With more than 20 years of experience in business and education, Angela is a social entrepreneur working in coaching, training, and consulting.
She is an INSEAD alum, member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council and an affiliate with the Institute of Coaching: McLean-Harvard School of Medicine.
Her passions are travel (35 countries and counting), reading, meditation, photography, and learning. She has lived in South Korea, the Netherlands, different cities in the United States and currently lives in Brussels with her husband, daughter, and son.
my story
In 2018, I was 5 months pregnant, and my husband and I were moving abroad for his new position. I closed down my successful business and left for a place where I knew no one and didn’t know the language.
Soon, I started to search for solutions and tools. I wondered how to bring a kid into this world as I didn’t know how I would be as a mom and what I would do for work.
But first things first, figuring out everything in our new home. It wasn’t easy maneuvering Belgium if you didn’t speak Dutch or French. Taking one day at a time, I read A LOT and asked a lot of questions to a few trusted mom friends.
Soon our daughter was here. She was perfect, and I was struggling. I didn’t have a village and I had very little knowledge or understanding of the new culture I lived in (aside from reading a few books on cultural differences).
I found some solace in some expat groups online and discovered that many other moms were struggling too. Still, something was missing… so I dove into mindfulness. I took my first neuroplasticity course, hoping that I could “solve” some uneasiness that rested inside of me.
I felt my heart and mind expand with possibility. During the course, we found out we were expecting our second, and soon, we all discovered the world was expecting the arrival of something else: COVID.
The pandemic shook us, like most. For us, we were both working from home, had a toddler to look after, and another child on the way. To say it was a lot is an understatement.
Once our daughter went back to daycare, things eased up a little, and in September, our son was born. Still: no community and friends aside from the work-friends and partners of work-friends of my husband, I was struggling to understand what a life — our life … our family life — would be like, in a place that was not my country or my husband’s. I started asking other moms questions at the playground and online in expat support groups, and we all were struggling. No one seemed to have the answers yet many questions. I continued to question if raising kids abroad was supposed to be this hard.
It was always a struggle to find babysitters, I almost always felt taxed and unable to give, we both were struggling with emotional regulation when times got tough, and neither of us had family or friends nearby with kids who we could call. WE WERE STRUGGLING.
I kept searching and signed up for a mindfulness class and coaching courses at INSEAD. They all helped me to discover more about myself and become more self-aware and discover some tools and strategies.
In 2022, my mother-in-law passed away suddenly. Her passing made the proverbial house of cards collapse. We all came up with our own coping mechanisms, and mine was to take care of others and not myself. Sound familiar?
Upon our return home after the funeral, I collapsed with no energy, drive, or feeling, yet I knew that I needed to take some time off or I would burn out.
As I nursed myself back to health, I dug in deep. I read books that nurtured my soul as a woman, daughter, sister, partner, mother, and person. Once I felt well enough, I started to engage with others and ask them how they did it.
This path that I’ve taken has led me to where I am today, and I wouldn’t give up any of it. All of the questioning, curiosity and struggles brought forth many discoveries. Through support, engagement and connection, life became lighter, more fun and more enjoyable. You too can enjoy expat life!
This business is the result of all of my research, studies, application, and struggles.
We as expat parents need to thrive before we plant the seeds for the next generation to grow.
Our values
We want our clients to know they can be empowered in all aspects of their life
The journey starts with curiosity, self awareness and presence, which we guide them to through a process rooted in honesty, integrity, and transparency.
Your situation as a parent is unique and that’s okay
Are you struggling to find fellow parents who “get” it?
Do you have trouble navigating parenting roles and your professional life?
Are you envious of those who have family nearby, with Zoom calls to your loved ones feeling insufficient?
If you've mentally answered "yes, yes, and yes," then the Expat Parenting Collective is tailor-made for you. Join us on this transformative journey towards confident, joyful expat parenting.