Every once in a while, something happens that really matters. Something that will define at least the next chapter of your journey – perhaps it’s a conversation with a client, a meeting with a visionary or a major event in your personal life. Below, you’ll find some very insightful folks sharing defining moments from their journeys.

Allison Applebaum

I am a clinical psychologist by training, and I came to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in 2010 as a postdoctoral fellow. At the time, I was working with patients with advanced, life-limiting cancers. What was so striking to me about these patients’ narratives was that as opposed to focusing on their own mortality, they were focused on their parents, and partners, and children, and siblings, and friends. The individuals left in the waiting rooms and left at home. The individuals who they identified as the lynchpin of their care and who would be most deeply impacted by their eventual deaths. I realized back then in 2010 – long before the COVID-19 pandemic – that cancer care specifically, and healthcare more broadly, was reliant on family caregivers to shoulder tremendous responsibilities, without providing them with training or education, and despite the fact that the scientific literature had already very well documented distress in caregivers, there were no targeted support services available for caregivers in any cancer center in the United States. Inspired to address this significant gap in supportive care, a year later I founded the Caregivers Clinic at MSK, the first targeted psychosocial care program for caregivers in any U.S. cancer center. Nearly 15 years later, the Caregivers Clinic now serves as the “gold standard” for psychosocial support for caregivers in a healthcare system and a model for new programs that are being developed nationally. Read more>>

Mishka Wilonski

My self-healing journey really began about 7 or 8 years ago. At that point in my journey I had a few rock bottom moments that really encouraged me to begin a deep process of self-reflection and asking myself some tough questions. I began a journey of learning why I was the way that I was, why I struggled so much with my relationship with food and Binge Eating Disorder. Physically, I was in constant pain. At just 26 years old, I relied on a cane to support myself due to severe lower back issues that sometimes left me unable to walk. Doctors, specialists, and physical therapists all told me this would be my reality for the rest of my life, which felt incredibly defeating. I also dealt with numerous other health problems, and I found myself far from where I wanted to be in life. I started recognizing that I didn’t love myself- which led to me asking myself “well, why don’t I love myself? What does that even mean or feel like?” Read more>>

Paul R. Williams Iii

A defining moment happened for me many years ago when I was working at a tech start-up in Queens, NY. My job like most, was filled with tons characters off all different backgrounds and personality types. I remember that there was this one gentleman that most of my coworkers could never seem to get along with. After spending some time with him myself, I quickly understood why and that it was that he often talked to people with a lot of resentment and cynicism. Most people abandoned this guy, and stopped talking to him to protect their own energies, and that was completely understandable. I grew up very much feeling like an outcast amongst my family and other social circles as I got older, so there was always something in me that resonated with people that were cast aside in certain ways. Read more>>

Sarah Jensen

I found, post pandemic, that I was in a bit of a rut of doing the same routine daily with little change or growth or development in my practice. I knew my dermatology: medical, surgical and cosmetic–but I was not as motivated by the work. I found that many patients were seeking the same type of medical care I sought out–more integrative or holistic care. I often seek out more natural products or practices in my own healthcare and in that for my family. So, I sought training in integrative dermatology with Learnskin. I was able to join a larger community of practioners who thought outside the box and had a wider variety of tools to work with, in treating patients. I find patients come to me because of that additional training and that more accepting and curious approach to medical care. It’s benefited my practice and I am learning new avenues of therapy with every course I continue to take. Read more>>

Joanne Bell

Several years ago my life had fallen apart. I had been through a heartbreak, had burnout in my career as an English teacher and ended up in a deep depression. During this time, I was going on holiday to New York, a city I adore. I knew I would be distracted enough throughout my time away, however, I felt deeply anxious about returning home. I wrote myself a letter which said: I don’t need you to do anything. You don’t have to feel good or go back to work, I just need you to stay here and breathe. It was the first time I had talked to myself with such unconditional love and when I got home and found it on my pillow something shifted. Read more>>

Mindy Hoppe

A defining moment in my life came when I took a leap of faith and became the Director of the Somerset Children’s Center. Before this pivotal decision, I spent over a decade as a special education teacher. During this time, I pursued my master’s degree in special education while raising my son—a balancing act that fueled my passion for advocating for children with unique needs. My desire to make an even greater impact led me to earn my Learning Disabilities Teacher-Consultant (LDTC) certification. I believed this would equip me to amplify the voices of parents and children who often go unheard, ensuring their educational needs were met with specialized and appropriate programs. Read more>>

Christina Diarcangelo

A defining moment in my professional career came with the passing of my father, Albert J. DiArcangelo, Sr., in September 2015. His diagnosis of stage 4 cancer profoundly impacted me and inspired the launch of Affinity Patient Advocacy, the sister company to Affinity Bio Partners. That experience changed the trajectory of my career in a deeply personal way. It underscored the critical need for patient advocacy within the healthcare and clinical research industries. Witnessing the challenges my father faced, I realized how vital it is to provide patients and their families with the support and resources they need to navigate complex medical and healthcare systems. Read more>>

Katie Potratz

I started my business in 2018 with the desire to help people change their lives. At first, I wanted to help everybody on every issue imaginable, but over the course of a few years I narrowed my focus to issues related to anxiety, trauma, self-worth and chronic pain/symptoms. The more I learned about the mind-body connection and the possibility of healing the body with the power of the mind the more excited I became. More and more, my dream became clear: I wanted to help people living with chronic pain and symptoms find relief with the power of their mind. This dream led me to take many additional trainings such as Medical Hypnotherapy for Chronic Disease, Breathwork, Pain Reprocessing Therapy, and more. I felt extremely passionate about helping those with chronic symptoms realize the power of their mind to influence their body.  Read more>>

