Certified Trauma Recovery Coach

Welcome! I’m glad you are here.

Priscilla María, J.D.

Mental Health Speaker,
Goal Achievement Coach,
Founder of Cycle Breakers Club

My debut book is available now!

Click the book cover to learn more.

My Story:

My name is Priscilla María, and I am a Certified Trauma-Informed Life Coach specializing in goal achievement.

As a first-generation Latina, I was taught to work hard, stay humble, and make my family proud. But somewhere between striving and surviving, I lost sight of my definition of success.

By my late 20s, I had done “everything right” from earning degrees at Johns Hopkins University (B.A.) and UC Irvine School of Law (J.D.) to working at a law firm. Yet, I still felt stuck. My goals looked impressive on paper, but they weren’t aligned with who I truly was.

That’s when I made the choice to redefine success on my own terms. Since then, I’ve written Break the Cycle Before It Breaks You, launched my own coaching business, Cycle Breakers Club, and have been invited by various mental health organizations to speak, including Johns Hopkins University, the National Center for Victims of Crime, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Beyond my private practice, I’ve coached and facilitated safe spaces for hundreds of people on various platforms, including Reframe, DC Futures, Sober Black Girls Club, OutCare Health, Lifeing Services and We All Grow Latina.

Today, I draw from my lived experience and years of personal growth to provide the compassion, insight, and accountability that a younger version of myself needed. My purpose is to be the support I once searched for and the voice that reminds others they’re capable of more than just surviving. Every goal, conversation, and breakthrough in my coaching is rooted in that mission.

• Certified Trauma Informed Life Coach facilitated by Moving the Human Spirit, a training program accredited by the International Coaching Federation. Visit the program’s website here to learn more about the certification process.
• Certified Speaker for National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
• Bachelor of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University, cum laude
• Juris Doctor degree from UC Irvine School of Law
• Founder of private coaching practice Cycle Breakers Club.

• Coach on Lifeing Services App where I facilitate meetings on living alcohol free and healing from trauma.

• Signed speaker with Greek University where I’ve spoken at colleges nationwide, including Johns Hopkins, Lane College, and Austin Peay State University.
• Published author of Break the Cycle Before It Breaks You

• Worked as a Thrive Coach for the Reframe App supporting people reducing or quitting drinking.
• Coached students in the DC Futures Program, a scholarship program offered through the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE).
• Hosted monthly support group for LGBTQ+ Latinx people for OutCare Health.
• Co-hosted Tuesday meetings for the Sober Black Girls Club that serve queer BIPOC femmes in recovery.
• Co-faciliated a domestic violence support group as a trained advocate at the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility.
• Curated mental health and domestic violence awareness content for a family law firm as a creative and community outreach manager.
• Raised mental health awareness on behalf of NAMI at local schools and community centers as a certified speaker.
• Supported trauma survivors as a law student through the Veterans and Domestic Violence Cinics.
• Wrote op-ed essays for popular online platforms, such as Yahoo!,Blavity, and Nalgona Positivity Pride about mental health and the effects of trauma.
• Provided leadership and secured almost $400,000 in funds through grantwriting for a national mental health organization that serves Black communities.
• Extensive volunteer experience primarily supporting underserved Black and Brown youth and families through academic support and mentorship.

"A cycle breaker is one who rebuilds what is broken, and builds what does not exist. This isn’t just for their well-being, but for those beside them and behind them who need a different way to live."
–Nate Postlethwait