"I partner with teams to help bridge the gap between operational systems and the human nervous system," Annie explains. "Oftentimes in workplaces, we don't think caring for people and producing results can coexist. I know differently."

Grounded in brain science, compassion, and decades of experience working with young children, Annie believes the earliest years of life shape our lifelong capacity for resilience, curiosity, and connection.

"I always say I'm love privileged," she reflects. "I grew up in a family that wasn't anywhere near perfect, but the unspoken presence of love was always there. Looking back now, I realize how much those roots continue to nourish and inspire everything I do."

Love Before ALL

For Annie, leading with love is not about avoiding difficult conversations.

It is about approaching them honestly, compassionately, and without losing sight of another person's dignity.

"When conflict comes up, it's important to deal with it early," she says. "If you don't, it festers. And the longer it festers, the harder it becomes to approach it with love."

She encourages leaders to separate a person's worth from a particular role or skill set.

"At the core of leading with love is helping people understand that they're enough regardless of what's happening," Annie explains. "Sometimes it isn't about fixing the person. It's about finding where they can truly thrive."

One lesson has become especially important in her work:

"Let go of urgency."

Rather than rushing difficult decisions, Annie believes compassionate leadership makes room for thoughtful transitions that honor both people and purpose.

The Gift of Paradox

When Annie joined the TEL Fellowship, she was carrying profound grief.

Within five years, she had lost her father, her uncle, her partner, and nearly every significant male figure in her life.

Looking back, she describes finding TEL as "a beautiful, divine synchronicity."

"I was grieving when I started TEL," she recalls. "Pain is very real. But TEL helped me realize that pain doesn't have to rob you of life."

One concept transformed everything for her: paradox.

"The idea of paradox gave me permission to move forward without feeling like I was betraying the love I had for the people I'd lost."

She discovered she didn't have to choose between honoring those relationships and embracing joy again.

"It was both."

Reflecting on the difference between pain and suffering, Annie offers a perspective that has stayed with many members of the TEL community.

"When you hold on longer than you need to, that's when suffering begins."

Letting go, she explains, did not mean letting go of love.

"I realized I could let go and still hold on to love. The love stays with you. It's part of you. It's in your cells."

Today, she describes grief not as something to overcome but as something transformed through gratitude.

"I get to experience clean pain now. The loss is still real, but it's held in gratitude. There's beauty in what I've learned because of it."

A Community That Reminds Us We Are Not Alone

One of Annie's deepest takeaways from TEL has been discovering a community that continues long after the fellowship ends.

"I made it a point to meet one-on-one with everyone in my cohort," she says. "Those relationships have become soul friendships."

She now serves on TEL's Alumni Steering Committee and continues to stay deeply involved because the community reminds her of something essential.

"I'm not alone in this work."

Before TEL, Annie says, leadership often felt lonely.

"I was working so hard for the world I wanted to see, and I felt alone in that."

Now, on difficult days, she returns to the community.

"I take refuge in knowing I'm not carrying this alone."

Practicing the World We Want to Build

As someone deeply grounded in neuroscience, Annie believes transformation requires practice.

"The safe container TEL creates gives us the opportunity to practice the qualities we want to see in the world."

Her hope is that, over time, those qualities become part of who we are—not only inside TEL gatherings, but everywhere we go.

"I envision the safe container becoming us," she says. "So when we're out in the world, we're beacons of light. We inspire other people who may never have experienced TEL to want more."

She smiles as she imagines what becomes possible.

"I don't want the outside world to keep me from shining."

Final Reflections

Annie believes leadership begins with one simple choice: choosing love, again and again.

Not because it is easy, but because it opens the possibility for something new.

"The biggest gift TEL gave me was imagination," she reflects. "The ability to dream something different that doesn't yet exist."

Whether she is coaching leaders, facilitating difficult conversations, writing, or recording her podcast, Annie continues asking the same question that inspired the creation of Love Before ALL:

"What would the world look like if we put love before anything else?"

For Annie, that question is no longer theoretical.

It has become a way of living.

Stay connected: www.lovebeforeall.com

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