For over two decades I worked in international development — beginning with microfinance in Latin America, offering small loans to women living in poverty so they could start businesses, earn income, and begin to see themselves as agents of their own destiny. What drew me to that work was never solely about the economic impact. It was about watching a woman transform her relationship with what was possible for her life. That calling has never left me. It has simply found a new form.
A few years ago, slowly, quietly, something began to shift in my own life. Not a crisis. Not a collapse. More like a gentle, persistent knowing that I was being invited somewhere new. I began making space for stillness — not grand gestures, just small pockets of quiet and meditation that, over time, changed everything. In that silence I heard guidance I never expected. Be here now. Relax. Focus on the being vs the doing. It was the beginning of a profound spiritual journey that ultimately called me to step out of my career and into something I couldn't yet name.
For my 50th birthday, I gave myself the most sacred gift: 48 hours of complete silence at our cabin on Lake Cushman in the heart of the Olympic Mountains. I turned off my phone. I stepped away from the demands of daily life. I sat beside the wood-burning stove and journaled, meditated on the deck in the deep quiet, and felt wild, sacred energy flow around and through me. I walked mindfully. I wrote. I wept. I rested. I listened.
And in that extraordinary stillness, Sound of Silence Retreats was born — not as a business idea, but as a calling. The same calling, really, that has guided my entire life — a deep belief that women have the power to transform their relationship with what is possible, when given the right conditions and support.
I am someone whose own life was quietly transformed by the power of stillness. I am not a guru — I am simply a companion for this part of your journey. If you want support as you step into this solo silent retreat, I am here. My role is to hold a gentle structure around your experience so that you can fully surrender into the quiet — and hear what your own inner voice has been waiting to tell you.
I would be honored to hold this space for you.
"Let it all go. This is your life. You get to choose."