LAUREL R.

Being part of the caring, articulate community that GGN creates is wonderful; it really did help mitigate feelings of isolation, helplessness, etc. 

LISA H.

I thought the facilitators did a beautiful job. They showed up with their full hearts and vulnerability. You could tell they deeply care about this work. And they held the boundaries well…

It was a testament to the facilitators that everyone felt comfortable really opening up.

PARK G.

Good Grief Network has helped me metabolize a build-up of climate grief that was leading to burn out and downshifting. Participating in the Good Grief Network is helping me continue my climate activism with more balance, resilience, and presence.

JACQUELINE L.

Utterly worth the hard work.

SHALINI K.

The 10-Steps left me with a greater understanding of myself as well as questions about myself that I will continue to work with. I also gained an understanding of the intersection between personal and planetary resilience and a sense of hope that this community can create the new paradigm.

ABBEY K.

I think the connection aspect of the group and non-judgmental space that is held in the group for people to openly say how they feel and be able to learn and grow from other perspectives is an incredibly useful tool. I am so glad to have found this group!

TANIA L.

I think the framing of the entire program, as well as the weekly insights that guide our development along the journey are rich and important. I will return to them.

For those of us paying attention to the state of the world, awareness of our systemic predicaments is confusing and painful. You may feel pulled to act, but don’t know what to do.

This is the place for you.

About Good Grief Network

Good Grief Network (GGN) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that brings people together to metabolize collective grief, eco-distress, and other heavy emotions that arise in response to daunting planetary crises.

GGN runs peer-to-peer support groups that help folks recognize, feel, and process their heavy emotions, so that these feelings may be transformed into meaningful action. With the help of Aimee Lewis Reau, LaUra Schmidt crafted GGN’s flagship program, “10 Steps to Resilience & Empowerment in a Chaotic Climate,”  which is inspired by the 12-Step family groups, specifically Adult Children of Alcoholics.

Our Mission

Good Grief Network creates spaces to gather in community, process the painful feelings and realities of our time, and commit to meaningful action.

ROOT

We help individuals be with and care for themselves and others as tumult grows.

RISE

We invest in relational actions, to help folks build strong and emergent communities of mutual care.

PRUNE

We work to dissect and deconstruct cultural messages so that we can see reality as it really is.

BLOOM

We practice opening to ideas and trying on perspectives we haven’t considered before.

Our Impact

50+
Programs
facilitated 

⎯⎯

GGN has run over 50 official and affiliate
10-Step programs worldwide

1,000+
people reached

⎯⎯

In fewer than 4 years, our 10-Step Program has reached over 1,000 people on five continents

200+
FACILITATION
PACKAGES

⎯⎯

We’ve sold over 200 Facilitation Packages to people in 15 countries who are interested in running the 10-Steps in their own communities

94% Of program participants

⎯⎯

Say that our 10-Step Program helped them feel feel empowered to take action in their lives

96% Of program participants

⎯⎯

Say that our 10-Step Program helped them feel less alone and more connected to other people

95% Of program participants

⎯⎯

Say that our 10-Step Program helped them think in new and nuanced ways about our systemic problems

Organizational Values

At Good Grief Network, we strive to carry out our work in line with specific values that we believe are essential to the heart-centered revolution.

Interdependence

Our work is rooted in the understanding that humans depend on each other and our natural world for inspiration, support, and survival. By gathering individuals and collectively building cohesive, decentralized, and innovative communities, we become more resilient and more connected with the more-than-human world around us.

Accessibility

We offer low-cost peer-to-peer support groups because we believe that all persons have a right to affordable and inclusive emotional support services.

Compassion

Understanding that everyone reaches this work from a different place, we welcome ourselves and others to show up authentically wherever it is that we are on our journey, with whatever we perceive as our imperfections. When necessary, we call in mindful conversations and practice active listening and forgiveness.

Courage

It can feel scary to begin processing the traumas of our time and to step into our true selves. Through radical honesty and deep vulnerability, we show up and lean into difficult conversations, trusting that our community is strong enough to continually co-create brave and empowering spaces.

Intersectionality

Grief and despair live at each intersection of the planetary crises and systemic injustices being perpetuated by the dominant culture. We begin dismantling these destructive and oppressive systems by examining our privilege and decolonizing our hearts, minds, and habits.

