Born and raised in San Diego, California, Jerri Carroll worked for years in the "family business" of health care facilities. Over the course of 20 years, she performed in various capacities ranging from candy-striper to administrator. Eventually, she opened her own residential care facility for developmentally disabled. After closing it in 1996, Jerri assumed that she would continue working in some variation of the health-care field.

After about two years of working various jobs and finding none that felt "right", Jerri was at a crossroads, unsure of which direction to go. It was during this state of uncertainty that Nature chose to give Jerri a push: she encountered a stray dog. Jerri took the lost Rottweiler home, canvassed the area, and placed "found" ads in the paper. Although it took only a day or two, finding Heidi the Rottweiler's owner also resulted in finding Jerri a job as a pet photographer. Over time, she came to recognize that Nature had "pushed" her onto her path.

For a year, Jerri took pictures of people's pets. She talked to the people, listened to stories, and learned that for all the happy, well-loved animals she'd met, numerous others were not so lucky. She could not help but become aware of the abuse, exploitation, maltreatment, and abandonment issues that affect not only pets, but also wild and industrial-raised/kept animals. The more she learned, the more her heart desired to aid the animal kingdom. Jerri says about that time in her life: "I felt overwhelmed and helpless. I knew I didn't want to be part of the problem, but had no idea what to do about it."

Fortunately, a photography client shared an experience that gave her an idea. Jerri listened with fascination and growing excitement as she was told about the client's visit with an animal communicator. She'd had no clue such a thing was possible and was immediately intrigued. Not only was she interested in the process, but she was also intensely curious about her pets' thoughts and feelings. She obtained the animal communicator's name and made an appointment for a session.

After her first experience with Brigitte Noel, Jerri took each of her many animals for sessions. Eventually, Jerri realized that she needed to learn how to communicate with animals. "Studying with Brigitte was the fun and easy part," says Jerri, "the hard part was getting rid of my self-doubts and self-censorship." Since then, she has also studied various forms of cooperative healing techniques, including Reiki, Healing Touch for Animals®, and Homeopathy.

For four years now, Jerri has been honing her skills: working to release the everyday doubts we all experience and refining the clarity she needs to accurately express what the animals tell her telepathically. From the crossroad years ago, her path is clear: she serves the animal kingdom.