Abstract image of a wall of water in varied shades of blue, white, and green that looks like it is painted to appear to flow upward

The first word I ever spoke was a question: “Why?”

In some ways that one word is the basis of not just my coaching work but a current that runs across my whole life. Since that first word, I have forever been asking questions (much to the delight, appreciation, and — depending on who you ask — exasperation of everyone around me).

I believe questions are how we come to the kind of self understanding that allows us to be fulfilled with ourselves and find true belonging in community.

As humans, certainty may not always be possible, but we can move toward increased capacity, greater confidence, emotional resilience, nervous system regulation, more empathy, and more clarity in our needs, relationships, purpose, and contributions.

Photo from a distance of Jaye Matthews, a curly haired white woman holding a book and standing on a path in the foreground of the light green St. Johns Bridge in North Portland, Oregon, surrounded by grass and trees

Asking our way toward liberation.

The questions I didn’t always know how to ask were the ones I now ask in coaching all the time: the kind of questions that, when asked, allow each of us to integrate all parts of our human experience.

I used to be in my brain all of the time, repressing my emotions, out of touch with my body, and out of sync with my nervous system. It wasn’t until coaching came downstream to me that I could see the assumptions I still left unquestioned. There were parts of my life I considered as “fact” that were hurting my heart, my habits, and my healing. I thought my value was in my ability to give answers. It’s actually in how I ask questions.

Coaching is what gave my natural curiosity direction. When you always have new questions to ask, even the ones without answers still lead toward deeper understanding and contentment.

We won’t always find definitive answers for our lives, but when we do, they are already within us, waiting to be discovered. You already have unseen knowledge and skills within you ready to emerge — and you don’t even have to believe it to be true yet. You just have to ask.

Curiosity-centered coaching can allow you to:

  • Identify your unmet needs, prioritize your unspoken desires, and give voice to your cognitive and emotional experience

  • Get curious about what support structures exist to create more fulfillment and reciprocal care in your life

  • Establish strong, compassionate boundaries and learn how to meet your needs sooner, with fewer repeat-mistakes along the way next time

  • Get to know your inner landscape and feel confident that the decisions you make are rooted in the true nature of who you are

  • Understand you are not defined by any one experience, and it is the totality of your heart’s knowing, your decision making, and your care that determines who you are

  • See where you fit in the ecosystems of your communities and feel confident in the strengths you have to contribute

  • Learn to question assumptions in ways that allow you to improve your relationships with yourself, your loved ones, and anyone you interact with — even for a moment

What would you embrace if you believed the answers you seek are already inside of you?

Co-creation and self-revelation.

Coaching is both a relational and a self-led experience, which means both that you will get out of it what you put in, and also that no matter what you bring, it will be respected, held, and honored in ways that are meant to open you to new truths in yourself.

Here’s what you can expect from me in our coaching sessions together:

  • I am committed to witnessing the full extent of who you are with compassion and without judgment. I will use my skills of observation and deep listening through a lens of gentle curiosity and guidance that still centers you as the expert of your own experience.

  • We will co-create a space that allows your needs, desires, and questions to be at the forefront, and you get to decide the direction, depth, and intensity you want to explore at any given time.

  • High energy? I’ll meet you there. Hard day? I’m there too. I will match the energy of where you are at a given time, gently facilitate what unfolds organically, and reflect back to you what I’m hearing, seeing, and experiencing with honesty and care. 

  • You will have freedom to experiment with new thoughts and behaviors in a no-pressure, mistakes-welcome, sandbox. You will have the space to process thoughts in real time without feeling like they have to define your experience.

  • Together we will gently expand your ways of thinking into new territory over time and give you new tools to navigate future challenges with greater ease. You’ll be able to reach toward new-to-you risks in ways that are just right for where you are right now.

  • None of us get out of this life alive, so we might as well have fun while we’re here. I will hold the hard conversational moment with appropriate sensitivity, but you can also expect some laughs, right-timed jokes, and maybe even homework to “go play.” We will take your vision seriously without taking ourselves too seriously.

Abstract photo image of swirling water in shades of deep blue and white

Show up human.

What I expect from you: show up messy, scattered, maybe even less punctual than you’d like. However you are, arrive exactly as you are that day — as long as you are committed to exploring as fully as you can for the time we have. I ask that, as best as you can that day, you are willing to be with what’s present, curious and open to experimentation, and ready to gently, courageously, fiercely, honestly ask yourself what’s next. I’ll be right there with you.

