Before Obsidian
2002 - 2020
For nearly 20 years, I poured my life into nursing, with more than half that time as a nurse practitioner. My career took me into some of the most intense, high-stakes environments you can imagine. Critical care units. Trauma surgery. Emergency rooms. And a decade of scrubbing into the operating room with steady, confident hands.
I believed I'd found my path in life. A life defined by precision, urgency, and purpose. Trauma nursing also gave me a perspective I could never have gained elsewhere. I've held families together during some of the worst moments of their lives.
My nursing years have taught me to stay calm in the most stressful situations, think quickly, educate patients without overwhelming them, and make complex medical information easier to understand. I've taught nursing students and mentored nurse practitioner students because I've always loved teaching. More than anything, I've learned the importance of how you make someone feel. Hearing someone say "You've made my day" means the world to me.
My career has taken me into hospitals, operating rooms, classrooms, and even around the world on mission trips. I didn't realize it then, but my experiences were preparing me and would become the foundation for Obsidian Skin Spa. My setting may have changed over the years, but the reason I keep doing what I do is the same. I want people to feel better.
A Turning Point
2021
In 2021, everything changed. A painful, unexpected life event brought me to my knees and forced me to consider a road I had never imagined walking. It was devastating in more ways than I can express, but it became the catalyst for a transformation I never knew I needed. With fear and faith woven together, I stepped into aesthetics.
On September 1, 2021, I opened the doors to Obsidian Skin Spa in a 600-square-foot space, with a little more than resilience, relentless prayer, and the hope that someone would walk in. It was new territory for me in terms of skill, but the heart of it was familiar.
Caring for people, empowering them, and building genuine relationships has always been my purpose, and with Obsidian, I could continue doing just that. I named my new practice after one of my favorite places in the world: Yellowstone National Park. Obsidian, the volcanic glass, is sharp, resilient, and forged in fire. It was a symbol that felt like me and reminded me of everything I'd been through. It still does today.
September 1 was also my son's first day of preschool. Those who know me know how obsessed I am with my kids. They are my everything. I'll always remember these two incredible milestones falling on the same day.
But things didn't go exactly like I had envisioned. About six months in, I sat down with my accountant, who very kindly explained in the most certain terms the reality of my situation. The odds didn't look too good. My chances were slim. I remember thinking, "I appreciate your honesty, but I'm doing this with you or without you." That was my fire.
First Growth
2022
By 2022, all the hard work was starting to pay off. Obsidian had begun to outgrow the little space where it all started. Patients were coming back. They were spreading the word. New faces started walking through the doors. Before I knew it, the once quiet days were a thing of the past, and Obsidian was becoming something real.
It was exciting to witness the incredible growth. But the demand quickly outpaced what I could manage on my own. It became clear I needed help, and I welcomed my very first employee, someone who immediately understood the heart behind Obsidian and believed in where we were headed. That first hire marked the turning point when Obsidian shifted from "my" story into "our" story.
Growing a business hasn't been exactly glamorous. Leading people does not come naturally to me. There have been moments with Obsidian when it felt like we were taking two steps forward and one step back. Some of those steps were painful, but they've made us better and stronger. I began to understand that building the right team wasn't just about finding talented people. It was about sharing a vision and a philosophy of patient care. Here, we are like a family, and I love the direction we're taking.
Expansion & Rebrand
2024
In 2024, we took a huge leap forward. We moved into a gorgeous, brand-new space with almost triple the square footage. I designed every single detail with vision and intention.
A women's lounge was always one of my dreams. A space where women could meet over coffee, relax, and take a short break from their busy lives. I envisioned a fireplace with big chairs. Lots of windows and a beautiful, welcoming space. I wanted it to feel like home, cozy but not overwhelming. I wanted a space where patients experienced medically guided care and affordable luxury. Yes, I went over budget. And yes, I insisted on that fireplace!
With our new practice also came a rebrand, not just in its appearance, but in its vision and purpose. What started as a step into aesthetics began expanding into something larger. A philosophy of wellness and a belief that true beauty starts from within.
A Growing Team & Evolving Purpose
2025 - Today
The next stage of Obsidian has been the most rewarding of all. Today, we're a small and mighty team of four.
For years, Obsidian depended almost entirely on me. Letting go of parts of it has required enormous trust. In 2024, Jenna joined us. With her medical background, skill set, and love for helping people, she fit right into our team. And Meredith followed in 2025. In many ways, she's the glue that holds everything together.
Summer of 2025 brought more changes and growth. We launched Renew by Obsidian, bringing a deeper wellness focus into our practice. I had spent more than a year researching hormone health and thinking through how I wanted that care to look. The response from our patients was incredible, and wellness quickly became a focus of our practice that I felt deeply passionate about.
Then in the spring of 2026, Lexi joined our team, bringing with her experience as a physician assistant and a background in wellness. Her timing couldn't have been better. She understood our vision for wellness and helped make that a reality. Now, when I look at the team we've built and how far Obsidian has come over the years, I can't help but feel incredibly grateful. And we're only just getting started.
Dreams and Hopes for What's Next
The Next Chapter
I've never been much of a five-year-plan person. For most of my life, I've been focused on what's directly in front of me. Maybe that comes from trauma nursing, where life was spent in fight-or-flight mode. I know how quickly plans can change.
What I do know is what I want Obsidian to feel like as it grows. We are expanding next door to create more space for a wellness clinic, and I want that side of the practice to become something that serves our community well. I want to educate more women about their health. I want to host more events where people can ask questions, learn, and sort through the enormous amount of misinformation that exists around hormones, metabolic health, aging, and wellness.
I also want to keep writing. Writing has become something I love, whether it's the memoir I've slowly been putting together or my Coffee, Chaos & Collagen newsletter. Hearing from patients that my writing resonates with them is incredibly rewarding. It's very important for me not to come across as someone I'm not, and knowing my patients see the person behind the words continues to inspire me to write.
I've always felt like I'd rather have 200 patients who come back rather than 2000 who come and go. I know most patients probably won't remember the sunspot we treated or that wrinkle we smoothed out. But I really hope they remember the little things. The card we sent on their wedding day. Asking about their little ones. Or the time we remembered an important event. Most importantly, I want them to remember feeling seen and heard when they needed it most.
