Monica is a global citizen who has excelled academically, professionally and as a wife and mother of four children. A native of Costa Rica, Monica grew up in Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil. She is an accomplished professional with a diverse background and a strong commitment to making a meaningful impact in the world. Her educational journey combines both business and mental health training. She earned an MBA with a specialized focus on International Marketing, equipping her with strategic skills and she holds a Masters in Counseling with a dedicated focus on working in the field of child sex trafficking addressing critical issues such as sexual abuse, addiction, developmental trauma and suicide. Monica is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Licensed Addictions Counselor (LAC).

She is certified as a Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) practitioner, reflecting her commitment to evidence-based practices in trauma-informed care in the delivery of services for complex trauma survivors including a focus in suicide prevention and therapeutic services for young children survivors of sexual abuse.  As a bilingual clinician, she leveraged her language and cultural understanding to develop the Hispanic Crisis Program for Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners, the Colorado state crisis and suicide hotline.

She proudly serves as the Founder of Aftercare International, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The mission is to advance the development of aftercare best practices and provide safe transitional homes for vulnerable youth, specifically in the field of child sex trafficking. In addition to her nonprofit work, she co-founded True North Recovery Services, an addiction treatment center that offers Intensive Outpatient Substance Use Disorder (SUD) services for adults and adolescents. TNRS also oversee peer services groups that extend services to disadvantaged populations, including those exiting the justice system and the unhoused population among others.