I am of Japanese and Jewish lineage, born in Tokyo. I grew up, moving every year until the age of 14 when my parents settled in Petersburg, VA. I graduated from the College of William and Mary with a BS in Biology, then served two years as a Peace Corp volunteer on the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. I returned to live in NYC and eventually graduated from the MFA Program at Columbia University. I later began psychoanalytic training at the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies. After graduation, I became the Director of the institute and editor of its journal, Modern Psychoanalysis. I currently am in private practice and have completed training as a guide at the Center for Medicine Work in Philadelphia.