Speaker.
Parent.
Survivor.
Mental Health
Professional.
Personal story meets professional insight to create conversations that save lives.
Hi, I’m Amy
I’ve lived this work from every angle. As a suicide and eating disorder survivor who lives with Bipolar II disorder, a parent, and a suicide prevention professional. What I’ve learned is that many mental health struggles are deeply human experiences that don’t always fit neatly into labels or diagnoses. When we stay on the surface of our problems, we respond to what we can see and miss what is happening beneath the story we tell ourselves. I use that insight to create experiences that help audiences move beyond their struggles and into a new life.
My Story
“A woman who’s lived her recovery journey and can now help others.”
Before this became my work, it was my life. As a young woman, I tried to make sense of my trauma, battling bipolar II disorder, bulimia, and PTSD, within inadequate support systems. For 30 years, I lived inside the mental health system, trying to understand it from within. From inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations to residential, PHP, IOP, and outpatient care, I’ve navigated it all. That experience shapes how I work with my clients.
As a Parent
Then I became a parent. I found myself facing these challenges again, this time walking alongside my daughter in her own journey. I sat in uncertainty, witnessed her deep depression and her eating disorder, spiraled into burnout after an attempted suicide. Shame. Grief. The fear of the unknown. These experiences deepened my compassion, my understanding of parent support, of fractured systems, and of what it actually means to BE the parent your teen needs.
My Professional Lens
“We need more than mental health awareness and symptom management.”
As a suicide prevention expert and trained crisis counselor, I sit with people in life's darkest moments. I can tell you that the most powerful interventions are not about fixing; they are about seeing the person and connecting in a deeply human way. From what I’ve witnessed and heard from thousands of young people, what we are seeing is a human crisis of pain and disconnection that is affecting our youth's mental health.
Education
& Experience
I hold a Bachelor's degree in Human Services from the University of Phoenix (2008) and am currently completing my Master's of Social Work at Capella University, with an anticipated graduation in 2027. I am a proud member of Phi Alpha, the National Honor Society for Social Work. My commitment to specialized, evidence-informed care is reflected in my professional certifications, including Certified Online Counseling & Suicide Intervention Specialist, Youth Mental Health First Aid Trainer, QPR Trainer through the QPR Institute, and NAMI Ending the Silence Facilitator. My work has been recognized with the Love Warrior Award (2018), presented by Eating Disorder Recovery Support (EDRS), and I am honored to be a member of the National Council of Phi Alpha Honor Society.
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Trained in 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline protocols.
Advisor & Speaker
One of my greatest honors is standing alongside the people and organizations working tirelessly to change the way our communities talk about suicide, eating disorders, and recovery. I am deeply grateful to serve in advisory and board roles with the Semicolon Society Arizona, Teens 4 Teens Help, Breaking the Chains Foundation, Broadway Mental Health Foundation, and as a member of the Scottsdale Youth and Community Coalition — each one a reminder of what's possible when passionate people come together for a shared purpose.
I am also proud of the work I did alongside Transitions Mental Health Association, where we built a customized mental health program that reached 20 schools and over 200 classroom presentations, earning an Innovation Award — proof that community-driven care makes a real difference.
Because beneath mental health is the rest of the story.
As a Founder
As a Founder
“Speaking From the Scars is the stage I stand on as a survivor, mental health professional, and recovery advocate.”
In 2025, my work evolved into an LLC organization, which I call my “stage”. Speaking From The Scars is a name born from a deeply personal, decades-long journey. I use my scars from the emotional battles I’ve fought as a stage to give voice to the hurting and to remind others that there is beauty and strength in their scars.
Speaking From the Scars, LLC
“You don't have to dance through this alone.”
At the start of my career, I used my experience as a pre-professional classical ballet dancer battling an eating disorder to help other dancers. Dancing with ED began as a passion project in 2013 and quickly became a national nonprofit organization serving dancers.
Dancing With ED, Inc. (visit www.dancingwithed.com)
