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I come from a really medical family,

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so lots of helpers,
but really medically minded.

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And so I think there was always sort
of this unspoken rule that I would also go

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into the medical field of some kind,

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Found the field of marriage and family therapy,
and I really loved

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the idea of systems thinking
and how that fit in to helping people.

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I got to see or learn to see people

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in a much more broad capacity,
a more holistic capacity

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than just through a medical model,
which was like, so how I was raised.

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I also knew

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I kind of wanted to be an educator,
like I didn't only want to be a therapist.

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And so from there I went on
to more schools to earn my doctorate.

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And here I am.

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I've been in academia
for about between ten and 15 years now,

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and I'm really loving it.

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I am the program director
and a couple of family therapy program.

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And so depending on the day,
I’m either doing that

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or I also own and run a group practice

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in Tacoma, Washington,
which is just south of Seattle.

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You know, utilizing AAMFT as a networking platform
is probably the most impactful way

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that the organization
has influenced my job, my work, my career.

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I've been a member for since 2006.

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Even if I don't know
someone in particular,

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I know someone who's going to know
somebody.

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That's been really helpful.

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I've also been
in a lot of different situations

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where I need a legal consultation
and that's something that the organization

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can provide
and provides free from membership.

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One of the most powerful things about AAMFT

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is the energy
that it puts into advocacy work

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for our profession
and for the clients that we support.

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I think that without

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the push of a big professional
organization behind us,

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our field
may fall behind other mental health fields

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in ways because we, you know,
we're younger

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than a lot of other professions
and just as a field in general.

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And so I think that by being able
to connect with people

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who are influencers, who have ability
to get in front of our legislatures

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in order to make change is really
a powerful use of our organization.