Occupation: I’m a licensed clinical social worker and a certified child sleep consultant. I’m the clinical director for a home visiting program called Child First, which serves children 0-5 and their families. I’ve also more recently become certified as a child sleep consultant and started my own business, Carina the Sleep Consultant. I provide virtual consultations to families with children ages newborn to 5 years old to help them sleep better.

Family: My husband, Logan, and I have been married for seven years. We live in Sandy Hook with our boys: Kian is almost four and Benjamin is almost two. They attend Fraser Woods Montessori here in Newtown.

How long have you lived in Newtown? My husband and I moved to Newtown in 2016. We were living in New York City before moving back to Connecticut. We both grew up in Brookfield. We love the feeling of community we get from Newtown and everything it offers.

What do you like to do in your free time? Recently, I’ve been spending whatever free time I have trying to grow my new small business. I’ve been reading all things sleep and working on sleep plans for my clients. As my boys get older, I’ve been enjoying rediscovering the local gems through their eyes while visiting places like Ferris Acres, Blue Jay Orchards, and the EverWonder Museum.

Who has been the greatest influence in your life? My grandparents and my parents, for different reasons; they all restarted their lives in different places from where they were born. They all successfully raised families, built communities, and took in their new cultures without losing their roots and identities. As a result, we now share German, Argentine, and American traditions with our children.

If you could spend the day with one person, who would you choose and why? I would spend the day with our son, Leo, who was with us for only four days. We never got to see his personality or who he would have become.

Who is your favorite musical artist? My favorite musical artist is Matt Nathanson. I enjoy his music and it also makes me feel nostalgic for some of my close friends and concerts we went to together.

What is the greatest piece of advice you have ever been given? The greatest piece of advice I’ve received is to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions … live the questions now and perhaps one day you will live your way into the answer. For someone with a Type A personality who likes answers, this has been helpful for me to keep in mind.

What is something you cannot live without? My family.

What is your proudest accomplishment? My proudest accomplishment has been focusing my education and career to working with families and young children in different capacities.

What is a meal/recipe your family has passed down to you? My family and I are from Argentina, so my mother’s empanada recipe is always a hit. She’s spent years perfecting every detail and it shows. I have to do a lot of practicing to get them like hers!

What is a tradition your family does that is important to you? We started walking on Main Street on Saturday mornings when our son was just starting to walk and loved looking at cars and UPS trucks. Now we go with both boys and end the mornings eating grilled cheese sandwiches at The General Store.