About Team KYvO and Its Co-Founders

My contribution to Team KYvO is one of perspective.

As someone who continues to live with depression, I have my own experiences with suicidal thoughts and with understanding how isolating those thoughts and feelings can be. 

As a young teen, I did not have the support I needed while going through them.

If sharing my experience can help someone who is struggling, or help someone better understand and support a person they care about, then I hope it serves as a reminder that they are not alone and that hope is still possible.

For me, being part of Team KYvO means using my experience to help create greater understanding, connection, and hope for others.

I bring to Team KYvO a combination of life experience, professional experience, resilience, and a desire to create a comfortable space where people feel heard, valued, and supported.

I owned my own business and have six years of experience in real estate, along with decades of work experience across the medical field, construction, and retail. Each of those experiences taught me something different about people, relationships, perseverance, and the importance of meeting people where they are.

My resilience was shaped early in life. I left home at only 15 and largely raised myself. My faith in God and my determination to keep moving forward helped me persevere through many difficult seasons and storms throughout my life.

Suicide has also touched my family personally. My stepfather died by suicide in May 2004. More than a year later, following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and during the reconstruction process, his remains were identified and finally returned to our family so he could be laid to rest with dignity and peace.

As a mother of two boys who have also experienced depression and suicidal thoughts through bullying and major life events, I understand how difficult life can become—not only for the person struggling, but for the people who love them.

Our family has learned how much it matters to have people to lean on. Friends, family, faith communities, medical professionals, and other resources can all become part of the support system. 

It truly can take a village.

My contribution to Team KYvO is helping create connection. I want people to know that they deserve to be heard, that asking for help matters, and that there are people and resources available to walk beside them.

Sometimes support begins with something as simple as a conversation.

I'm here. I'm listening. I care.

And I could not be more proud to be part of Team KYvO.

IT Specialist and Cybersecurity Analyst

He is also Kyle's younger brother. Kyle was only 5 years old when I divorced their father. Josh was only a few months old when Kyle declared that, since they no longer had a father, he would be Josh's father. 

Josh has taught me more than anyone and has made me the person I am today. Many of the ideas I used in creating Dream to Live came simply from being his mom—attending different types of therapy with him, learning from his experiences, and navigating the challenges we faced together.

Being Josh's mom taught me that we cannot assume we know someone simply because we know something about them. What we see on the outside does not necessarily tell us what is happening on the inside. And even when we know what is happening on the inside, that still doesn't give us the right to define who someone is.

Those lessons not only made me a better parent; they made me a better person. They became part of how I see people, how I understand behavior, and ultimately how I approached creating Dream to Live.

Josh reignited my spark for KYVO and turned it into a burning flame for Team KYvO.