hello

I—Luna (she/they)—am a white settler living on unceded Anishinaabe territories of Odawa, Bodéwadmiké (Potawatomi), and Meškwahki·aša·hina (Fox) people also known as Southern Michigan.

I am an abolitionist, a geek, a creative, and an aquarius sun & cancer moon. I like to snuggle up on the couch, with my sweet pitbull Nova, and watch or read sci-fi/fantasy + spec fic. I live with depression and chronic pain. I live for my friends (canine + human), long hikes, the sun shining through the trees during the golden hour, the moon, and better worlds.

I offer therapy and conflict support from an anti-oppressive, liberation-centered perspective. I believe that every being (human and non-human) has a stake in a more compassionate future.

training

Master of Social Work (2024)

University of Michigan School of Social Work

Therapeutic practice, individual, family, and group
Assessment
Case planning
Clinical and social theory

First Aid, AED, CPR - Infant, Child, and Adult (2024)

The American Red Cross

Master of Arts in Dispute Resolution (2018)

Wayne State University

Conflict analysis
Restorative practices
Mediation and negotiation
Theories of Change

Community Accountability (2018)

Just Practice Collaborative

Circle Process (2017)

Kay Pranis, Eastern Mennonite University

Civil Mediation (Certificate, 2017)

Washtenaw Dispute Resolution Center

Street Medic (2016)

Chicago Action Medical

Bachelor of Arts in Literature (2009)

Albion College

recent (work) experience

Social Work Intern (2024)

FedUp Ministries; Ypsilanti, MI

Develop a free therapy program
Provide individual and group therapy

Conflict facilitator and educator (2018 - present)

Self-employed

Facilitate group conflict processes toward healing, consensus, amends, and accountability
Provide individual and small group counseling
Create and facilitate training on generative conflict and conflict skills

Programs & Partnerships Director (2023 - 2024)

Care-Based Safety; Ypsilanti, MI

Co-develop an unarmed, non-police crisis training and crisis response program
Build community partnerships with groups and organizations providing direct and indirect care
Hire and train a team of care responders
Facilitate training and community activities to build skill in harm reduction, conflict de-escalation, first aid, empathic listening, and alternatives to calling police

Project Coordinator (2020 - 2022)

Community Health Access Initiative, U-M School of Public Health

Provide training in LGBTQIA+ affirming crisis care to physicians, nurses, and mental health providers throughout Michigan
Create resources for LGBTQIA+ youth related to mental health (self-harm, identity, coming out, accessing care)

core values

Curiosity: To desire to learn or acquire knowledge; to ask questions; to wonder; to assume there is more to a story than what is on the surface or known to me; to reject rigidity and judgment.
Non-conformity: To question and challenge authority and norms; to seek out what isn't centered, valued, or embraced; to welcome and encourage difference, especially that which is disempowered.
Compassion: To have deep empathy and sorrow for others who are experiencing suffering; to avoid causing suffering in others; to not shy away from or hide pain or struggle; to embrace a full range of feelings.
Integrity & genuineness: To adhere to a practice of honesty and of having my outer world reflect my inner world; to be what I seem to be; to align with the principles and values I proclaim; to be free from affectation or hypocrisy.
Generosity: To give liberally to others without expecting anything in return; to receive others' words and actions with the best intent.

I admire in others but often struggle with myself: mindfulness, patience, and optimism.

principles (relational)

01 — Affirming Self-expression

respecting and treating with dignity and compassion every person who works with me, &
creating spaces and opportunities where we can be our authentic selves.

02 — Upholding Self-determination + Reciprocity

obtaining enthusiastic, informed consent from anyone impacted by my actions,
treating people as experts in their own experiences, cultures, lifeways, desires, and needs, who are not subject to others' authority but who exist in a network of meaningful relations,
honoring the value and skill that all parties contribute, &
treating those who seek my skills as my partners in navigating a mutually beneficial relationship of trust (reliability, care, generosity) and agency (consensual collective decision-making).

03 — Centering Transformation + Anti-Oppression

centering the root causes of conflict in my analysis and practice,
seeking solutions that transform deeply rooted structural violence, &
struggling toward liberation alongside people and their dynamic identities, such as
- Black, Indigenous, brown, and undocumented folks and those who are otherwise impacted by racism, imperialism, and colonialism.
- Trans, non-binary, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, intersex folks and those who are otherwise impacted by cis-sexism and binary constructions of gender.
- Gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual folks and those who are otherwise impacted by monogamous-centered, heteronormativity.
- Disabled, crip, mentally ill, and mad folks and people otherwise impacted by ableism and the medical industrial complex
- Houseless, hungry, refugee, and poor folks and people otherwise impacted by global capitalism and exploitation.
- Prisoners, parolees, formerly incarcerated, detained, surveilled, and drug using folks and people otherwise impacted by criminalization and the prison industrial complex.

04 — Seeking & Taking Accountability

creating opportunities to receive feedback,
acknowledging my mistakes and harms caused, with gratitude toward those who bring them to my attention,
living within my integrity and ability to discern harm from difference, &
learning, adapting, and changing my behavior to reduce harm.

values & principles