Take the
Fork in the Road…
and Choose
Alignment

My Story

Regina Griego
Kelleher

I was born and raised in New Mexico — grounded in the land, the culture, and a deep sense of community that has shaped everything I do. Today I live in Florida, anchored by my husband Pat and our two beautiful children. Our son Jacob, a recent graduate of Penn State University, has built his life in Pennsylvania. Our daughter Elaina makes her home in Northern Virginia. They remind me every day what it looks like to step into your own path with courage.

I am a public-service leader, educator, and Executive Coach with certification as an EME 1 Practitioner, bringing nearly three decades of federal experience rooted in service, policy, and leadership.

I began my federal career as congressional staff within the United States Congress, supporting legislative initiatives and helping constituents navigate the federal system — an experience that grounded me in the real-world impact of national policy on everyday lives.

I served at the U.S. Department of State supporting the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, working at the highest levels of international diplomacy. In that role I worked alongside high-level dignitaries from around the world, attended meetings at the White House with the President of the United States and other senior officials, and represented American interests on the global stage. I also contributed to work at the National Institutes of Health before moving into senior leadership at the U.S. Department of Energy.

At DOE, I led complex worker health, safety, and compensation programs under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) — a landmark law I helped draft and negotiate with Congress — supporting former nuclear weapons workers and their families. My work spanned regulatory development, program oversight, policy guidance, and cross-agency collaboration, helping deliver billions of dollars in medical and compensation benefits to workers and survivors nationwide. I also contributed to DOE's Worker Safety and Health programs, helping shape policy frameworks that protected the workforce across the nuclear weapons complex — from Hanford to Oak Ridge to Savannah River to Los Alamos.

Working in high-level politics and government was one of the greatest privileges of my life. But it came with a price few people see from the outside. The constant pressure, the political volatility, the pace of crisis management — my body, my mind, and my family paid the price. For years I operated in a state of chronic stress, carrying it quietly, the way high-achievers do.

I struggled with self-esteem and self-worth — the deeply held belief that I was only as valuable as what I produced, only as worthy as the person I was standing beside. I didn't see it clearly then. But the body always knows what the mind tries to ignore.

When the new administration took office, I made a decision that changed everything. I took my Fork in the Road — and I retired. Along with over 100,000 other dedicated public servants, I stepped away from the only professional identity I had known for three decades.

It wasn't easy. But it was necessary.

When the titles and structure fell away, so did the certainty. The routine. The identity I had lived inside for decades. And in that quiet space, the real questions surfaced: Who am I now? What is my purpose?

That question became my invitation. Through 30 Days of Authentic Living, I began my self-discovery — learning to slow down, listen, and give myself permission to pause without pressure to prove anything. That practice opened the first door.

The journey to finding myself unfolded in two sacred chapters — and each one changed me completely.

Today, my migraines and GI issues are under control. My mental health and my relationships are thriving. I am living with gratitude, love, and compassion — not as practices I aspire to, but as the way I actually move through each day. That stillness became my greatest teacher.

I hold a Bachelor of Science in Community Health from New Mexico State University and am a certified EME 1 Practitioner (Emotions, Mind, and Energy). My coaching certification is aligned with the National Board for Certified Counselors. I have dedicated thousands of hours to direct work with the public — both domestically and internationally — spanning federal programs, health policy, international diplomacy, and transformational coaching. I am currently undergoing advanced training in Healing Energy and Sound Frequency — deepening my ability to support clients at the energetic and cellular level.

Now I teach English as a Second Language at Lake Technical College — and my students became family. I am also co-creating a healing retreat in Costa Rica at Villa Wanderlust, a sacred space for others to do the same inner work I've done.

I am a coach, a teacher, a guide, and a woman who has walked through fire — breast cancer, chronic illness, identity loss, toxic environments, unprocessed trauma, and a political career that cost me more than it showed — and come out the other side rooted, radiant, and free.

My value is no longer attached to proximity to power. It lives in my presence, my compassion, my truth — and in every person I help find theirs.