Joy's Journey

Joy was born in Portsmouth, NH, into a loving, creative, and inclusive family shaped by a complex legacy. Her mom was an entrepreneur and hospice social worker. Her dad was an artist and Air Force veteran. She was taught that she could do anything she set her mind to, forge her own path in life and achieve her dreams. 
As a descendant of the Oneida Community (a 19th-century "utopian" society) on her mother’s side, she inherited both strengths (e.g. community, entrepreneurship, education, structure, service) and struggles (e.g. perfectionism, workaholism, and generational trauma), carrying a complicated dichotomy of both pride and shame. Her father’s side, passed down charm, humor, creativity, and blue-collar resilience, alongside its own hidden trauma. 
Early on, Joy learned that outward success can mask hidden risks without the right systems and controls in place. Through her own work unpacking these complex family systems, she learned to hold that duality within by honoring what has lifted her up while also stepping back to reflect, realign, and rewrite the instincts and programming that didn't serve her.