I’m Tricia. I never expected to introduce myself as a spoken word poet, motivational speaker, and life coach, but - my goodness! - how subliminal dreams do come true.

I didn’t consciously choose this path, but I couldn’t conceive a more appropriate way to help people on both a personal level and global scale using my most natural talents and skills. 

At the age of 10, I left Julie’s School of Dance sobbing after my first acting class. I’d dreamt of being an actress and just couldn’t wait for the class! Until it happened. I was painfully shy and insecure in my child body, which I saw as hideously fat. The classroom was unforgiving, lined with wall to wall mirrors. I had no choice but to see my potbelly poke through the bottom of my t-shirt while I lay on the floor doing some theatrical exercise holding back tears at the utter humiliation of it all. All this, while all the other students in the class sang and danced about feeling, what seemed to me, totally confident in their own skin.   

It would take years for me to grow into my body, to trust my own voice, and to feel the courage to actually perform. I do this not necessarily as an actress, but as a public speaker, workshop facilitator, and spoken word poet. 

The liberation I’ve felt through my own personal development has given me no choice but to share it with the world. People have told me I’m “a natural teacher and healer”, as well as a writer and creative. 

I’ve worked for the past decade as a speech coach. That means I get down and dirty with people on their fear of public speaking, in addition to voice and accent work. I received my Masters degree in Speech Language Pathology from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2016 with a bilingual extension in Italian. During grad school I interned with a speech coaching company and learned how to present myself with confidence and, most importantly, I learned how to feel more like myself. I experienced such a profound shift in my persona that I decided I just had to help others do the same. Alas, I began my own tenure as a speech coach, training people to go from timid to taking the stage. 

As fate would have it, I’ve also had a unique front row seat to terminal illness as I’ve watched my mother battle a rare, life-threatening lung disease at a young age. Talking and thinking about death on the regular sure does put life into perspective, and it has shaped the way I live in tremendous ways. I had the privilege of giving a TEDx talk on the subject, which I highly recommend you watch (but hey, I’m biased!). 

Working with people’s deepest insecurities around humanity’s biggest fear (public speaking) taught me a thing or two (or twenty million) about limiting beliefs, self-confidence, and the power of our minds. Couple this with daily conversations about dying, and I’ve developed what’s been called a unique, powerful perspective on how to live.  

As a lifelong learner and spiritual seeker, my coaching sessions have evolved into subjects far beyond the realm of speech and more into personal development as a whole. Which leads me to where I am today: helping people overcome resistance to living their own lives to the fullest. 

If you’re interested in working together, please reach out to me at powerfulandpoised@gmail.com.

I perform spoken word live throughout the Florida panhandle and beyond. Reach out to me for private booking.

Oh, and I had a two year stint as a podcast co-host on The Lost Art of Communication podcast. Check it out!