Adaptability

We recognize that during this dynamic and unpredictable time on Earth, there is no one “right” way to face the challenges ahead. We practice flexibility and creativity that emphasizes nuanced and open-ended approaches to frameworks of change.

Discernment

Whether we are making organizational decisions, engaged in conversation, or absorbing news about the state of our world, we practice open-mindedness, curiosity, and critical thinking in order to sharpen our perceptions and make appropriate judgments.

Emergence

We believe that nuanced solutions become available when the individuals within our community interact as a wider whole. We gather people together in large and small groups because we trust in the alchemy of our shared conversations to bring about the liberated world of our dreams.

Meet the Team

LaUra Schmidt

Founding Director

LaUra (she/her) is the founder of the Good Grief Network and the brain behind the “10-Steps to Resilience & Empowerment in a Chaotic Climate” program and the FLOW Facilitation Training. She is a lifelong student, curator, and practitioner of personal and collective resilience strategies.

Aimee Lewis Reau

Cofounder

Aimee (she/her) is the cofounder of the Good Grief Network and the heart behind the “10-Steps to Resilience & Empowerment in a Chaotic Climate” program and the FLOW Facilitation Training. Born and raised in Adrian, Michigan, she is an edgy & reverent contemplative, healer and yoga/intuitive movement instructor.

Sarah JS

Executive Director

Sarah (she/her) is a facilitator, writer, lawyer, and deeply feeling animal.

Since childhood, Sarah has observed the grace and suffering in the world and wondered, what is mine to do?

I’ve come to see that any solutions to the myriad of problems facing us, if they are to be meaningful, will come from those of us who have been brave enough to take the time and energy to feel these scary and disorienting feelings.

– LaUra Schmidt, Good Grief Network, Founding Director

Meet Our Facilitators

All Good Grief Network facilitation positions are filled by people who have participated in GGN’s Facilitation Training Program, a 30-hour, live online training with GGN’s cofounders, which trains facilitators in holding space, cultivating emotional intelligence and body awareness, supporting emergent processes, and managing group tensions. Each facilitator has participated in at least one 10-Step Program and an in-depth study of the 10-Steps.

Sarah Birch
(United Kingdom)

Sarah (she/her) is a mother of two young girls, a family girl, and long-time climate change professional, turned Resilience Health Coach (coaching eco-conscious individuals to better health and wellness in stressful times).

Kristan Childs
(United States)

Kristan (she/her) is a mother, a writer, and a teacher. She currently teaches connection-based parenting classes and facilitates for Good Grief.

Teddy Kellam

(Canada)

An experienced Good Grief Network facilitator, Teddy (she/her) is a registered therapeutic counselor certified in Climate Psychology.

Sarah Stoeckl

(United States)

Sarah (she/her) works in sustainability in higher education, trying to make her corner of the world more sustainable and educating the next generation for environmental action and social change.

Karen Hansen

(United States) 

 I (she/her) am a mother of 2 wonderful grown-up daughters and about to be a grandmother for the first time. I am an educator at heart and soul- working as a teacher or a school counselor. 

Marta Neto
(Ireland)

Marta (she/her) is a wholehearted human with a deep sense of wonder towards the planet and all life on it. Her wish to understand the microbial world has led her to move from Portugal to the UK and then to Ireland to do research in systems biology at UCC.

Elizabeth Wade
(Australia)

Liz (she/her) enjoys discovering her life as an ever-unfolding story that she calls The Adventures of Elizabeth, or, One Woman’s Quest to Live a Meaningful Life and Contribute to the World.

LuAnn Collins

(United States)

After a 35+ years in education, LuAnn (she/her) now splits her time between being an indie author educator activist and homesteading.

Lou Leet
(United States)

After earning her degree in Earth & Environmental Sciences from Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, Lou (she/her) loaded up her dog, cat and three boxes in a Toyota pickup truck and moved to Northern California.

Andrew Harrell
(United States)

Andrew (he/him) lives in North Carolina, where he works for a campaign to end child hunger and spends his free time making films and drawing. He enjoys meeting new people and encountering new perspectives that challenge his own through the Good Grief Network.