Transforming pain and loss into positive leadership with purpose.

After feeling the pain of several experiences with poor leadership, I decided to learn how to be an effective leader, so I enrolled in a Leadership course. This is my certificate of completion and what I learned.

Six days before Christmas, my employer “let me go” with no warning or explanation. I was highly praised for my work and well liked by customers and staff. I felt shock, then hurt, then betrayal — the most difficult and painful emotion. Nothing made sense. I thought, what’s wrong with me? It sent me to a dark place and fed old stories of being unworthy. I knew God was taking me out of a toxic environment and realigning me to my purpose, but I had to go through the growing pains of being fired and picking myself up again. I felt lost, and had to find my way.

While in the confusion of it all, I did some digging and found out that there was a long history of toxicity, ineffective leadership and firing really good people. I came close to letting it crush me, but instead I decided I wanted to learn how to be a good leader, so I enrolled in a course called “Fundamentals of Leadership & Management: People.”  The 6-week course was led by the vibrant and inspiring Dr. Christine Fonner in partnership with Project RUN, Fort Lewis College and La Plata Economic Development Alliance.

What you see in the photo is my certificate of completion. Yay!! The course helped me identify my values and the type of leader I am (and want to be). It taught me the importance of building on the strengths of others, what it means to be an effective leader, and how to develop a leadership philosophy.

On a personal level, the course validated my feelings relating to past experiences (many workplaces have zero leadership training—who knew!) and showed me that there are healthy ways to lead. Effective leaders communicate, have difficult conversations and take responsibility for their leadership styles, insecurities, emotional intelligence, habits and growth. They build on the strengths of others and create safe environments for teams to share their collective genius.

The course was so good that I enrolled in the next one, which focuses on ‘Strategy’ and will be an 8-week course beginning March 25, 2026. I can’t wait! As I move forward into my legacy career—currently taking shape—I’m excited to weave the teaching of leadership skills into the mix.

What is ‘the mix’ you ask? Glad you asked! I’m working on creating experiences for adults to learn wilderness, survival and ancestral skills, access creativity and the power of stories, and connect to nature, community and purpose.

Stay tuned, and thank you for sharing my success and excitement!