The Ampersand Co.

02/27/2026

I used to coach college students in the area of academic success. I often told them you can neither simply will yourself to success (mindset) nor simply skill yourself to success. You need both the proper methods and the proper mindset in order to reach your goals. Do you agree? Where have you seen this at play?

03/11/2025

Another wonderful day with Great KIDS Make Great COMMUNITIES! Thank you, Jessica and Amanda for inviting me into your community.

02/14/2025

Happy Love Day! You are not only loved, you are also SO WORTH LOVING. Thank you to my friend Brandi Lea at Heal and Thrive Global for teaching me this to embrace this impactful and statement. ❤

02/14/2025

Happy Galentine's Day! You deserve to be fully known & fully loved. Read that again - fully known in all your glory. Fully loved in all your glory. You are glorious - a gift to this world and to your own beautiful self. Know yourself fully. Love yourself fully. Be known fully. Be loved fully. Let's embrace one another during this lovey season. 🩷

02/13/2025

🤍 Have you ever had a sneaking suspicion that you have untapped potential?
🤍 Are you exhausted by the seemingly ubiquitous message that you're not good enough?
🤍 Do you expend yourself on behalf of others at your own expense?
🤍 Do you feel drawn to living in the "grey spaces" rather than being bound by binary thinking?
🤍 Do you long to build community with others while also investing in yourself?

If you answered yes to any one of these questions, the Explore & Embrace workshop series might just be for you*. This series is all about self-knowledge and self-investment. (If those two words sound indulgent or selfish to you, this workshop may also be for you.😉)

Investing in yourself is the only way to truly be the gift you are intended to be to the world. Take a chance on yourself and consider being a part of this pilot series.

$150 for 5 workshops (2 hrs each), a code for the CliftonStrengths assessment, and an experience that is sure to leave you empowered to be exactly who you are. Comment or DM for more information about joining this pilot group.



*This one is just for women (AND that may not always be the case. 🤍)

02/12/2025

Very excited to partner again with Great KIDS Make Great COMMUNITIES in March!

Every person has unique talents and gifts. Exploring those talents and learning how to invest in them to create strengths can be an invaluable practice. We will utilize the CliftonStrengths Online Talent Assessment to learn about the positive traits that come most naturally to each of us. Additionally, we'll discuss how to focus on those areas of gifting in order to develop a reliable set of strengths that will lead to success and fulfillment in all areas of life. Participants can expect to come away with practical tools to support their professional and personal goals. A copy of StengthsFinder 2.0 including an assessment code will be provided to all participants.
($40 registration fee. Limited to 40 participants. Three (3) CEUs provided to participants.)

Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/cliftonstrengths-a-workshop-in-exploring-talents-and-developing-strengths

01/30/2025

It's time! I'm officially recruiting a pilot group for a new series with The Ampersand Co. Introducing "Explore & Embrace," a five week series centered around harnessing the power of and in order to:

🤍 Graciously hold dichotomous truths
🤍 Reframe and reroute unhelpful personal narratives
🤍 Explore identity and set its foundation on that which is unchanging
🤍 Embrace the multitudes of talents and gifts within
🤍 Build community with others seeking the ampersand experience

I am looking for a pilot group for this series. 5-10 women who could commit to meeting 5 times (approx 2 hour meetings) over the course of 5-10 weeks to work through this program together for the very first time. Since this is a pilot group, I am offering special pilot program pricing: $150 + the cost of a CliftonStrengths code if needed (if you have already taken the assessment previously, you will not need to retake it!) But wait! There's more! If you and a friend sign up together, you will each pay just $125 (+ code if needed).

If you are interested, send me a DM and I will add you to the private Facebook Group!

01/27/2025

Today's Mixed Messages Monday is borrowed from the youth pastor at Canvas Community Church .community.fw, where my family visited yesterday for the first time together (it was my second visit). Yesterday, he shared a message about the kind of culture he hopes to nurture with the youth at the church - a culture where love is central, the dial on shame and fear are turned way down, and where young people learn to support one another and challenge each other to keep growing. It was a really beautiful message--one that excited me about the possibility of my kids someday being a part of such a youth program.

It was also a great reminder to me of one of the reasons I fell in love with my husband. I bet you didn't see that coming, did you? 😆 I actually turned to my husband and said "I think this was in my vows to you - challenge and support." I came home and checked the record and what I actually said was "You challenge me and make allowances for me in what feels like just the right pattern." But the message was the same - it was that in this relationship I feel so well supported and like I'm given so much space to be myself AND I am challenged to keep growing, keep going, keep becoming.

Love is like that, right? It meets us where we are. It says, you're enough--more than enough--AND keep going, because I can see even more greatness ahead of you.

I hope you have someone in your life who loves you like this. A friend. A sister. A sister from a different mister. A mister from a different mister. A partner. A mentor. A parent. If you look around you and don't see the people who both challenge and support you, I hope you could find that kind of love here in the Ampersand Community. ❤

01/25/2025

In case you missed it: Wednesday I announced that the Soft & Strong Retreat has been postponed for the time being. Stay tuned for more information about an upcoming 5-week series that I'm planning instead!

What: A 5-week series exploring identity using CliftonStrengths and deep-diving into various applications of The Power of And.
Who: 5-10 Women interested in harnessing the power of and while also exploring their unique talents as anchor points for identity.
When: Spring 2025
Where: TBD. Exploring the possibility of running parallel groups virtually and in-person. So, don't be shy about reaching out with interest even if you're not in Fort Wayne!

Interested? Send me a DM and stay connected for more information right here!

01/23/2025

The bad news is The Soft & Strong Retreat is officially postponed. This is bad news because it's a really exciting prospect to spend three days with an incredible group of soft & strong women pursuing our truest selves and its sad to realize that specific experience is going to be delayed. It's sad because there were people really excited about it (myself included) and it's hard to say "this is not happening right now."

AND

It's okay to realize the timing is off. It's normal in a young business to try something new and then realize that it's not going to work quite the way you envisioned. It's good and right sometimes to say, "not yet." (Parents, raise your hand if you have to explain "I'm not saying no, I'm just saying not right now," a thousand times a week.)

Am I bummed to make this announcement? Yes, of course. And I feel a lot of peace about it, too.

So what's the good news? Well, I guess I've already mentioned some of the good news. This is not a cancellation, it's a postponement. I do believe a Soft & Strong Retreat is in the future. How far in the future? I'm not sure but I believe it will happen when the time is right. If your heart is set on it, hold that hope together with me and I will see you there when the time comes.

The other good news is that I'm cooking up a new plan that might be a little more accessible for those for whom a long weekend with three overnights wasn't feasible. I'm looking for 5-10 women who would like to be a part of a pilot group for a (yet to be named) series with the Ampersand Co. This program will be 5 sessions (5 weeks in a row or maybe every other week for 10 weeks, depending on the groups needs), 2 hrs per session. This will be a deep dive into The Power of And and will also incorporate identity exploration through the use of CliftonStrengths. If this sounds interesting to you, send me a quick DM and keep your eyes peeled for more information to come!