After spending nearly 20 years in Corporate America, immersed in public and private corporations as a high-ranking executive, I eventually reached my goal of becoming the President of a company and never felt emptier once I got there. I knew that there were so many people like me, who were stressed from being overworked and looking for meaning. I took a leap of faith and decided to put my energy and time, after leaving my career behind, to teaching others the tools that helped me – mindfulness and other self-care tools. I found myself immersed in work with social justice and political organizations, teaching compassion-based resilience, self-care planning and how they can build communities of care to support their work in the world. Creating communities of care supported by mutual aid was the idea behind Pandemic of Love, a global, grassroots volunteer-led organization that connects people who can give help with people who need help. The premise of the organization, and what its proven to me at a time of disconnection in the world, is that humans thrive on connection and that every single person on this planet has something they need as well as something they can offer. We all want to feel seen and heard. Sure, viruses can be very scary, but the word ‘viral’ does not have to be associated with something negative. A lot of positive things can go viral like hope and kindness and love. I’m so grateful for the people I’ve met because of Pandemic of Love, people like Jay Rosenzweig who has been a big supporter and mentor, in part, because The Rosenzweig Report reminds us year-after-year that we need to be there for one another, and we need to support each other, regardless of gender or background. Jay understands mindfulness, equity and he embodies love-in-action daily.

–	Shelly Tygielski, Founder, Pandemic of Love, Community Organizer, Self-Care Activist, Trauma-Informed Mindfulness Teacher