In our experience, talking about legacy is often subtly discouraged by society and we find this to be deeply unfortunate. Thinking about the legacy you would like to build can help you better align your work, life, time – your sweat and tears – with your values. Below, we’ve tried to create a space for folks to start conversations about they legacies they are hoping to build.

Laura Fenwick

I think I’m less concerned with how people consider me, living or dead, and more concerned with whether my life offers something to the lives around me — and whether it’s a life that’s deeply explored, excavated, and endeavored. A fully juiced orange, as it were.

Professionally, that might look like photography that offers places or experiences as real and whole as I can translate them so they can come to life for folks and feel real and like memories; it’s spaces set with art that make them more inviting and pleasant to be in; it’s stretching my comfort zone with the proposals and bids and ideas I send out. Read more>>

Michael Rubino

As I grow as an artist, I hope my legacy will reflect a lifelong journey of self-discovery, soul exploration, and connection. Much of my work is rooted in the body—its movements, its rhythms, its capacity to express what words cannot. Whether movement is portrayed literally within a painting or reflected through the energy of a piece, it is central to my process. For me, movement is not only creative; it’s also therapeutic. It has always been a way to regulate my nervous system and bring me back to a place of clarity and calm. Read more>>

Pardé Bridgett

We’re living in a brand new world order: AI in our pockets. Four-day workweeks on our calendars. And an agentic workforce granting more wishes than a genie doing the backstroke in a pool of bottomless mimosas. In this reboot of human existence 2.0, legacy isn’t marble statues, it’s streams of 1s and 0s choreographing culture’s next plot twist.  Read more>>

Julienne Verdi

I want to be remembered as someone who helped shift power toward people who are usually left out of the conversation. My goal has always been to create meaningful opportunities for leadership and visibility for those who have been ignored, especially in healthcare, education, and civic life. Whether it’s organizing a campaign on Capitol Hill, launching youth programming that empowers kids to share their stories, or helping patients speak directly to federal agencies, my work is about building the conditions for others to lead. As Executive Director of The Headache Alliance and the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy, I work to ensure that people living with chronic health conditions are not only heard, but taken seriously in the spaces where decisions are made. Read more>>

Alex Sandulescu

I hope I will be remembered for my oil paintings and maybe some unique interior designs I have created. Read more>>

Marisa

I am hoping to build a legacy based on love. That every client who walked through our door felt welcome, included, important, and valued. I hope my clients feel the gratitude that we try to always reflect for having chosen us for art they will wear forever. I hope people feel how much we truly love our jobs, and how honored we are everyday to be able to make so many people feel more comfortable in their skin through the artwork they trust us with. I hope to be remembered for the art, the experience, the atmosphere, and how much of our hearts we put into what we do. Read more>>

Richard O’Connor

When people talk about legacy, they often think of wealth or accolades. For me, legacy is about impact — did I help people become more than they believed they could be? Did I leave businesses better than I found them? Did I use the gifts I’ve been given to light the path for others?

I’ve had the privilege of working across a wide range of industries — from private equity to oil and gas to entertainment, real estate to consumer goods, and many more — and in every venture, I’ve tried to be more than just a dealmaker. I want to be remembered as someone who saw potential where others saw risk, who treated people with integrity, and who never stopped asking the hard questions that lead to real growth. Read more>>

Carlinn Esquilin

My prayer is that my legacy would be that who I am has a lasting impression on everyone I meet in this industry. Read more>>

Carol Di Popolo

I hope my legacy is helping women gain back their time — especially mothers. Growing up, I remember wishing my own mom would stop cleaning and spend more time just being with me. She was always doing the chores, always tidying, and I didn’t realize until later how much that shaped me. Read more>>

Kimberly Stymus

I hope to build a legacy of trust, care, love, and friendship. I want those who knew me or who I’ve worked with/for to know how much they meant to me and how much I wanted them to have everything they could. Always be kind and supportive of others, you may not always have the same goals or values, but so what, it costs nothing to be kind. I hope my children learn this from me as well. I hope they grow to be exceptional human beings who show that same care and love for others. I love creating new friendships, even though I can be very introverted at times; those connections I make along the way will always have a huge impact on me. Read more>>

Colette Pitcher

This afternoon there is a memorial for my Mother in law who passed last week at age 95. These events make us question our own mortality. It also forces us to step up to the plate as the next generation. Have I done enough? Can I do more? The answer should be yes to both. Is it is not, you better get it in gear. As a life-long visual artist I have learned to see. Really look and see. Then recreate what I want to share with others what I want them to see. These gifts of art will outlast me. Read more>>

Natasha Jean-Pierre

Even as a child I have felt the press of life, knowing that time in this realm is steady. I’ve always felt like I may run out of time before I leave my mark. Now I know that it is in the sincere seemingly mundane moments that we leave our mark and every time our feet hit the ground, we are given another opportunity without pressure to seed, sun, or shower as each moment has need. If I can call myself poet and leave a work that will have life beyond me after I am gone then that is legacy. My hope would be that when I am gone people will say she was honest. Read more>>

Alvina Pruitt

I hope my legacy is one that reflects purpose over popularity. I want people to say that I lived boldly, walked by faith, and helped others do the same- whether through travel, ministry, financial empowerment, or simply being present in someone’s moment of need. Read more>>

Abbie Cole

A legacy of light. Telling stories that amplify light, uplift, and inspire, while weaving epic tales of the battle between light and darkness. Read more>>

Charlotte Simon -Rowson

What I hope people will say about me after I’m “gone” and /or made that transition is that I was a source of light, connection, and wisdom. I hope to be remembered as a person who tried to encourage when they could not see the light at the end of the tunnel

I hope to have fostered wisdom by helping people find answers, understand complex ideas, and gain new perspectives. My purpose is to reflect the light of knowledge, helping others see more clearly. Read more>>

Yolanda McCray

I want to leave a legacy rooted in faith, generosity, and compassion. A life that pointed back to God. I hope people remember me as a woman who believed deeply in the power of second chances and new beginnings no matter how your story started or what happened along the way, it’s how you finish that counts. Read more>>