About Me

I’m a recovering people-pleaser, caregiver, and co-dependent, and. . . if I’m able to curate the life I desire and transform my life with me at the center. . . so can you!

I am a self-development life coach and founder of The Modern Matriarch. I am forever a student of life, learning the lessons of being a spiritual being having a unique set of human experience. . .embracing, accepting, and surrendering to the known, the unknown, and the unseen.

I’ve spent the last two decades consuming and practicing all things self-help in service of healing, surviving, and thriving for myself, my family, and my clients.

I coach, guide, and mentor people like you. . . seekers of transformation searching for clarity, confidence, and courage as they navigate life's complexities.

For years. . . I believed that if I just tried harder, gave more, and went deeper, everything I wanted would magically fall into place. But it didn't. In my quest to serve everyone else, I forgot to prioritize myself. In the process, I was depleting my light and completely ignoring my needs, wants, and desires. And even worse, I didn’t even realize it was happening.

I was missing from my own life!

Today, I live from a place of gratitude, abundance, light, and love. I’ve endured and learned powerful lessons about myself, a spiritual being having a human experience. I arrived where I am through my own personal transformational journey of surviving and thriving through hardships, traumas, abuse, and illnesses.

“Your life will be transformed when you make peace with your shadow. The caterpillar will become a breathtakingly beautiful butterfly. You will no longer have to pretend to be someone you’re not. You will no longer have to prove you’re good enough. When you embrace your shadow you will no longer have to life in fear. Find the gifts of your shadow and you will finally revel in all the glory of your true self. Then you will have the freedom to create the life you have always desired.” — Debbie Ford

🧡 Struggles as an Asian Immigrant
❤️ Demands of motherhood
💜 Negative self-talk & body image
💚 Physical, sexual & emotional abuse
💙 Chronic physical & mental illness
💛 A toxic end to a 20-year marriage

I thought I was being spiritual by constantly looking for the silver lining, but I was actually using spirituality as a way to avoid facing the truth of my human existence. It took a radical and painful wake-up call to realize that true spirituality isn't about bypassing our humanity but embracing it fully.

Are you ready to unlock The Modern Matriarch within?
Let me be your guide.

My Personal Journey

1973 How I Arrived. . .

I was born the first child of a young and poor couple from Seoul, South Korea in December of 1973 as Ji-Sook Hwang.

1981 The American Dream. . .

In the fall of 1981 when I was just shy of turning 8, my parents, my uncle, my little sister, and I flew across the world to immigrate to the United States of America and settled in the state of Maryland in the Washington DC area. My parents bravely came to this country in their early 30s with two young daughters, two large bags, only two thousand dollars and spoke no English.

1990 Struggling with Growing Up. . .

I spent my teen years obsessed with being thin.  I over exercised and lived off of diet soda. I was uncomfortable in my body and struggled with being accepted for who I was at home and the outside world.  

I was caught between two worlds. I wasn’t Korean enough at home but not American enough to the world I was living in.

I struggled silently and secretly with an eating disorder, depression, and suicidal ideations.

Through my struggles, I reconnected with meditation and conversations with GOD. I began to commit myself to eating well and being kind to my body as I entered College and moved away from home.

1997 Playing House. . .

I got married without the support of my parents to my best friend, the one person who accepted me as I was at the age of 23.  Shortly after my wedding, I attempted suicide due to the stress of the wedding and the disappointment of my parents for living my life without their approval.

I went under multiple in-patient and out-patient treatments for rapid-cycling manic depression. What came out of it all was my renewed dedication to meditation and my mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health.

I committed to my well-being and was able to build my family. I had found a rhythm and pace to life that thrived in. The role of wife, mom, and homemaker was challenging and rewarding.

But during this time, I dealt with multiple health scares and unexplainable symptoms:

  • Cervical Cancer Scare

  • Ovarian Cancer scare

  • Chronic Lyme Diagnosis

Recovery and healing from my multiple serious health was a pivotal turning point in my life. . .

  • It inspired me to get my certification in health coaching as I took a holistic, mind, body, soul approach on my journey with positive results.

  • It motivated me to reinvent my life once again and move our family from Virginia to Boulder, Colorado in search for a more intentional quality of life.

