About the Provider

Growing Up Military Strong

As the oldest of three and the daughter of two U.S. Marines, I grew up as a military child. We didn’t move around quite as much as some families, but the experience opened my eyes to a world bigger than what was right in front of me. I graduated from Camp Lejeune High School, an experience that not only shaped my academic foundation but also gave me a deep appreciation for the resilience and strength of military families.

“Do or Die” at I-40: How Nursing Found Me

I’ll never forget the summer of my freshman year of college, driving with my mom to orientation. When she asked what I wanted to study, I casually said, “I don’t know, I’ll just figure it out.” That car ride quickly turned into a “come to Jesus” moment on the side of I-40 when she pulled over, put the car in park, and unbuckled her seatbelt. She turned to me and made it clear that we don’t just “see what we fall into.”

With all seriousness, she told me, “If you want to just go see what you’re going to fall into, you can go to community college. I’m not going to waste money for you to ‘figure it out.’” That wasn’t a put-down of community college — I have great respect for it. But I also knew, deep down, that it wasn’t for me and wasn’t the direction I wanted to take.

At orientation, different groups formed based on interests. Someone mentioned math and science — and since I liked both, I followed that group. They began talking about the nursing program, and something about it felt right. By the end, I went back to my mom and said, “I’m going to go into nursing.”

From the Operating Room to the World

Before graduating from UNC Greensboro with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2007, I worked as a nurse tech on a cardiac progressive care unit, gaining hands-on experience with patients and sharpening my clinical skills.

After graduation, I began working in the operating room as a nurse, both scrubbing and circulating cases ranging from neurosurgery to general surgery — work that demanded adaptability, precision, and teamwork.

When the 2010 Haiti earthquake struck, my heart pulled me toward broader service. Volunteering with the University of Miami’s Project Medishare in Haiti — and later with Doctors Without Borders in Nigeria — gave me a front-row seat to both the joy and heartbreak of healthcare in underserved areas.

My time in Nigeria was both rewarding and sobering. I worked in an emergency obstetrics camp, often serving nomadic patients, while living just 15–20 minutes away from violent Boko Haram bombings and kidnappings. It tested my courage and my faith, but it also deepened my compassion and commitment to serve.

There were also profound joys. I visited Elmina and Cape Coast slave castles in Ghana and walked Kakum’s rainforest treetops. Stepping into the Atlantic, I felt the weight of history. Having grown up on the east coast of North Carolina, it was deeply moving to place my feet in the same waters where my ancestors had once been taken into bondage.

Life as a Nurse, Wife, and Mother

Back in the U.S., I became a travel nurse, working across Wisconsin, Maine, and Maryland. I like to joke that I could scrub and circulate just about any case — except eyes and ENT, which I steered clear of out of personal preference!

In Baltimore, I met my husband Michael, and soon after we welcomed our growing family — Christina, Aria, Judah, and Nala. With each child came joy, challenges, and sometimes unexpected turns, including struggles with postpartum depression. Those seasons of darkness were some of the hardest of my life, but they gave me a profound empathy for patients navigating mental health issues of their own. My experiences remind me daily that healing is not just physical — it is emotional, mental, and spiritual as well. And healing is rarely a straight path. It often takes twists and turns, with progress and setbacks along the way.

A Calling to Primary Care

By 2016, I had spent over a decade in the operating room, but I began to feel stagnant in my career. I wasn’t growing, and I knew I needed a new challenge. I was being led to research the next steps in my professional journey and discovered that the organization I was working for would cover the cost of further education. Around the same time, Wilmington University was offering free applications, waiving the fee for interested students.

I knew in my spirit that there are no coincidences — these were doors that God Himself was opening. In obedience, I applied, went through the interview process, and was accepted. In the spring of 2017, I received my official acceptance letter to Wilmington University’s Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner program, and by the fall of 2017, I had started classes.

By spring 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and looming shutdowns, I was led to complete my clinical hours early. This was a blessing in disguise, because just weeks later, most clinical sites closed and students were no longer being accepted. By May 2020, my degree was officially conferred.

