MY STORY

The Beginning

Growing up between worlds…

My parents are Hmong refugees from Laos. They came to this country only carrying what mattered - their family, their values, their culture, and rebuilt their lives in a place that had no roadmap for who they were.

Growing up, I watched my parents and grandparents navigate systems that weren't designed for them. I watched them hold their culture with pride and grieve the parts of it that didn't survive the crossing. And I watched them build something real, anyway.

I grew up between worlds - being Hmong and American, straddling traditional and progressive values, caught between being the daughter my parents raised and the person I was becoming. I didn't always have the language for what I was experiencing. But I understood, early, that belonging wasn't something you just found. Sometimes you had to create it.

That understanding is the root of everything I do.

The Work

How I got here.

I didn't pursue the mental health field because I had it all figured out. I pursued it because I knew what it felt like to need someone who could hold complexity - someone who didn't ask you to choose between your cultures, your identities, or your contradictions.

I'm a pre-licensed Marriage and Family Therapist practicing under clinical supervision in Minnesota, trained to work with individuals, couples, and families navigating the full range of what it means to be human: relationship dynamics, identity development, life transitions, cultural and generational conflict, and the everyday work of growing into yourself.

I'm also the President of ACEL-MSP (Asian Community & Education Leaders of Minneapolis–Saint Paul), and the founder of Dani & Co. - a brand built at the intersection of mental health, coaching, leadership, and community.

My work doesn't fit neatly into one category, and I've stopped trying to make it.

What I Believe

What I know to be true:

• Healing is deeply relational. We don't grow in isolation.

• Your story is not a liability. The things you've survived are often the source of your greatest insight.

• Identity isn't a problem to solve. It's something to explore, honor, and keep understanding.

• Community is a practice, not just a place. It takes intention to build spaces where people actually belong.

• Thriving is more than surviving. People deserve more than coping, they deserve to feel alive in their own lives.

Outside the Work

When I'm not working…

I’m probably spending time with people I love, reading something that's making me think, or finding a new corner of the Twin Cities. I care deeply about food (especially my mom's cooking), about music, and about creating spaces that feel warm, inclusive, and real.

I believe in showing up as a full person, not just a professional. That's the kind of presence I try to bring to every room I walk into, and it's what I hope you feel when you work with me!