In a world that was incredibly connected, I felt disconnected. In a city that was large and full of possibility, I felt alone. In a world that values quick-hits and constant updates, I wanted to have deep human connections, provide value, and take action. Despite positive advancements in technology, I noticed that the emotional landscape of people, especially women, was not moving forward.

It seemed that there wasn’t a place for people to be truly vulnerable, grow together, and take action to better themselves. So, I created it. tea+purpose is a gathering for twenty and thirty-something women that inspires authentic, action-oriented conversations over tea to create a community of people who live purposefully. We have six core pillars that guide us: compassion, mindfulness, simplicity, action, you are enough, and every woman is welcome. These pillars allow us to create an open environment that has two-fold purpose: providing a community focused on vulnerability and developing consciousness in professionally-driven women, and cultivating a social-impact driven group that focuses on outcomes in women’s lives. Sharing a hot cup of tea with others is a classic comforting, convivial, connecting, and conversational experience; our gatherings add purpose to sharing tea.

We launched in December 2013 and host monthly gatherings in NYC focusing on topic areas such as mindfulness, intention setting, setting your life philosophy, and dissecting fear. At the start of each gathering, each attendee signs the tea+purpose "realness contract:" a vow to bring her true self, including her vulnerabilities and compassion, to the gathering. After the discussion, we pledge to take a particular action in our own lives that week, either separately or together, and report back via email. After 4 months of operation, we have 85 women in our NYC Meetup group and have run 3 gatherings in NYC, 1 in San Francisco, and have several more planned in NYC and Chicago in spring and summer 2014.