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.
Julie Souza
Development Coordinator
Julie (she/her) is the development coordinator for Good Grief Network.
She is a climate science communicator that grounds her efforts in community-led work and believes in the intersectionality of the polycrisis.
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 truth seeker, community builder, cultural critic, trainer, program designer, and facilitator. As the granddaughter and grandniece of holocaust survivors, LaUra has long been captivated by the human condition. She is a lifelong student, curator, and practitioner of personal and collective resilience strategies. Inspiration finds her in natural landscapes and honest, open-hearted dialogue.
While a bit of a nomad, she hails from Michigan, and graduated with a BS in Environmental Studies, Biology, and Religious Studies. Her MS is in Environmental Humanities.
LaUra is a Climate Reality Leadership Corps member & mentor. She has earned certificates in “Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy” and “Climate Psychology.”
LaUra & Aimee’s book on Good Grief Network’s unique 10-Step program is called How to Live in a Chaotic Climate: 10 Steps to Reconnect with Ourselves, Our Communities, and Our Planet.
For media requests directed to LaUra, email her at laura(at)goodgriefnetwork(dot)org.
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. She was born and raised in Adrian, Michigan.
Aimee is an edgy & reverent contemplative, healer and yoga/intuitive movement instructor. To keep her sanity, Aimee dances because as Alice Walker said: “Hard times require furious dancing.” She also DJs under the name eXis10shAL.
Aimee received her Bachelor’s degree in English, Poetry, and Religion from Central Michigan University before obtaining her MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Georgia College & State University.
In August 2023, LaUra & Aimee’s much anticipated book on Good Grief Network’s unique 10-Step program called How to Live in a Chaotic Climate: 10 Steps to Reconnect with Ourselves, Our Communities, and Our Planet will be released through Shambhala Publications.
Julie Souza
Development Coordinator
Julie (she/her) is the development coordinator for Good Grief Network. She is a climate science communicator that grounds her efforts in community-led work and believes in the intersectionality of the polycrisis.
Julie was born and raised in Rockville, Maryland as a first generation Brazilian-American. Her passion for intersectional environmentalism stems from her relationships with others and the planet which she channels into her eco-emotions research. Julie has conducted and/or published research with academic institutions, journals, and climate nonprofits. She continues to present her work at international conferences and local community gatherings around New York City.
She first found Good Grief Network by crossing-paths with LaUra online and firmly believes GGN’s mission and how it compliments her own beliefs and values of how to cope with a changing climate. Julie currently lives in New York City with her partner and enjoys drinking tea with a pocket zine. To learn more about Julie and her work connect with her on LinkedIn, Medium, and her website.
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.