From a Life of Constant Motion to Đà Lạt

I started working before I really understood what rest was.

I was around 12 or 13 when I began finding ways to earn money selling things on the street, spending summers helping my sister with her hat and sports store, and eventually getting my first real job while I was still in middle school.

Work became part of who I was. It represented responsibility, progress, and pride. I learned early that if you worked hard enough, you could create opportunities for yourself and your family. Part of the journey was also shifting mindset not only effort.

That mindset followed me into adulthood.

For more than 20 years, much of my professional life was spent in healthcare as a licensed nurse. I worked in nursing, clinical care, leadership, operations, compliance, and eventually administration. I had the privilege of caring for people during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives while also leading teams and carrying the responsibilities that come with healthcare leadership.

It was meaningful work, but after decades of constantly working, solving problems, and thinking about what needed to happen next, I realized something was missing:

I had learned how to work, but I had never really learned how to slow down and live.

Why Đà Lạt?

At 37, I decided it was time for a different chapter.

That decision eventually brought me from California to Đà Lạt, Vietnam.

There was something about Đà Lạt that immediately felt different. The cool mountain air, pine-covered hills, farms, slower pace of life, and the people made it a place where I could finally appreciate the days instead of constantly racing through them.

And then there was the coffee.

Coffee here isn't simply something you order in the morning. It's connected to the land, the farmers, families, cafés, and daily life.

Living in Đà Lạt gave me the opportunity to see coffee differently. I began visiting farms, meeting local producers, learning about different varieties, processing methods, roasting, and the amount of work that happens long before coffee ever reaches someone's cup.

What started as curiosity became a passion.

And eventually, that passion became Dalat Collective Coffee.

From Đà Lạt, for the World

I didn't come to Vietnam with a lifelong dream of starting a coffee company.

Dalat Collective grew naturally from the life I found here.

I wanted to create something that could share a small part of Đà Lạt with people back home while supporting and building relationships with the people who actually grow and produce the coffee.

Our coffee is sourced here in the Đà Lạt highlands, and our goal goes beyond simply selling bags of coffee. We want people to understand where their coffee comes from, who produces it, and the journey it takes from plant to cup.

That's why Dalat Collective is also growing into coffee education, tastings, farm experiences, brewing demonstrations, and opportunities for visitors to experience Đà Lạt's coffee culture firsthand.

After spending much of my life caring for people and building a career in America, this chapter is about something different.

It's about slowing down.

Learning.

Building relationships.

Supporting the community I've become part of.

And creating something meaningful without forgetting to enjoy the process.

Dalat Collective represents that journey.

From Đà Lạt, for the world.