- Meet Our Team -
Utilization Review and Billing Manager
Why I do this work: I personally know what it is to want to give up while someone is telling you it gets better. I know what it is to want to end it because it feels easier than continuing to fight for something that doesn’t seem attainable, happiness. Most importantly, I know what it feels like to come out on the other side after reluctantly choosing to trust a treatment team with my life.
What I bring professionally: I have a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy because I believe everything is systemic. When one part of the system fails, we all fail, and you are only as strong as your weakest link. I am currently pursuing my PhD in Psychology, with a very specific focus: Behavioral Health Administration and Social Policy. I chose this path not because I want to further my education, but because I want to further my leadership skills that will guide me to be the change I needed when I went through the system.
How I show up at Ava: Advocacy isn’t just my passion; it is my calling. My job requires me to fight for what I believe in. I don’t take no for an answer when I request authorization and I fight for clients the way I would have wanted someone to fight for me, the way I would fight for my family.
The emotional core: I fight so you don’t have to.
What grounds me: My husband, my nieces and nephew, and my furbaby. Being outside, smelling the ocean, and feeling the wind on my face. The reminder that we are all deeply connected, humans and nature, each of us part of the same living system.
