An advisory built for women law firm owners.

Why we exist

The business of law is its own discipline.

Law school teaches you to practice. It doesn't teach you to price work, read a P&L, structure a team, or decide who owns what. Most firm owners learn those things the expensive way — by trial and error, while carrying a full caseload.

Catalyst Advisory exists to close that gap. We focus on women who own law firms, across two kinds of engagement: coaching for the owner, and advisory for the business.

That focus makes for better work. It means we don't spend the first three sessions catching up to a reality you shouldn't have to explain.

Owners come to us at different moments. Sometimes the finances have stopped making sense. Sometimes the team isn't working the way it should. Sometimes the processes need building — or rebuilding, because what worked as a solo doesn't work with a team of five.

My journey

How I got here

I began my career as a public defender. It taught me how to stand with people in their hardest moments and how to lead under pressure with incomplete information and no time — still the most useful training I've ever had.

Then life changed the plan. I became a mother, our family relocated for my husband's work, and I found myself pausing to reimagine how my professional purpose and my family life could actually fit together.

That season became a catalyst.

I launched my own immigration law firm and ran it for nine years — solo at first, then with partners and staff, and eventually across two states. Then, when the need arose, I founded VECINA, a national nonprofit expanding access to legal assistance for immigrants and refugees, built to respond to humanitarian crises with a nationwide network of mentors and volunteers.

Along the way I taught immigration law as an adjunct professor for five years, spoke at conferences, was recognized for pro bono service, and mentored entrepreneurship students at UT Austin's McCombs School of Business.

And building both of those — the firm and the nonprofit — taught me something no one had prepared me for.

Doing excellent work and running a healthy organization are two completely different skills. I priced by feel. I hired before I understood what I could afford. I confused being busy with being profitable, and being the hardest worker in the building with being a good leader. For a while, the firm ran on my willingness to absorb every problem personally — which works right up until it doesn't.

What I've learned running these organizations is that three things matter more than anything else: getting clear on the numbers, getting honest about what is actually mine to do and what belongs with my team, and finding support so the seat feels less lonely. That was true for me. I believe it's true for any woman who finds herself in the leadership seat.

That's the work we do now.

Beyond the work

Community

I'm energized by community and always have been. I've spent years building rooms where women can be honest with each other, including through Safra Leadership and the Mueller Professional Women's Network. It comes from the same conviction that drives everything else: women lead better when they aren't doing it alone.

I live in Austin with my husband, our two daughters, and our dog, Yoshi. I serve as my neighborhood block captain, love finding ways to bring people together, and believe health, movement, and time outside are essential rather than optional. I completed the Boulder 70.3 in 2025. When I'm not coaching or consulting, you'll usually find me rock climbing, traveling, or outside with my family.