space to breathe.
tools to lead.
community to hold it with.
The Seed
Almost 10 years ago, we started facilitating workshops on project-based learning, helping educators bring community-based learning experiences into their classrooms.
Then the pandemic changed everything.
Folks weren’t just managing curriculum and classroom culture—they were carrying collective grief, exhaustion, and burnout. Community-based learning experiences felt less relevant in a world where survival, both literal and emotional, had become the priority, for them and for us.
So we pivoted.
We took our design know-how and applied it to something more essential— well-being. As humans on our own mental health journeys, we knew that the same creative, intentional processes used to build dynamic learning environments could be paired with research-backed methodologies to foster rest and resilience for those in the trenches.
Since then, we’ve been gathering folks who are seeking sustainable ways to ground in care, compassion, and on their one unique journeys. And each time, we’ve seen the same thing: a shift, a breath, moments of connection, and folks making the commitment to better show up for themselves so they can continue to show up for the folks they serve.
What We Ground In
This long game requires grace.
Nonlinear and without an actual end point, growth takes time. We honor the imperfect, evolving nature of being human by centering grace and self-compassion. This work moves beyond quick fixes, instead watering practices that take root over time. We support individuals and teams in developing rhythms that foster clarity, alignment, and long-term sustainability – beginning with the radical act of offering ourselves the same care we extend to others.
Play + Personalize
Trust is built in the small moments – through consistency, care, and loving accountability. We create spaces that invite vulnerability, honesty, and call-ins rather than call-outs, making room for shared humanity and rooted dialogue to deepen and grow.
Self-Care as Self-Preservation
Inspired by Audre Lorde, we see self-care as a necessary, powerful, and radical tool for self-preservation. It is not indulgence, but a practice that allows us to stay present for the world and the people around us. This work protects what’s essential – our energy, our presence, and our ability to show up with purpose, clarity, and conviction. In a world that often demands constant output, self-care helps us stay whole, rooted, and ready to contribute meaningfully to the communities and causes we hold close.
Self Care = Community Care
We’re not into the idea of hyper-individualism. Instead, we see interdependence as a strength. Well-being, growth, and sustainability emerge through connection – with ourselves, with each another, and with the ecosystems we belong to.
Like plants in a shared garden, we’re each rooted in our own needs, yet growing side-by-side in the same soil – benefiting from the richness and diversity each plant brings. When we tend to ourselves with care and intention, we nourish the ecosystem we all draw from. And when we invest in the health of that ecosystem, we create the conditions for everyone to bloom—ourselves included.
Self-care and community-care are interwoven, each making the other possible. Our fates are connected, which is why we do our best to hold personal well-being in one hand and collective vitality in the other.
Trust is a key ingredient.
We believe in building agency through small shifts and ongoing, playful experimentation. Rooted in practical tools and relevant brain science, this work invites you to explore your own experience, listen to your body, rhythms, and needs, and ultimately uncover what sustains you.
Who We Are
Proud Dad of Two Boys
20 Years in Education
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Since 2005, Grant has spent time in roles ranging from a classroom teacher and Elementary Science Department Chair at Harare International School in Zimbabwe, to FAB Lab Specialist, PBL Coach, and classroom teacher in Chattanooga, TN, and school district leadership for Hamilton County Schools.
Grant holds a M.A in Instructional Leadership and a B.S. in Early Childhood Education. When he’s not learning out loud, Grant is usually focusing on design thinking mindsets, place-based learning, dreaming alongside his community and chasing his boys, probably in a creek somewhere.
Veteran Organization Founder
Lucky Guardian of Teenagers
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Elyse Burden has spent almost 12 years working alongside educators to design innovative, connective, and community-based learning experiences. As the co-founder of Real World Scholars and a Forbes 30 under 30 listmaker, she has supported the launch of over 625 student-run businesses nationally.
Elyse enjoys being with the humans doing the work and has presented and facilitated at events around the country, focusing on the entrepreneurial learning process, ecosystem mapping, and designing for wellbeing. Elyse holds a B.A. in Political Science from Pepperdine University, and lives in San Diego as the guardian of two teenagers.