This is my story
Reeling from a heart diagnosis of Wolfe Parkinsons White syndrome, my story begin when the setbacks stacked up. Shortly after, my older sister passed away from complications of a car accident and I was faced with the fragility of life and paving a way forward forged in the fires of adversity.
Failure is a currency. What can you buy in the future because of the lessons you learned?
With an unlikely background and an endless reasons for why it shouldn’t work - I started a community to teach women to skateboard. It was born out of my interest in learning to skate as an adult. It grew into a global community with chapters in 7 countries around the world. We evolved to include surfing, wakeboarding, motivational retreats and a place to encourage women.
At it’s core, we were helping women overcome the fear of failure, fear of being a beginner. Confidence bolstered in a community of women willing to embrace the learning curve and find the areas that are holding them back personally and professionally.
As I became more involved in Activate Brain and Body, founded by my husband, Mike Gelfgot and his business partners, I brought my background in fitness to the brain health space. Adding certifications, research and hands on with our clients, we promote the link between exercise and brain health.
The further I traveled into the field of neuroscience and behavioral change, so many of the lessons I learned founding Keep Her Wild suddenly had relevance with the science of resilience.
How do you increase fortitude? How do you instill resilience so when it all goes sideways you have the cognitive reserve to still push through adversity? Why do some people thrive in the midst of tragedy while others crumble?
Approaching these questions through the context of helping others put it into action has been the foundation of my work with Executives, Leaders and Fortune 500 companies.
The power of shared grief and a way to move forward.
After the loss of my sister, it greatly shaped the trajectory of my life. Over the last 8 years, a passion project of mine has been facilitating grief workshops for individuals of all backgrounds. From secondary grief of first responders and LEO’s personnel to individuals healing from traumatic loss, meeting individuals in such a painful chapter is a calling on my life.
Host of the Surviving Grief Podcast, I am blessed to honor my sister, Susanna by helping others navigate their grief journey.
