About Me
Hello, I’m Kari.
My name is Norwegian, like my father. It rhymes with Mary, cherry, berry, and fairy. Kari is the God of Wind in the Seidr tradition of Scandinavian mythology.
I was born in Vancouver, BC on February 2 (Groundhog Day) in 1971 to a teenage mother and given up for adoption. I was adopted by a family with 3 brothers who are 10, 15, and 18 years older than me. My genetic ancestors are actually British, Dutch, French, and Iberian. I’m continually learning more about them and how to speak those languages.
I started dance training at age 3 and became a competition dancer at age 5. I won over 250 medals and became BC Champion at age 13. I left home at 15 when the untenable pressure to compete at an international level became overwhelming.
I have a neurodivergent brain, which sometimes leaves me feeling socially awkward or withdrawn, but also gives me a lot of creative energy and big-picture insight.
Formal Education 
I went to Killarney Secondary and graduated high school in 1989. I later graduated from Dalhousie University where I did my undergraduate degree in Theatre & Gender Studies, a French Immersion summer program at Cégep de Jonquière and a study abroad semester of Art History in the South Bohemian region of the Czech Republic.
After returning to Vancouver, I completed coursework in Philanthropy at the Hollyhock Institute for Social Change, a postgraduate diploma in Counselling Psychology at Clearmind International, and a year of Compassionate Inquiry under Dr. Gabor Maté. I have a certificate in Indigenous Canada from the University of Alberta and additional certificates in Positive Psychology, Narrative Therapy, and Shadow Work. I’m also a certified Abortion Doula.
I was a practicing Registered Therapeutic Counsellor for 5 years before I decided to go into semi-retirement. Now, I draw on my education and lived experience – as an adoptee, violent abuse survivor, competition dancer, theatre artist, and leader in the business world – to help others and pay forward all that I’ve learned.
Despite my education and professional experience, my life hasn’t been particularly smooth or sheltered. I’m no guru meditating on a mountaintop. I’ve experienced trauma, mental illness and addiction — and I’ve done the work to understand and heal those experiences. I’ve lived though many of the issues I now help others navigate. Those experiences inform how I listen, how I guide, and show up as a mentor: experienced, grounded, compassionate, and deeply human.
