F O U N D E R | Compassionate Collective

With over 20 years of corporate experience, I have come to understand that we all long for value, connection, and purpose. In 2018, after a lifetime of living through a lens of performance, perfection, and proving my worth, I embarked on a transformational journey of embracing imperfection and living a life full of compassion and grace for myself and others.

As I entered into this deep, heart work, I met a “heart-ist”, named Gary, who was making beautiful, handmade, imperfect wooden hearts from scrap wood. Holding one of Gary’s imperfect hearts in my hand, I realized that this little heart represented exactly the message I was longing to spread.

This small token was beautiful, unique, and imperfect, made from wood that most people would walk by or throw away. They were perfectly imperfect, in the same way that I believe all human beings are.

I began giving them out as a tangible reminder that things don’t need to be perfect to have meaning. Little did I know the impact these small, imperfect hearts and the heart story would have on so many. In 2021, Compassionate Collective was born. It has been the joy of my life to share these hearts and this story with the world.

My heart has expanded as I’ve learned what true compassion is and that it requires action. This work has been the most authentic, beautiful and adventurous of my life.