Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lacey Tezino . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lacey , appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Passport Journeys was born out of the grieving process that came with losing my mother to stage 4 lung cancer. From diagnosis to death, we had 9 months to reconcile, heal and grow together. My mother and I became extremely intentional about our relationship and how we spent our time because we knew it was limited. After she passed away, I tried many different methods to cope with the loss. The only tangible relief that I felt was by traveling and visually marking my grief journey through passport stamps and new countries. One day it hit me – I didn’t want my grief to be in vain or only about suffering. I wanted to promote intentional bonding, healing and growth for other mother daughter pairs without a terminal illness being the catalyst. How could I bring relationships closer together and assist mothers and daughters along the way? A one year activity book came to life with the purpose of giving mother daughter pairs a tangible tracker for their relationship. The Passport Journeys activity book required a one year commitment to one activity per month. From my own social media pages, I sold more than 200 copies the first year. After that, I knew I need to further my reach by taking Passport Journeys digital and creating a mother daughter relationship app. After watching the Betterhelp online therapy app grow by 500% in 2020, I knew that the pandemic had validated my concept of teletherapy for Mother-Daughter pairs. The app is being designed and will launch later in 2022.

Lacey , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Lacey Tezino, Founder of Passport Journeys, is an experienced technology leader with a passion for promoting healthier mother-daughter relationships. Lacey believes that technology can be used intentionally to enhance our lives and make mental health care services more accessible and convenient. Lacey’s most rewarding position was Director of IT for the Menninger Clinic, one of the top 10 psychiatric hospitals in the country. Lacey’s most exciting accomplishment came by spending three years in the Middle Easy, digitizing clinical documentation for the entire nation of Qatar, 8 hospitals and 23 clinics. Lacey uses her Master of Healthcare Administration and Project Management Professional (PMP) certification to navigate each career move. When she is not working on her new therapy app or networking with Houston’s booming tech ecosystem, Lacey can be found painting, riding bikes, and setting up science experiments with her husband and three children.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

During the creation of the Passport Journeys App in 2020, I realized that many of the activities that were in the app would require mother daughter pairs to travel together/be out in public. At that time, the world began to lock down without a clear end in sight. With many of my mom network going crazy while quarantining at home with small kids, I chose to pivot the app’s launch to target parents who needed activity ideas. “Home+Kids” provided parents with 20 unique activities to spice up their quarantine life and document the journey.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

For 2 years, I worked on the app in the middle of the night and at lunch time. I was working at a local hospital and committed to building a successful technology team. With 3 small children, caretaker for our elderly grandma, and wife to a tech guru – I managed to push my dream business forward with very limited time. I recently decided that I valued passion and rest over the constant grind and took the big leap from my full time position at the hospital. As scary as it feels, I know that this was the right move.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: lacey.tezino
• Linkedin: Lacey Tezino