Nola Nicole Cremeans

I fell into cooking by accident. I ended up staying for the simple love of food and what it does for our souls. Feeding people became a passion and a joy. The ultimate expression of love. Then I got sick and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I struggled to maintain life’s pace in a body that seemed to be failing. I tried several job changes within the culinary field prior to giving up. My husband asked me to retire to become a stay at home mom. I spent a few years devastated that I had to be someone else. Someone fragile. Broken. Fast forward to a couple years of being almost bedridden, very very miserable and desperate for a change or solution to feeling so sick all the time. I started cleaning up our diet as best I could on our small budget. My husband struggled to support our whole family on his own. We replaced one item at a time with organic/chemical free/dye free. We tried this and that. Eliminated things we knew weren’t optimal for our bodies. I’m by no means perfect! I’m still in this process. Read more>>

Rachael Brown

After graduating with a degree in Geography from the University of Washington, I got married and we moved to Alaska. We thought we wanted to teach overseas, but fell in love with Alaska and stayed for 4 years. I ended up substitute teaching, working for a home inspector, took the course to become a realtor and had 2 kids. Two weeks into 40 below temperatures with two kids under the age of 2 had us rethinking our long term plan, and we eventually moved back to the Pacific Northwest. A year in WA was followed by a year in HI and then a move to CA–all with a new career for my husband. I became a certified yoga and pilates instructor during that time, teaching at various studios, schools and private homes and then went to massage school and helped people with chronic pain find relief through the Pain Neutralization Technique. Read more>>

April Mccabe

Before I became a massage therapist I had gotten a BA in Human Services and jumped into nonprofit work right after graduation. My roles were primarily supporting individual and families experiencing homelessness and although I was fiercely passionate about the work, after only a few years I found myself struggling to be excited to go to work, I was burnt out. I knew I needed to make some changes but didn’t know what that looked like yet. I knew I loved working with people, especially one on one. I knew I loved the ‘helping’ careers, it filled my cup to support people in their journeys wherever they were. Massage was something I had always held in the back of my mind. When COVID hit and I suddenly had a lot of time to consider the career, I looked into my local community college and decided to apply. Part of the application required you to interview LMTs to hear first hand what a career could look like. I remember the first LMT I interviewed I asked what I thought was a cliche, but important, question: “what is your favorite thing about being a massage therapist?” Read more>>

Lena Mali

A defining moment in my life and career as a coach and energy therapist was the sudden death of my mother from cancer many years ago. She passed away within two months of learning about her illness. I lived with her during those days, watching her fade away, understanding that I could no longer do anything for her. It was a tremendous loss. Despite the 38-year age difference between us, my mother was my closest friend and the best mom in the world. She did everything she could for her children. This moment became my starting point for personal development, inner growth, and searching for the meaning of my life. During those years, I had questions: Why did my mother leave so early? Why did this happen to me? Why do people get cancer, and how do they fight it? I was 28 years old then, with a 6-year-old daughter. I had only lived in the United States for three years, didn’t know English, and had no local education. I had a desire to get to the bottom of things in my life and accept my mother’s early death. Read more>>

Hannah Salazar

My journey as a mental health counselor began in 2015, when I first ventured into teaching elementary school. At the time, I was exploring the possibility that teaching might be my true calling. I accepted a position as a long-term substitute for a third-grade classroom. The class consisted of 25 students, many of whom were English language learners. I didn’t speak Spanish at the time and was advised to provide the students with Spanish-to-English dictionaries and proceed from there. Read more>>

Brandon Mullen

I have worn many hats since starting to work at the age of fifteen. From being a dishwasher at a restaurant to a cashier at a grocery store, and bedside nursing in a hospital to client relationship executive at a software company, it’s taken over two decades to find my passion in the business side of aesthetics. In February of 2024 I had a realization that at the ripe age of 39, I (statically) am about halfway through my life. The vast exposure and experiences that I have had thus far illicit an almost panic moment flavored with imposter syndrome and I immediately thought “wow, that was quick”. Since then, the remainder of 2024 has been a thought provoking internal journey of self-discovery that has led to the propulsion of several new endeavors to shape the trajectory of my life. Read more>>

Kylie Mcmillan

When I was twelve years old, I made a PowerPoint presentation for my mother about the potential career paths I was interested in: a writer, a lawyer, and a doctor. A little odd for a pre-teen to do unprompted, sure. But if you knew me growing up, it adds up. From as far back as I can remember, I’d always been an existential, inquisitive, and speculative little girl interested in life’s big questions: Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? What happens after we die? … You know, the typical thoughts that run through every child’s head. Read more>>

Erica Klauber

discovered Children’s Craniofacial Association in my 20s, as a patient. Even as an adult, I had never met anyone else — that I knew of — with a facial difference. As it turns out, there were people in my life who had had facial differences that I had known, but I wasn’t aware of it, and others around me never connected the dots that I shared something in common with others who have craniofacial conditions. And as odd as it seems, it wasn’t obvious to either of us that we could and should develop a relationship based on this shared journey. A lot of that uncertainty was due to my being undiagnosed and having no formal syndrome to identify with but part of it is that in general, people don’t know or understand what facial differences are. This is one reason why early medical attention is so important and seeking care with a craniofacial team makes a difference in one’s health care trajectory. Read more>>