• Human Systems Expert: 30+ yrs as a licensed clinician. Court/media-recognized expert.
• Author and Speaker: Award-winning clinician and entrepreneur inspiring transformative breakthroughs with keynotes and workshops
• Transformation Retreats: 20+ yrs leading transformative breakthrough retreats
• Transformation Workshop Presenter: Regular 5+ yrs at the world-renowned Rancho La Puerta Resort
• Business Coaching: 10+ yrs guiding entrepreneurs towards business breakthroughs and ongoing success
• Business Leadership: 15+ yrs as a founder/business owner overseeing strategy and business for various organizations including, Viva Partnership LLC, Dr.Julie Lopez LLC, Entrepreneurly. She is also currently serving as Member Engagement Chair of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO).
• Academia: 10 yrs as a graduate-level adjunct professor clinically teaching about the art and science of change
• Real Estate Transformation: Yes, I’m obsessed with transformation… 25+ yrs transforming residential and commercial spaces

My birth mom Sandy, a 15-year-old Mexican-American young woman, faced tough times dealing with broken systems and personal violence. In honor of her, I volunteer at the Sonrise Project, offering resources and support to BIPOC families of struggling teens, and worked as a therapist at the D.C. Rape Crisis Center (DCRCC) for five years in the 90s.

My adoptive mother is a talented photographer who never had the confidence or support to pursue her dreams. Her story inspired me to found the non-profit Entrepreneurly to make sure other gifted entrepreneurs get the support they need to scale and grow their businesses in a healthy way.

My adoptive father is a second-generation Mexican-American who was raised in abject poverty. He faced overt racism when he tried to break the cycle of poverty by buying his first home. Many doors were shut in his face. (Although ultimately he succeeded).

I honor his experience by volunteering at Birdseed, a nonprofit helping disrupt the barriers to homeownership for the most marginalized in our communities.

My biological father is a brilliant, big-hearted man who discovered, at the age of 72, that he had a child, me!

Early in his life, he received a diagnosis of a debilitating health condition that impacted his mental processing but fortunately did not lead to shame.

His situation is unusual because living with such a condition in a society that pathologizes mental health struggles often brings overwhelming shame. Too often, our system focuses on illness, labels, and brokenness instead of recognizing struggle, repair, and potential.

This perspective is personal to me. It fuels my passion for reducing the stigma and shame surrounding mental health challenges. I believe in shining a light on therapeutic advancements and celebrating the brilliance of the human system, its resilience, capacity for change, and potential for healing.

This commitment inspired me to create my podcast, Whole by Design, where I explore the complexities of the human experience, share cutting-edge insights, and remind us all that we are never broken, just beautifully intricate and always capable of transformation.

As an adopted person, I’m passionate about creating lasting change through training clinicians at The Viva Center in adoption-competent care, sharing stories through the Adoptees On podcast, providing community support and education through the Barker Adoption Foundation, and changing the narrative through my book on implicit memory “Live Empowered!”.