I remember setting foot in the arts district of Downtown Los Angeles in early 2016. I was struck by the creative energy and was blown away by the incredible women I met in the neighborhood. I knew I wanted to learn from their experience and create a structure to invest in each other so we could all grow together.

Gathering these women was rooted in a core personal belief of mine: people need to learn from and actively support each other to achieve their highest potential. I had personally witnessed the positive impact of facilitating women-for-women coaching groups, so I resolved to act - create curriculum to connect women across all stages of their personal and professional development.

I knew the power of this type of support in my own story - 10 years prior, I was a young artist saddled with massive debt, battling debilitating health issues, and feeling overwhelmed as a young mom of a child with special needs. I had no real tools to move forward and I needed something more than a quick fix or “5 Easy Steps” to grow my career and cultivate community. So I took the leap and developed a curriculum for personal and professional development that felt accessible and high-impact.

As a mother I had limited time and energy so I designed a model of effective experiences that resulted in creative and transformative learning techniques. All the curriculum was active participation in order to experience and test these important concepts rather than just learn these important concepts through a book or podcast. I tested and refined my approaches by facilitated processes with over 2,000 women all over the country.

Which brings me back to DTLA in 2016 when I partnered with a friend and community builder, Kara Dykert, and we launched a twelve week WE program for a focus group of twelve female leaders in Downtown Los Angeles. We weren’t interested in just warm and fuzzy feelings - the result had to be a powerful ripple effect in their lives and communities as a result of dedicating their time to WE for 12 weeks.

Since then WE has grown from a resource for women in LA to gender inclusive workshops, dinner series, and retreats around the country for global companies and organizations across the nation. We want to equip every person with the tools and practices they need to cultivate Relational Mindfulness in their lives and communities.

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Brigit Richie, Founder and CEO