Hola! My name is Sterling, and I'm all about living. I love staying active, making music, exploring the world, and sharing a good laugh. Over time, these passions deepened into a genuine curiosity about how people make sense of their experiences and what actually helps them change and find peace. I believe living looks different for everyone, and helping others figure out or refine what makes them feel alive brings me such joy and wonder. I want to support individuals doing meaningful work and help remind them to smile and enjoy themselves along the way. Everything I offer or share comes from my direct experience and countless hours of lectures, research, readings, and practice.
I'm a meditation instructor and counselor in Baltimore. I came to this work sideways — psychology at Duke, then six years in advertising and consumer research, then a layoff that turned into Zen monasteries, Indigenous teachers, open mics, and eventually a master's from Johns Hopkins. What I do now sits at the intersection of contemplative practice, the natural world, and clinical training. I'm most interested in what actually helps people change.
Currently…I recently graduated from Johns Hopkins with a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, with a concentration on spiritual well-being and Nature Informed Therapy. I co-led the Spirituality and Mindfulness in Counseling Club in the counseling program, creating space for students to explore these conversations personally, relationally, and in their future clinical work.
I have been meditating for 7 years and spent several weeks on retreat in both Zen and Vipassana traditions. I am curious about all spiritual beliefs and religions, and the way people make sense of the unknown. I am a certified Nature-Based Meditation Instructor and a graduate of Mark Coleman's Awake in the Wild Teacher Training, and a certified Nature-Informed Therapist through the Center for Nature-Informed Therapy, where I also consult and help co-facilitate trainings. Incorporating nature into my professional practice and daily life is of the utmost importance to me because I believe it helps us unlock ourselves and feel at home in this busy world.
I also worked for the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research as a research intern with the data management team and as an intern psychiatric therapist. Together, these experiences have deepened my interest in how evidence-based practices and longstanding philosophical traditions can meaningfully inform one another. This fall, I will begin a Ph.D. in Psychology, Religion, and Consciousness at Pacifica Graduate Institute, where I plan to continue exploring how nature, movement, spirituality, and non-ordinary states of consciousness, including the experience of awe, can help people live more fully.
MY TRAININGS
Master of Science, Clinical Mental Health Counseling - Johns Hopkins University
Certified Nature Informed Therapist - Center of Nature Informed Therapy
+2,000 hours of contemplative practice (butt on the cushion in silence!)
Awake in The Wild Teacher Training Program - Mark Coleman
Buddhist Psychology Training: Integrating Mindfulness, Science, and Clinical Practice - Matthew Brensilver, MSW, PhD/Spirit Rock
ZENDO Sitting & Integration Training
Research & Psychiatric Therapist Intern, Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research - Johns Hopkins
Incoming PhD, Psychology, Religion & Consciousness - Pacifica Graduate Institute
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A Year to Live: How to live this year as if it were your last (for the entirety of 2026), offered by Vinny Ferraro, Frank Ostaseski, & Pamela Dunn, based on Stephen Levine’s book and programming
Spirit Rock’s Living Dharma Program
Say What You Mean Mindfulness Communication and Non-Violent Communication Trainings with Oren J Sofer
Advanced Music Module for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
Plum Village’s Zen and The Art of Saving The Planet Training
One Earth Sangha’s EcoSattva Training
Unified Mindfulness CORE Training (secular system of meditation practice inspired by the teachings of Zen master and neuroscience researcher Shinzen Young)
Unified Mindfulness Resonate Training: Using Music to Get Mindful
PQ (Positive Intelligence) Mental Fitness Training (rooted in neuroscience, psychology, and mindfulness)
Sounds True’s Spirituality of Internal Family Systems Course, taught by IFS Founder Richard Schwartz, PhD
Sounds True’s Psychotherapy and Spirituality Course
Music for Wellness course by Berklee College of Music
Johns Hopkins School of Education’s Antiracism Trainings and Coalition Building Spaces
Certified Wilderness First Aid Response - Center for Wilderness Safety
Certified in CPR & First Aid by the American Red Cross
“Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. And between the two my life flows.””