Before I ever started writing about burnout and balance, I spent years studying resilience at the microbial level.

As a PhD scientist, my research centered on how microbial communities adapt and thrive under stress — from dietary changes to environmental pressures. I explored how the gut microbiome, a complex ecosystem of bacteria, demonstrates astonishing resilience: when disrupted, it doesn’t collapse — it reorganizes, recalibrates, and finds a new equilibrium.

That concept of adaptive resilience stayed with me.

When I experienced burnout, I realized humans are not so different from the systems I studied. Just like microbes, we are constantly responding to stressors — physical, emotional, and environmental — and our ability to recover depends on our diversity of supports, our environment, and our capacity for rest and renewal.

Now, through resilienSHE, I translate those scientific principles into practical insights for women. I help high-achieving, self-critical women understand that resilience isn’t about “bouncing back” harder; it’s about creating conditions — both internal and external — that allow us to adapt, recover, and grow stronger in sustainable ways.

My work in microbial resilience taught me that even the smallest systems can endure and evolve. My work with women is about helping us do the same — not through relentless striving, but through alignment, restoration, and redefinition of success.