Hi, I’m Cara

I spent 20 years learning how to survive and ultimately thrive in the ultra-male, 24/7, meat grinder field of real estate development. It’s an “always on” business, in which it is a peculiar badge of honor to be so “busy” as to have few, if any, other priorities in life. During that time, my teams produced over 3,000 homes in the San Francisco Bay Area, creating over $1.5 billion in value.

After slogging away for the first 15 years, doing all (most? some?) of the things working parents are “supposed” to do, with two children and a crushing set of expectations from myself, work, home, and beyond, I hit a nasty wall caused by years of built-up exhaustion and overwhelm, and ultimately a family health emergency.

These factors reached a boiling point that caused me to quit my job and embark on a career break of unknown duration to figure out how to heal myself inside and out.

Here’s me playing at my sister’s wedding in 2021 with my hubs holding the music.

Here’s me giving my sister and our kids a tour of an SF project under construction back in 2014!

As I recovered from burnout, I got my mojo back, and with it plenty of motivation to get back in the game of work. By shifting my perspective, strategy, and approach, I rebuilt my career with far more autonomy and purpose (and made more money working less)!

Learning I had the power to set my own rules of engagement with the world was a watershed moment; I just had to learn how to use it.

Bursting with ideas and inspiration, I started a consulting business in my field and worked on many exciting projects with terrific clients, chosen based on shared purpose and mutual benefit.

I was able to set appropriate guardrails around work and other demands and protect precious time to raise my family and invest time and energy in my own needs and interests.

I learned that the more I nourished myself, the more I had to give my loved ones, work, and the world. (I also learned that playing your first instrument after 40 is a slow road, but who cares - being horrible at first builds character!)

Now I’m a burnout recovery expert, empowerment coach, speaker & author, and I help disconnected, exhausted, overwhelmed super-performers step into their power and build lives and careers that light them up.

I love working with incredible and inspiring clients, providing thought partnership, strategic insight, clarity on value and values, healthy mindset practice, new chapter exploration, career acceleration support, and accountability. All wrapped up in warmth, understanding, and inspiration —the kind we all need from time to time, especially when in a period of growth or transition.

My best-selling book Burned Out to Lit Up: Ditch the Grind and Reclaim Your Life, a guidebook for burnout recovery, was released in October 2023.

And last, but def not least…

GO BEARS!!!

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”


― HOWARD THURMAN