Getting to Know Heather

Heather is a Licensed Professional Counselor.  Heather spent the first half of her career as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) after graduating from the University of Arizona. When she wasn’t working with numbers, she spent her time speaking into the lives of adults, teenagers and tweens. At first, choosing to retire from over two decades as a CPA in order to pursue a career as a counselor seemed a daunting prospect.  However, it was through her son, Cade, and the song Real Right Now by Ryan Caraveo that gave her the courage to leap into obtaining a Masters in Counseling from Amberton University. The lyrics, “I’d rather take a whole no, than a half yes, take failed leaps over half steps,” resonated deep within her. Falling on her face was certainly a possibility and in fact, it’s an eventuality when one’s feet continually leave the ground but leaping is how Heather chooses to embrace life.

Heather works as a counselor with Lifeologie in addition to writing for The Wounded Rooster - a space to wrestle with everyday questions about what it means to be a spouse, a parent, a friend, and a member of community. 

As a child Heather grew up in an environment of addiction and generational divorce. Her life experiences, personal journey in counseling, and education have allowed her to develop a unique perspective of how our woundedness, caused from dysfunctional patterns of relating, are carried forward and recast into our adult lives. Recognizing that our experiences become the filter through which we sift and construct our view of self, our approach to life, our capacity love and be loved, and our ability to trust, Heather’s passion is to come alongside those wrestling with shame, identity, anxiety, relationship issues, divorce, infidelity, secrecy, emotional abuse, and childhood trauma.  Heather also enjoys faith-based counseling, approaching these and other issues from a biblical perspective.  Heather’s approach to counseling is to offer a client-counselor relationship that pursues the depths of the client’s heart while simultaneously welcoming all that it finds there. Free from condemnation, judgement and shame, she offers an environment which beckons one to draw close, discard their masks, and lay bare their scars. It is within that place that the transformative magic of counseling happens.

As a native Texan, Eric was born and raised in the Houston area. Undersized for his age, he was frequently a target of peer bullying. Forced into a daily struggle to overcome social, physical, and emotional obstacles, Eric developed a unique perspective of how societal influences shape an individual’s life; bullying can propel one to press forward through difficult challenges and simultaneously undermine one’s self-confidence. This peer-pressure combined with his creative spirit developed grit, hustle and a passion to inspire others towards greater heights.  

Upon receiving his bachelors from Trinity University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Texas Tech UniversityEric began a successful career in the finance industry. At the age of 26, he would face his greatest bully yet when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (t1d). The exhaustive self-care routine, combined with preconceived societal views, and continual fearmongering messages made for an intimidating tyrant, which would sideline him from all exercise and athletics for over a decade. Determined to overcome this new bully, Eric began building his educational muscles in diabetic technology, physiology, and nutrition. In 2012, he ran his first 5k obstacle course race (OCR) and since then has run over a dozen OCRs, including the Ironman, World’s Toughest Mudder, Spartan’s Beast, Bonefrog’s Tier 1, and Conquer the Gauntlet Continuum. As a multi-tool athlete, Eric is continually pushing the diabetic envelope by competing in marathons, triathlons, a Half Ironman, and auditioning for Survivor and American Ninja Warrior. Never missing an opportunity for an athletic challenge, Eric has participated in events in London, Poland and U.S. cities, coast to coast. 

After years of education and in-the-field training with diabetes Eric recognized a gap in services for individuals with chronic illnesses. Medical treatment, nutrition training, and social services received through once-a-quarter appointments focuses on the most critical medical needs. The very nature of a chronic illnesses is that they are pervasive; requiring daily focus and often diabetic specific counseling. Eric began a life coaching certification process and founded D|U|T|C|H|E|R with his wife, Heather, to fill the gap by coming alongside diabetics in their daily life. As a life coach Eric has helped diabetics “get back in the game” by competing in their first OCR, marathon, or by making that initial commitment to a new exercise routine. He has helped parents return their kids to swimming pools and other life-giving activities. He has helped spouses understand how to support their diabetic partner, rather than supervising them.

Eric is the COO of the Diabetes Sports Project, and a diabetic social media influencer @chronicsuperhuman. He is a writer for  the Wounded Rooster, and Chronic Super Human, and has been a guest on the top radio station in Dallas, The Ticket. 

Wherever you are in your journey, Eric is eager to walk alongside you.