About Me.
I am a seasoned clinician, transformational leader, and proven administrator with decades of experience in music therapy, clinical practice, and higher/continuing education. I am deeply committed to advancing the profession through ethical leadership, curriculum development, and inclusive training models, and I am passionate about equipping the next generation of music therapists. I bring a strategic lens, a commitment to excellence, and a values-driven approach to every aspect of my work.
I am the Owner and CEO of Connecticut Music Therapy Services, LLC, a multi-therapist private practice providing clinical services across the state. My expertise in program development, administration, and supervision has shaped the company’s reputation for clinical excellence and sustainable practice.
My specialization in trauma-informed care (TIC) is grounded in both personal and professional experience, including long-term work following the 2012 Sandy Hook tragedy. Through extensive training, research, and scholarship, I have earned an international reputation as a thought leader and advocate in integrating TIC into music therapy. I contribute regularly to this evolving discourse through courses, presentations, and publications designed to elevate trauma-responsive practice in both education and clinical settings.
As an experienced educator, I have developed and taught courses at institutions including Southern Connecticut State University, Quinnipiac University, and Alverno College, with an emphasis on ethics, trauma-informed care, music and health, and disability justice. I created the Certificate in Trauma-Informed Music Therapy, a specialized continuing education program for professional music therapists through my continuing education company, EnlightenCE. I also co-designed and facilitated the national AMTA Symposium, a live/hybrid continuing education event engaging music therapists from around the world.
My leadership extends to continuing education initiatives, educational settings, in-patient hospice care, and community-based disaster response. I have authored and co-authored numerous chapters and articles on trauma-informed care, ethics, community engagement, and music therapy business practices. I am frequently invited to lecture, present at conferences, and collaborate at regional, national, and international levels.
I have served the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) in multiple capacities, including as a nine-year member of the Ethics Board (2012–2021) and as Vice President on the national Board of Directors. In Connecticut, I played a central role in the successful advocacy efforts for state title protection and licensure for music therapists.
I hold an EdD in Educational Leadership from Alverno College, a Master in Music Therapy from Temple University, and a Bachelor of Science in Music Therapy from Duquesne University. I live in Monroe, Connecticut, with my husband, two teenaged sons, and our cat, Foxy.
Acknowledgement
First, I wish to thank my family, especially my husband and sons for their unwavering support. I am blessed to be part of an incredible community of music therapists and educators and for this I am deeply grateful.
As a white, cis, middle class woman with straight privilege, I acknowledge my ancestors who immigrated to the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s from Ireland, Germany and Wales. Through their work I have been given opportunity and privilege to engage in higher education. As a music therapist educator and clinician I acknowledge the vast privileges I hold. As a professional who was tapped to be a leader from early in my education, and as a professional interacting in systems which can't be fully separated from the traumatic and oppressive colonial, racist, classist, ableist and sexist values. My commitment is to lead and co-conspire with others to resist and change oppressive systems, and to support healing from individual and collective trauma.
I humbly acknowlege that the land on which I work and write is the unceded ancestral land of the Pequonnock, Paugussett, Wappinger, and Schaghticoke tribes. I encourage you to learn about the history of the land you live on and be a witness to that history, and to find ways to honor the indigenous land on which you live, such as supporting tribes that may still reside in your communities.