My Story
Being everything to everyone isn't a badge of honor.
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You're the one everyone turns to.
At work. At home. In your community.
You're not just carrying the weight. You're taking it.
And if you're being honest, half the time they didn't even ask.
You grab it before anyone else can. Because it's faster. Because they'll do it wrong. Because nobody does it like you do.
You know you're a control freak. You might even joke about it.
But it stops being funny when you're exhausted and everyone around you has stopped trying, because they know you'll just take it back anyway.
Here's the truth: a lot of what's on your plate isn't yours to carry. You picked it up.
I know. I'm a recovering control freak myself.
You're the one everyone turns to. At work. At home. In your community.
And if you're being honest, half the time they didn't even ask.
You grab it before anyone else can. Because it's faster.
Because they'll do it wrong.
Because nobody does it like you do.
You know you're a control freak.
You might even joke about it.
But it stops being funny when you're exhausted and
everyone around you has stopped trying,
because they know you'll just take it back anyway.
Here's the truth: a lot of what's on your plate
isn't yours to carry.
You picked it up.
I know. I'm a recovered control freak.
I grew up in the family business.
I was born at the same time my parents were creating their lobster and seafood empire.
At seven, I was packing salt fish and building fish boxes. At thirteen, I was cleaning the offices. At sixteen, I was running our retail division. After business college in Fredericton, I became CFO at twenty-five, and later Partner, CFO and Succession Planner, guiding the business and its partners into its next chapter.
When you've been responsible since you were seven, letting go feels dangerous.
So I didn't. I micromanaged, filled every gap and solved every problem, because I thought that's what strong leaders did. I didn't let others hold the weight, just the blame.
And I was damn good at it.
On the outside, I looked steady. Inside, I was running on fumes.
I was born at the same time my parents were creating their lobster and seafood empire.
At seven, I was packing salt fish and building fish boxes. At thirteen, I was cleaning the offices. At sixteen, I was running our retail division. After business college in Fredericton, I became CFO at twenty-five, and later Partner, CFO and Succession Planner, guiding the business and its partners into its next chapter.
When you've been responsible since you were seven, letting go feels dangerous.
So I didn't. I micromanaged, filled every gap and solved every problem, because I thought that's what strong leaders did. I didn't let others hold the weight,
just the blame.
And I was damn good at it.
On the outside, I looked steady.
Inside, I was running on fumes.
The Turning Point
In 2019, I lost my only child, Aidaen, to suicide.
Losing her woke me up. I saw how much of my life I'd spent overwhelmed, and how little room that left to notice what mattered most. That's when I started choosing my battles.
For the past seven years, I've served as Founder and Executive Director of Aidaen's Place Youth Support Hub in Yarmouth, walking alongside youth, families and community partners.
Those four tools became One Toolbox Leadership™.
I still use them every day. Recovery is a practice, not a finish line.
Boundaries that Protect
Know what's yours to carry, and put down what isn't.
Communication that Connects
Say what needs to be said, and be understood.
Consistency that Builds Stability
Follow through so people know where they stand with you.
Resilience that carries you
Rest, reset and recover before you're running on empty.
Recovery started with one question.
What's actually mine to carry?
The answer was, a lot less than I'd been holding.
Putting the rest down didn't take a new leadership model.
It took going back to the basics and sharpening them
This isn't just another leadership program.
I've packed salt fish and I've sat in the CFO's chair. I've guided a family business through succession.
I've built a youth hub in my community. I've been the boss who trusted no one to do it right.
I'm not teaching this from a pedestal. I've been where you are, and I'll stand right beside you while you figure it out.
You don't need a different playbook for work, home and community.
You need one toolbox, and the guts to use it when it's hardest.
Most leadership training hands you a new model, a thick workbook and a different version of yourself for every room. I don't.
What you
can expect working
with me
I'm direct. I'll say the thing everyone else is tiptoeing around, and I'll say it with kindness.
I'll catch you taking it back. Every time. It takes one to know one.
I won't rescue you. I won't take over your problems, and I won't let you hide from them either.
I work backwards. Start at the beginning and the finish line feels miles away. Start at the end and the path gets clearer.
So my first question is simple: Where do you want to be? Then we work back from there.
You'll leave with tools you'll actually use. Not another binder for the shelf. I just sent a whole stack of mine to the burn pile.
And if you're looking for someone to tell you you're doing everything right, I'm probably not your person.
What you can expect working with me
30 years in family business leadership, including CFO at 25, Partner and Succession Planner
7 years as Founder and Executive Director of Aidaen's Place Youth Support Hub
International Coaching Federation Associate Certified Coach
Certified Resilience Coach and Certified Youth Wellbeing Coach
Workplace Education Initiatives Practitioner with Labor, Skills and Immigration
Certified safeTALK instructor
Business & Computer Operations diploma, CompuCollege School of Business
Proud member of Speakers Nova Scotia
Founding member of Nova Scotia Moms for Collaborative Mental Health Care
A member of the IYS Anchor Youth Space provincial and local caregiver committees.
30 years in family business leadership, including CFO at 25, Partner and Succession Planner
7 years as Founder and Executive Director of Aidaen's Place Youth Support Hub
International Coaching Federation Associate Certified Coach
Certified Resilience Coach and Certified Youth Wellbeing Coach
Workplace Education Initiatives Practitioner with Labor, Skills and Immigration
Certified safeTALK instructor
Business & Computer Operations diploma, CompuCollege School of Business
Proud member of Speakers Nova Scotia
Founding member of Nova Scotia Moms for Collaborative Mental Health Care
A member of the IYS Anchor Youth Space provincial and local caregiver committees.
Why you can trust me
Every keynote, workshop and resource I deliver is designed, written and developed by me.
Nothing comes off a shelf.
Every keynote, workshop and resource I deliver is designed, written and developed by me.
Nothing comes off a shelf.
I'm honest, and I'm calm to be around. Usually. I wake up at full throttle. I've solved the world's problems before my partner is out of bed. I'm slowly learning to wait until she's had at least two coffee before pitching my ten-minute plan to save the world.
I'll look for the bright side. Every time. I know it's annoying when you just want to sit in the hard stuff for a minute.
Decluttering is my superpower. Old binders, old habits, old beliefs about what I'm supposed to carry. If it isn't useful, it goes.
If it were socially acceptable, I'd show up to every conference in ripped jeans and bare feet.
And, Clare feels like home. When I moved here from Yarmouth five years ago, it felt like coming home. The Acadian pride, the close connections, the beaches and wharves, the rivers, lakes and forests. I'm still discovering it.
It's not all about work.
Fun Facts
Inside, you’ll get quick, practical wins in Communication, Boundaries, Consistency, and Resilience — tools you can start using right away. Build the kind of stability you can carry everywhere: at work, at home, and in your community.
The One Toolbox Leadership™ Starter Kit
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ONE TOOLBOX Leadership™ IS A GRADUATE OF THE 90-DAY TAKEOVER
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