Photo from a distance of a community group nestled around the base of a tree on a sandy beach by water with light streaming through the branches

The Process

  • The process begins with a no-cost, low pressure, no obligation chat to discuss the challenges you’re experiencing and changes you’re hoping to realize through coaching. It’s a great time to get your questions answered (you know by now I love questions!) 

    The call lasts 30-45 minutes, and I’ll also share more about my approach and background, details about the coaching process, and a primer of the integral coaching framework and methodology I use.

  • If it feels like a mutual right fit, we’ll then discuss the ins-and-outs of the coaching container, including confidentiality, payment details, and timeline, and get you set up for your first full session! We’ll shape our schedule to your needs, and I’m flexible to meet during the day, evenings, and weekends to work with the time you have.

  • This initial session is a 60-minute video call or in-person session to explore where we left off in the chemistry call. We’ll begin to dive deeper into what’s below the surface: the why of what brings you to coaching, the experiences and factors that have shaped your past, the relationships and environments in your present, and the goals, hobbies, and interests that motivate your desires for your future.

  • During each of the following 60-minute sessions, which will take place either weekly or every other week depending on your preference, we’ll expand on where you’ve been, what you’re experiencing in real time, and where you’d like to go next, making space for the full spectrum of human experience as you’re living it.

  • We’ll take time toward the end of our agreed-on timeline to reflect on your learning and progress throughout the process. You’ll also be able to determine if you’d like to extend our coaching timeline to explore new challenges together or experiment with taking your learning out in the world on your own.

Photo from a distance of pairs of walkers on a dirt path in a misty forest

Establish a framework to learn what’s worthwhile to you and expand your toolset to voice the questions in your life that need asking.

Asking questions is how we can approach acceptance of what is — not so we surrender to inaction, but actually the opposite — so we can know all of the choices we have in front of us and learn all that we can do with them.

My approach combines a cognitive scientist's understanding of how the human brain works, body-focused somatic techniques, and an integral coaching methodology to support you in your personal growth and development.

Here’s how we can do this together:

Intentional Flow Coaching Package

Structure: ten 60-minute weekly or twice monthly exploratory one-on-one sessions, by video call or in-person in the Portland, OR metro area

Investment: $75-120 per session (sliding scale pricing and payments plans available, see investment below)

Ready to start the process and feel your intentions in flow?

Ready to start the process and feel your intentions in flow?

Photo taken from midrange of two individuals facing away sitting on a bench facing overlooking a lake with a big leafy tree in the foreground

Schedule a free, low pressure call to get a feel for how we can co-create support for you to ask your life’s next questions and seek clarity for your wants and needs.

Sliding Scale Structure

My coaching practice is based on sliding scale pricing as part of my commitment to financial accessibility and to create access where marginalization and systemic oppression are often a barrier. Please consider your intersections of privilege and determine which level applies for you. 

10% of all earnings are redistributed to Basic Rights Oregon and other local organizations in support of LGBTQIA2-S+ rights. 

Payments are made in two installments with 50% due prior to our first session and 50% due before the fifth session. Extended payment plans are available to distribute smaller amounts over more time if needed.

Pricing

Community Rate

$75/session for 10 sessions Two payments of $375

This is a reduced rate for those experiencing financial hardship, or who have been impacted by systemic inequity. Please choose this rate if you are Black, Indigenous, a person of color, a member of the LGBTQIA2-S+ community, live with disabilities, or otherwise know the full rate would cause significant financial hardship.

Actual Rate

$100/session for 10 sessions Two payments of $500

This rate is the actual cost of my labor and resources for my coaching offering. Please choose this rate if you are able to comfortably meet your basic needs with room for some expendable purchases. This is for you if you feel like this rate may cause temporary trade-offs for you but know it will not cause significant financial hardship.

Pay-it-Forward Rate

$120/session for 10 sessions Two payments of $600

This rate is the actual cost plus the cost to supplement the reduced rate to make the community rate possible. Please choose this rate if you benefit from financial support or systemic privilege that includes access to financial security, property ownership, or generational wealth.

Still have questions about payment, where you land on the sliding scale, or anything else?

Explore resources to learn more about where you land on the scale, financial accessibility, and economic justice.