Home: Mill Spring, NC. Profession: Licensed professional counselor (LPC). Organization: Healthy Minds Therapy. Title: Owner. Significant other: Kristen Korzelius, my partner in crime. Alma mater: Syracuse University. Languages spoken: English, Spanish.
Current project: Pursuing advanced training and certification with EMDR, as well as working with disabled veterans. Recent recognition: Community recognition for providing pro-bono counseling services. Recent professional development: Completed certification in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Latest contribution to others: Volunteering with community-based 988 Lifeline crisis teams. What’s been your big (or biggest leap)? Integrating my own personal story for client connection in my practice (when ethically appropriate). Hobbies: Travel, outdoor sports, jogging with my dog. Recently viewed and recommended: Brene Brown YouTube videos regarding shame, vulnerability, courage.
Personality profile: Antifragile - grow stronger through stress and adversity. Empathetic listener. Moral compass: What would the most virtuous person do in this situation? How do you define a perfect friendship? Respects the other's needs, space, and time without guilt or resentment. How do you define an ideal business relationship? Mutually supportive, provides opportunities for both to grow, learn, and succeed together. What is your greatest joy? Spending time with my kids and wife. What is your greatest fear? Letting time slip by without demonstrating my love for my family and friends. What occupation, other than your own, do you most admire? Teachers.
What was your first paying job? Snow shoveling in the heavy Syracuse snow belt. What was your favorite college course? Religions of the World. What was your favorite childhood toy or game? Chess. What book have you repeatedly read? The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. What’s the best advice you received growing up? Put on your own oxygen mask first. What company or organization do you most admire? MANNA. What personal circumstance has had the greatest influence on your life? Growing up in a community with limited open dialogue about mental health.
What is your big idea?
Small, confidential groups that focus on shared experiences, using first name or pseudonyms only to reduce stigma, shame.
What change are you working on to effect in your profession or field? Counseling ideas that empower people to talk openly about mental health. What change would you like to see in the world? People learning how to truly listen to each other without judgment. What message do you want to send out into the world? Live as the person you would respect, especially when no one is watching. What widely held belief do you reject? The belief that fear should be the primary decision maker in my life.
What title would you choose for the movie about your life? No Straight Line. What actor would you choose to play you in the movie about your life? Mark Ruffalo. Who would you like to spend an evening with, in heaven? Carl Rogers, to understand and feel what unconditional positive regard feels like. As a kid, what did you first want to be when you grew up? A professional basketball player. After your loved ones, what object would you first save from your burning home? My signed baseball that I caught in an Atlanta Braves playoff game. How would you choose to spend tomorrow, if you knew it was your last day on earth? With my family at Hunting Island Park, fishing, riding bikes, camping. What advice would you give your younger self? Keep your heart open, even after you fall and make mistakes - you are not your worst mistake! And, slow down.
Personal mission: To challenge systemic barriers, nurture healing, and inspire hope in marginalized communities. Personal motto: Courage is choosing the right path, even when the world says you can’t. Favorite quote: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way” (Marcus Aurelius).
