“Taking this workshop with you changed my life. When I write my autobiography, I’m going to devote a chapter to you and how your DYL workshop changed the trajectory of how I was thinking about my career, life, and the choices I make.”
Many of us experience life transitions — planned and unplanned, periods of feeling stuck, and changes within ourselves, our relationships, and our communities. Designing Your Life provides an opportunity to learn life design skills — a hands-on approach to applying the creative, iterative, human-centered design process to crafting a life we love.
These are some of the questions that bring people to a Designing Your Life (DYL) workshop, where we create a collaborative community that supports each other to design answers and possibilities.
“What’s the next chapter in my career?
“How do I pivot from my current path into a new area?”
“How can I design my job for more balance and energy, especially now?”
“How do I make everything work without childcare, with the need to support homeschooling, and the always-on-work schedule that’s so demanding?
“How could I design ways to be a better leader? Mentor? Coach?
Fieldbrook Advising is a holistic leadership, wellness and life design firm offering facilitation and coaching for personal and professional transformation. We founded our firm based on our love of service to community; creative approaches to navigating challenges with more wisdom and ease; holistic, embodied approaches to wellbeing; and inclusive leadership and social justice. We also share a commitment to evolving our work to meet the ever-changing challenges of our world.
Our DYL Workshops
We use the DYL methodology to ground us in who we are and what we are becoming. The tools and resources help you try out ideas and dreams in low-risk ways. And we provide collaborative support as you prototype new ventures. From pursuing a nontraditional career path to redesigning your days to align with priorities and energy, DYL helps you explore the many options available to navigate life’s trials and challenges.
With each workshop we facilitate, we grow and learn right alongside our clients. We cherish forming connections to individuals as they explore and build “well-lived, joyful lives.”
Here’s what our DYL workshop participants have said:
“Taking this workshop with you changed my life. When I write my autobiography, I’m going to devote a chapter to you and how your DYL workshop changed the trajectory of how I was thinking about my career, life, and the choices I make.”
“Wow! I learned more about myself than I imagined, and I now have concrete steps to take that will get me closer to living my Odyssey Plan. I thought my dreams were only for the future.”
“Take ideas for your life banging around in your head, apply design thinking in a community setting, and you end up with the tools to move from ‘wouldn’t it be nice’ to actionable, possible options.”
“The presenters nicely combine theory with practice. We left the webinar with a design of our self-care practices.”
We also received feedback from specific groups of participants:
The power of going through the experience as a couple. Couples shared they felt empowered to develop a shared approach to planning next career and life steps and exploring how to balance financial stability with pursuing opportunities that bring more meaning and joy.
The benefits for caregivers. It’s common to face difficulties such as fatigue and stress amid caregiving. Parents have shared how they have used design strategies to work in new ways with the most challenging parts of the day when pressure is high and energy is low.
The value of community after a loss and other life transitions. Participants have shared they found a sense of “common humanity” – realizing they are not alone in experiencing difficulty and empowerment in identifying next steps that resonate within their new reality.
Join us on April 9th for the start of a one-month digital Designing Your Life Journey. Get the details here.
Meet the Fieldbrook Team
Heather Shaughnessy-Cato, Co-founder and Partner, Certified DYL Facilitator, brings to Fieldbrook 10+ years in Development/Fundraising in Arts & Culture and Higher Education, 10+ years as Mind-Body Teacher, three years as a therapist with clinical experiences in a college counseling service and a hospital, Part-time “stay at home” parent (perhaps more aptly described as unsung hero…?). Her expertise focuses on empowerment and emotional wellbeing and her work assists others in navigating life with awareness, curiosity and courage.
Joan Cheverie, Co-founder and Partner, Certified DYL Facilitator, comes to Fieldbrook with 30+ years in higher education on campus as a librarian & information professional and guiding leadership development for a higher education association. She believes in empowering people to recognize, embrace, and use their talents and skills by developing their emotional and conversational intelligence skills and using design thinking for sustainable change.
Michael Cato, Certified DYL Facilitator, has 20+ years working in Information Technology (IT) with a Higher Education focus; 15+ years in IT Leadership; 6 years as a Chief Information Officer (CIO); and is currently the Senior Vice President and CIO at Bowdoin College. He works to empower people to foster innovation through inclusive leadership.
We can’t wait to work with you!
