Founder • Licensed Massage Therapist • Certified Integrative Health Coach • Wellness Strategist • Educator
I have spent approximately 15 years in health and wellness and more than fifteen years working hands-on as a massage therapist. Empty Cup Wellness grew from one question I heard again and again: ‘Where do I even begin?’
My relationship with wellness began long before it became my profession. Growing up in Wisconsin, movement was part of my life through ballet, gymnastics, volleyball, basketball, swimming, track and field, and weight training. I also spent time in my family’s garden, where I learned early lessons about food, seasons, nourishment, and the connection between everyday choices and how we feel.
I also spent meaningful time growing up in Germany, where I was introduced to European approaches to daily living, eating, movement, and caring for one’s health. I experienced a culture in which walking, fresh and seasonal foods, shared meals, time outdoors, and practical wellness traditions were often woven naturally into everyday life rather than treated as separate tasks.
Moving between these different environments helped me recognize that there is no single way to live well. Our understanding of health is shaped by our families, cultures, surroundings, experiences, and the beliefs we carry forward. Those early experiences encouraged me to remain curious about different approaches instead of assuming that one method is right for everyone.
Together, these experiences taught me to respect both the discipline of the body and its ability to adapt and to see wellness not simply as a program to follow, but as a collection of conscious choices shaped by the life we are actually living.
After completing more than 900 hours of Massage Therapy and Health Wellness training at the National Holistic Institute in Sonoma County, I began helping clients with concerns ranging from chronic pain and injury recovery to stress-related tension, mobility limitations, and difficulty sleeping.
My massage work draws from Eastern and Western approaches and may include Swedish massage, deep tissue techniques, trigger point therapy, myofascial work, cupping, Shiatsu-informed techniques, and energy-based practices selected within massage-therapy scope and according to the client’s needs.
Over time, I noticed that many clients wanted more than short-term symptom relief. They wanted to understand why they felt the way they did, how different areas of their health might be connected, what they could do between appointments, and how they could remain active and independent as they aged.
Those conversations expanded my work beyond the treatment room.
As a Certified Integrative Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, with advanced training in gut health, I support clients in exploring realistic lifestyle choices related to habits, stress, general nutrition, movement, recovery, and healthy aging.
My role as a Wellness Strategist brings those experiences together. I help clients see the larger picture, organize competing concerns, identify priorities, prepare questions, and connect with appropriate services or professionals.
I do not diagnose medical conditions or replace the expertise of physicians, registered dietitians, physical therapists, mental-health professionals, or other licensed providers. My role is to help clients become clearer, more prepared, and more confident participants in their wellness decisions.
The name Empty Cup reflects both my professional experience and my personal understanding of health.
I know what it is like to feel that something is wrong and still struggle to be heard. I also know how overwhelming it can be to receive information from multiple directions and be left to determine what matters most.
Empty Cup Wellness was created for the moment before another recommendation is added. The moment when we pause, listen, question what we have been carrying, and decide what belongs next.
I do not believe people need to be fixed. I believe they deserve to be heard, informed, supported, and treated as active participants in their own lives.
Lasting change does not begin with perfection. It begins with awareness and choice.
I will not ask you to change everything at once. I will help you understand what may no longer be working, identify what matters now, and choose practical next steps that fit your body, priorities, resources, and life.
Through Empty Cup Wellness and the Empty Cup Wellness Center, I am building a more connected way to experience wellness. One that can include therapeutic massage, movement and mobility, coaching, education, community, restorative services, and referrals to other qualified professionals when appropriate.
The Empty Cup Method™ provides the common language: pause, listen, empty, choose, practice, and rise.
If you are ready to understand what you need now, I would be honored to begin that conversation with you.