Meet Your Coach

Hi, I’m Monica, a trauma-informed financial resiliency coach and founder of Badass Money Mama.

My path to financial resilience and professional coaching was shaped by grit, grace, and accident. As a teen, I spent summers working on my dad’s ancient fishing boat in Alaska. I ran off with a friend to South America for a gap year outfitted with a backpack, a shoestring budget, and my high school Spanish. I returned home two years later after an unexpected baby proved enough adventure for me. Determined to provide for my little family, I started college at 20—cherubic baby with a mop of black hair in tow. The next decade was a whirlwind of study sessions, odd jobs, and parent-teacher conferences. I cobbled together resources like food stamps and financial aid to cover childcare, housing, and other basic needs. I joined AmeriCorps*VISTA, worked long hours, got two degrees, and landed a fellowship which led to a job with a pension at USDOT.

During my 30s, I bought a cute little condo, met and married my person, got promoted, had another baby, and moved to a house with a view in the suburbs. On the outside, it was the happy ending to my bootstrap story. In reality, the burden of multiple mortgages, nonstop responsibility, and constant change and chaos took its toll. Add bankruptcy, declining physical and mental health, and divorce to the list.

Badass Money Mama (BaMM) emerged from the healing and clarity of my midlife renaissance. I’m now semi-retired after 20 years of federal service. My coaching style is authentic, compassionate, and merges 30 years of restorative leadership practice with a trauma-informed, ICF- and NFEC-certified financial coaching frame. I’m ridiculously passionate about creating financial wellness, resiliency, and transformation so anyone—especially single mamas—can better navigate complex money issues with confidence, compassion, and just a dash of sass.