Why I Do This Work
I founded Astralis Consulting because I saw a pattern in my work: people who were smart, capable, and deeply passionate and motivated, but exhausted from trying to fit themselves into systems and environments that weren't built for them. They weren't failing. They were working against their own nature, often without realizing it.
My work centers on helping people know themselves better and shape their environment to fit who they actually are— not by conforming to norms that don't fit, but by understanding who they are and building around that.
That conviction is rooted in over 20 years of experience in education, leadership, and program design, as well as in doctoral research on information perception, hacker culture, and sociotechnical systems. From that foundation, I developed a unique, research-backed method that I teach my clients to apply across every area of life.
My Approach
My approach is grounded in ecological psychology — specifically affordance theory and the study of how information shapes perception and behavior. Ecological psychology holds that our wellbeing and what we perceive as possible are inseparable from our environment. That insight is central to how I work with clients.
I also draw on my research into adaptive cultures — communities that have developed remarkable strategies for navigating environments not designed for them — and on what those strategies reveal about resilience, creativity, and self-determination.
I bring these frameworks to the deeply personal work of coaching — helping clients build awareness, resilience, and practical strategies for daily life. This approach is especially powerful for neurodivergent individuals, women navigating systemic challenges, and people from marginalized communities — people who have often spent a lifetime working to adapt to environments that were never designed with them in mind. The core tools are universal, but the relief of finally working with your own nature rather than against it is something my clients across every background can describe feeling.
