and connections build friendships. (And friendship creates a better world.)

For more about me and some of the approaches to collaboration and movement capacity-building, check out my previous Substack, Inspired Reflections.

Welcome to the rabbit hole.
Wanna go on an adventure?