2015 When the Student is Ready,

The Teachers Will Appear. . .

With my health back, my kids growing up and setting into the lovely city of Boulder, I began diving even deeper into the self-development world. I began working on receiving trainings in various modalities in support health and wellness. . . all in preparation for building a career as a self-development coach. I’ve became trained beyond my original health coaching certification:

  • Psychology of Eating

  • Meditation

  • Kundalini Yoga

  • Himalayan Singing Bowls

  • Reiki

I’ve had the honor of being trained and learning from incredible self-development leaders in the world. And so many certifications to support me and those I coach.

  • Gabby Bernstein

  • Nancy Levin

  • Marc Davis

  • Danielle Mercuiro

2017 Biggest Wake Up Call. . .

That Change Everything!

A week before our 20th wedding anniversary, my husband, my partner, my best friend, the love of my life of 23 years, told me he was leaving me and our marriage over a telephone call. . . YES! over the phone. To say it was a shock, is an understatement. It wasn’t just a surprise to me but to everyone we knew.

What followed would shock me even further as the vail began to lift and show what I had subconsciously been ignoring and avoiding. It was a huge wake up call and it changed everything in my life.

I went from stay-at-home mom for nearly 20 years to raising my kids alone, starting a career, and rebuilding my life from scratch.

What kept me going was all I had learned over the years. . . I had to choose to see this as an opportunity and possibility for more in my life.

I was not wrong!

I took a giant leap forward and made a commitment to myself that I would live my best life with me at the center, no longer believing that I was not enough. The top things I did to rebuild my life after divorce:

  • I took myself on the romantic 20 year anniversary getaway trip I had planned alone. . . the reaction from the hotel staff and their shock of changes to the reservation was priceless!

  • I woke up every morning at 5am to take care of my physical, mental, and emotional heath. . . I knew I needed to full myself first for what was ahead.

  • Reached out to everyone I knew to secure a job that would help support myself and my two kids.

  • Made a conscious effort to spend time with friends I cherished and support me.

  • Committed to new activities to stretch me out of my comfort zone. . . joined roller derby and learned to paddle board.

  • Worked my ass off to be able to purchase a place I could call home.

  • Invested in myself, the career and future I desired.

My Life Began. . . 2018

I won’t say it was easy because it wasn’t! What I can say is that I am finally living life authentically as myself. I had to do a lot of uncomfortable things:

  • Be truthful about my marriage, the man I was married and committed to, the way I was struggling and playing small.

  • Set boundaries, again and again, with myself and those that no longer had a place in my life.

  • Lean into the fear of the unknown.

  • Heal and teach myself how to undo old patterns that were obviously harming me rather than supporting me.

  • Learn new ways of doing things.

  • Give myself unconditional love and actually believe I deserved and worthy of love.

What I received in return was incredible!

All the self-development skills, tools, and processes I now coach, guide and support my clients are what I used to be where I am today. Since that huge wake-up call, I’ve created and curated a life I love. I’m counting all the big wins I’ve had with hard work, dedication, and commitment to myself. . .

  • I went from stay-at-home mom to COO to Nancy Levin, a master life coach, multi-best selling author, and founder of Levin Life Coach Academy. I served as the director for LLCA, a mentor and responsible for it all. And I had the honor of being around the incredible author’s I’ve admired and learned from over the years. Click here to listen about this journey.

  • Received honorable mention for the Hay House Publishing House’s Writer’s Workshop for my book proposal.

    Found an incredible love that has taught me so much about myself. A person and relationship that has restored my faith in what I believed about commitment and partnership of a shared life.

  • Purchased a second home for myself.

  • My kids are now grown and out of the house. Both pursuing their passions in life and living authentically. My daughter now a three time published author with her fourth book coming out spring 2025. My son an aspiring music artist and producer getting an education to support his art and creativity.

Today, I’m continue to grow

I’m now 50! And I’m proud to have my own life coaching business working as a self-development coach. I love the life I’ve consciously created and curated. And I know there is still so much more ahead!

Are you ready to embark on this magical journey with me?

It all begins with your willingness to take the powerful first step! Book your free discovery call to unlock the guidance and support you’ve been craving on your self-development, healing and transformational journey.