Meet your provider...

Originally from former Yugoslavia, I have spent first 21 years of my life in a province called Vojvodina. Unfortunately, my native country fell to war from 1990-1995.  Living my teenage years through a war ridden country has provided me a very unique perspective on life, and ability to easily relate to people who are suffering  from trauma. 

In 1997 I moved to the United States and lived in Cleveland, Ohio, where  I have raised my family, completed all my education and started my professional career. 

In 2021, I started a new journey and moved  across the country, to the Pacific Northwest, and found a new home in beautiful Washington State. 

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family, friends, and my dog, Stellula.  I love traveling and exploring new places and cultures, hiking and immersing myself in nature, reading and watching a good Netflix show. 

 I am multilingual, fluent in English, Ruthenian, Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian. 

I have over 20 years of experience in healthcare, serving patients in the  critical care areas and psychiatry at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to working as a critical care bedside nurse, I have  worked as an adjunct faculty at Case Western Reserve  University in Cleveland, Ohio, where I have taught a critical care clinical portion of the curriculum to students enrolled in the Master in Nursing program. 

 During my career as a bedside nurse in the Intensive Care Units (ICU) I have learned a lot about human bodies, medicine, suffering and healing.  More importantly, I have learned about  the human need for compassion, genuine care, and that our minds and souls need nourishment and care in times of crisis,  just as our bodies do when they are critically ill. The main focus in the ICUs is usually saving and preserving lives, and often, this focus gets shifted far from the lens that shows a patient being a person, and thus, leaving mental and emotional aspects unattended to. I have felt compelled to reach out to my patients in a way that was beyond healing their bodies.  Over time, I have  realized that my true passion is mental health and holistic wellbeing. With this realization in hand, my decision to further my education came naturally,  therefore I have returned to Ohio University to obtain a Masters of Science in Nursing degree in the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program.  All my clinical training I have completed in the Psychiatry Department at the Cleveland Clinic. 

Dedicated to my patients, my profession, and continued education, I am a member of both the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, and the American Nurses Association.