My superpower is my voice. I use my words to inspire hope, offer encouragement, and speak for those who may not yet feel empowered to speak for themselves. I believe that when someone feels truly heard, it can ignite confidence, healing, and possibility.

That belief is what led me to join the We Bloom board. I wanted to use my voice in a way that influences meaningful change and helps shape spaces where every story matters. Serving on the board allows me to listen with intention, advocate with compassion, and contribute to decisions that create lasting impact. It is deeply meaningful to use my superpower to uplift others and help build a future rooted in understanding, inclusion, and positive change.

My superpower is resilience and compassion. It has been guiding me through ups and downs in life & helping me stay balanced between personal aspirations and paying back to society. 

I joined We Bloom (WB) as a volunteer since 2023 and now serving as WB In-country Director for Vietnam. I have learned and experienced a lot on how to develop a mental health support program for the local community. Working with the local authorities is never easy and requires significant patience and commitment. My superpower has helped me through the lengthy process of project registration and implementation of Di Yen project. Without my superpower, perhaps, I might have been somewhere else, doing something just for my own comfort. This fuels me to continue the rough journey of improving mental health support for the underprivileged community.

My professional superpower is Fiscal Storytelling. While financial ratios, growth rates, and models are fascinating, they are not the final product in the non-profit world; they are instead best viewed as key enablers of our impact within the community, whether that is meals provided, space utilized, or members served. I work to translate complex, often multifaceted financial data and goals common to non-profits into clear, concise, actionable narratives that best enable a high-performing organization. I strive to ensure that the board and staff don’t just see numbers, but understand the story they tell about our organization’s health, risks, and potential, and how those numbers bring impact and enable ongoing mission delivery within the community We Bloom serves.

As a lifelong Hoosier, I have seen numerous shifts in both the psychology of treatment and the policy execution regarding addiction and housing. Too often, these matters are viewed in isolation rather than as pieces of a whole person. When I connected with We Bloom in late 2020, I saw an organization making early strides toward integrated, barrier-free support, which resonated deeply with me, especially amid the headwinds of COVID-19, when even longtime pillars of the community were struggling.

During early conversations with leadership, it became clear that the organization would benefit from a commitment to translating its changing financials into metrics delivery, which I could implement as I established policies for the nascent non-profit. But my commitment goes beyond the balance sheet. With a family and personal history of addiction, and a childhood spent in the Haughville neighborhood, I am keenly aware of the necessity of community-centered organizations. I am eager to continue supporting We Bloom as I see them deliver impact every day, regardless of a member’s affiliation, history, or current struggle.

My superpower is presence. I listen deeply, notice what often goes unnamed, and help people feel seen in ways that restore dignity and possibility. I have a gift for holding complexity with care—bridging truth and compassion, wisdom and action—so that individuals and communities can grow toward what is most just and life-giving.

I was drawn to We Bloom because it feels like fertile ground—where care, courage, and collective healing are not just values, but daily practice. Joining the board is a way for me to offer my voice, experience, and steady presence in service of a vision that believes people flourish when they are trusted, supported, and loved. We Bloom invites us to grow together, and I am honored to help tend that growth.

My professional superpower is analytical reasoning. As part of my job, I’m required to boil things down to the basics to understand the question at hand, and logically process each step of it to come to the proper, reasoned response. Rational thought and a spirit of compromise help to solve almost all issues that come up, and I believe that that are a key to success in the legal field. Too often, outside influences and jumping to respond on emotional bases lead to more difficult issues down the road. A  more dispassionate, logical approach tends to create the ultimately better outcome. In this sense, dispassionate does not mean uncaring, unsympathetic, or lacking empathy, but rather removing those from the core of the analysis, and plugging them in to help address the resulting outcomes. I endeavor to find that proper balance to reach the appropriate resolutions in my professional and personal life.

Joining We Bloom’s board comes at an intersect of several my core interests.  The state of Indiana and city of Indianapolis have been lifelong homes to me and being able to give back to the communities that had provided so much to my is invaluable. I take great pride in both and want to do what I can to ensure that both state and city are growing, working, and striving to address the needs and wants of their citizens. The intersect of public service and mental healthcare is a fascinating and personal one for me. With an educational background in psychology and public service, being a board member for We Bloom allows me to have an impact on the communities I care about in a profoundly enriching manner. Helping support a community-centric, peer based support system for people from all walks of life, going through whatever issues or troubles they face, is truly something special to me. It provides such a unique and much needed avenue of care for people who historically have not had ready access to the support or care they needed or wanted. I am honored to help support the organization to further its prerogatives in this regard, and to help it grow accordingly.

My superpower is compassion for others’ suffering and sorrow. It allows me to remain calm in emotionally challenging situations, listen with patience and care, and stay committed to supporting people over time. Through compassion, I build genuine connections with others, and this deep human connection gives me a strong sense of purpose and fulfillment.

I joined We Bloom as a volunteer for its Vietnam projects, which closely aligned with my intention to develop community-based mental health support programs. Being part of the We Bloom board has been both a pleasure and a source of pride, as it has helped me gain a deeper understanding of the vision and operations of a non-profit organization, including how it can leverage resources to support a wide community and create meaningful impact. Through this journey, I have built valuable connections with people who share similar interests and commitment. My compassion-driven strengths have been actively applied in program development and implementation, particularly in the Di Yên project.

My superpower is caring deeply for people, believing in their ability to heal and flourish, and convening community to turn big, hopeful visions into reality.

As a co-founder, I believe deeply in the We Bloom board because it reflects our core belief that healing and transformation happen in community. Through co-creation—bringing our gifts, talents, and resources together—we build innovative, equitable responses rooted in connection, dignity, and love.