What Happened

In 2020, I became the subject of a professional licensing investigation related to an ethical violation: entering into a romantic relationship with a former client very soon after terminating therapy. The investigation lasted nearly two years, and in June 2022, my LCSW license was suspended for five years with the opportunity to move it to probationary status after one year.

I take full accountability for that boundary violation. It was a serious breach of professional ethics, and I don’t minimize the gravity of what I did.

Over our 7+ years, Open Space had grown into a thriving practice, eventually with over 30+ clinicians and support staff—and became the largest provider of LGBTQIA+ affirming therapy in the Pittsburgh area. But behind the scenes, I was leading from a place of deep personal and professional struggle, including eventually finding the strength to leave a relationship that had become deeply harmful.

Leading Through Transparency

In Fall 2022, when my license suspension became public knowledge in the local therapist community, I confirmed the news with my staff. At that time, after much deserved processing and holding space with our current staff, my leadership team and I made the decision to tell all potential new hires moving forward about my license status before they accepted an offer of employment. I was proud of that decision then, and I still am. It was the first step toward leading with transparency rather than fear and shame.

That former client then filed a lawsuit in late 2023, (which my leadership team was aware of, and they were also present when I was served). Less than a month later, a massive state-wide insurance policy shift effective January 1st, 2024 was announced—one that would threaten half our team's caseloads, impact hundreds of our clients in our practice alone, and gut a significant portion of our revenue. Then, in February 2024, the Change Healthcare cyberattack brought additional operational chaos.

We spent the rest of 2024 fighting to keep the practice stable—working to maintain caseloads for the pre-licensed clinicians hit hardest by the insurance changes, preserving benefits and support staff despite plummeting revenue, and trying to support a team that was increasingly burned out. The November 2024 election results then shook our clinicians and entire team deeply, adding yet another layer of collective distress.

That lawsuit finally settled in Spring 2025. The legal proceedings were long, difficult, and emotionally draining—for me, and then by extension, my team.

The Transition

When the lawsuit settled in Spring 2025, at the strong encouragement of my leadership team I shared the news with staff—something my attorney had advised against until proceedings concluded. I let them know that there had been a lawsuit, but that it was over now and behind both myself and Open Space. Shortly after, some staff located the court documents and shared them with the team. The documents were harsh, one-sided, and difficult to read—as legal filings often are.

Each challenge alone would have been significant. Together, they were crushing. And ultimately, all of our clinical and administrative staff made the decision to leave.

What I’ve Learned

Halfway through the lawsuit, something shifted. I realized viscerally that once the lawsuit settles, neither I nor Open Space could continue living behind this story. That transparency couldn't just be a private conversation at the point of hiring—it needed to be bigger, more intentional, more overt.

This experience fundamentally changed how I think about leadership, sustainability, and what it means to create affirming spaces. I learned what it means to lead from depletion versus clarity. I learned the cost of making decisions from shame and guilt rather than strategy. I learned that real transparency requires next-level courage.

I also learned that I can't control how people perceive me. And that trying to do so only creates more harm.

What I can control is how I lead now. How I show up. What I build. And who I build it with.

In May, I launched a separate business alongside Open Space where my story, my license suspension, and the lessons from it are front and center. I speak openly about ethics, shame, and rebuilding in public forums and professional settings. I now offer pro bono guest lectures in university classrooms where I discuss my own ethical violation openly. I pursue speaking engagements on ethics, shame and leadership, building inclusive businesses, and what it takes to rebuild with integrity, vulnerability, and authenticity.

I'm not hiding anymore. Anywhere. I'm now leading with my story—not in spite of it.