It wasn’t until after graduation that I became pregnant with Aria. Later that summer, while preparing for boards, I discovered I was expecting. This added even more pressure to pass on the first attempt — and with God’s help, I did. I can still remember sitting in the testing center, tears streaming down my face when the proctor handed me the paper that said “PASS.” He looked at me nervously, clearly unsure if he should comfort me or back away slowly. I laughed through the tears and explained, “These are happy tears — I’m pregnant, and I did not want to take this test twice!”

I can’t help but think back on those conversations with my parents — my mom pulling the car over on I-40 and telling me I had to choose a direction, and later, my dad standing in the kitchen after I graduated nursing school, saying that in a couple of years I could go back for my master’s and become a nurse practitioner. I laughed then, telling him I would never take on that kind of responsibility. But now, I see how God used both of their words — my mom’s firm push and my dad’s quiet encouragement — and how Jesus planted seeds that grew into the very calling I am living today. What once felt unimaginable has become the path He prepared for me all along.

Building a New Chapter in Georgia

After years of working as a nurse and gaining some advanced practice experience in Delaware, my husband and I decided to relocate to Georgia in August 2022 to pursue new opportunities for our family. That fall, I began working with North Atlanta Primary Care in Duluth, where I was tasked with helping to build a brand-new practice from the ground up.

As the sole provider in the beginning, I’ll admit I was nervous — still relatively new in my role as a provider. However, I quickly grew comfortable in my knowledge and skill set. Soon, I was managing a wide range of conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, thyroid disorders, and weight management, while also returning to my surgical roots by offering in-office procedures such as IUD placements, keloid injections, skin tag removals, and more. Over time, the practice grew and flourished, eventually expanding to include additional providers.

Not long after Judah was born — a pregnancy that came as a surprise while I was breastfeeding and on birth control — I was once again reminded that God’s plans are not always our plans. In late 2023, I discovered I was pregnant with our fourth child, Nala, even though I had an IUD in place. The discovery of her pregnancy was filled with several weeks of random crying, followed by hysterical laughter, as I tried to process the shock. With the stress of working full-time and having back-to-back pregnancies, my body had simply had enough, and Nala was delivered early at 34 weeks.

After her NICU stay, I could clearly see how God’s timing and perfect planning were at work. Nala’s resilience — from the moment she was conceived, through her early arrival, and in her rapid progress in the NICU — reminded me once again that His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

From Provider to Founder

Life has taught me again and again that there are no coincidences. In November 2024, my husband was in a car accident. By God’s grace, he walked away with only minor injuries. Fast forward five months to April 2025, when I was in a car accident of my own — this time with injuries that required a much longer period of healing and recovery.

Those back-to-back experiences forced me to pause, reflect, and truly listen. In that stillness, I realized it was time to step out in faith and create something new — a practice built around the values closest to my heart.

Faith as My Foundation

Through every twist and turn — from Haiti to Nigeria, from sleepless nights in graduate school to NICU days with Nala — my faith in Jesus Christ has been my compass. He has sustained me, humbled me, and reminded me that serving others through medicine is not just a profession, but a calling.

At Mindful Medicine Integrative Care, my goal is to educate, empower, and partner with every patient. I believe that if you know better, you do better. Too often, knowledge is kept out of reach — but I am committed to making sure you leave every visit with understanding, clarity, and encouragement.

Closing Thoughts

My story is full of surprises, challenges, and grace. I’m grateful for every patient I’ve cared for and for the opportunity to now serve you through this new chapter.

Thank you for trusting me with your health. I look forward to walking this journey with you — mindfully, faithfully, and together.

📜 Qualifications

• Board Certified — Family Nurse Practitioner (AANP)
• Sigma Theta Tau — Honor Society of Nursing (Inactive)
• Certified Nurse Operating Room (CNOR) — Inactive
• BLS/ACLS Certified
• Currently Licensed in Georgia, with plans to obtain licensure in Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, and Delaware — with more states to come