Why I Built Good Talk

Early in my career, I immersed myself in experiences that broadened the way I saw the world. Learning Spanish opened doors to relationships and communities I never would have known otherwise. Working alongside Spanish-speaking families, studying abroad, and volunteering with Hopi and Havasupai communities taught me that every child, every family, and every culture brings a unique story — and that understanding always starts with listening.

That perspective shaped the psychologist I became.

Throughout my career, I've worked in large public school districts, charter schools, and private practice. I've supported students with autism, learning disabilities, trauma, anxiety, depression, behavioral challenges, and complex medical needs. I've helped families navigate special education, led crisis responses, coordinated trauma-informed initiatives, redesigned MTSS processes, chaired psychology departments, developed social-emotional curricula, expanded after-school programs, and trained multidisciplinary teams.

I've also lived the reality of special education.

I've restrained students in crisis while waiting for first responders to arrive. I've sat with children grieving the loss of a parent. I've supported families after suicide attempts, cancer diagnoses, severe mental health crises, and unimaginable trauma. I've celebrated incredible victories and carried heartbreaking losses.

And after those moments, I would return to my office to hundreds of emails, spreadsheets, sticky notes, calendar reminders, compliance deadlines, meeting invitations, consent forms, and reports that all somehow needed to be completed before I went home.

Again and again, I found myself reorganizing departments, improving workflows, building better processes, and creating tools to help overwhelmed teams stay organized. Every school I joined had brilliant educators working incredibly hard — but they were spending far too much of their time managing administrative chaos instead of supporting students.

Eventually, I stopped asking why we were still doing everything manually.

I started building a better way.

Good Talk wasn't created because I love technology. It was created because I love the people doing this work.

Every automation, dashboard, workflow, reminder, and template inside Good Talk exists because it solves a real problem I've experienced myself or watched my colleagues struggle with. The platform wasn't designed in a boardroom. It was built from years of working inside schools, understanding what special education teams actually need, and asking one simple question:

Today, I continue working as a school psychologist while building Good Talk — because staying connected to students, families, and school teams matters to me. It keeps me grounded in the realities educators face every day and ensures Good Talk continues to evolve alongside the people it was built to serve.