We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mandy Jankus. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mandy below.

Mandy , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

After I lost my mom in 2020 I struggled with the grief I was experiencing. The world was shutting down as Covid-19 ravaged lives. As I entered into my virtual classrooms I recognized that students were all experiencing what we call “collective grief”. They were afraid for their health and safety, their loved ones, and their emotions were impacting how they showed up in the classroom.

As the years went on I have trained with some of the most experienced grief experts in the business and began starting each of my college classes by sharing the story of losing my mom. I talk about how we’ve all experienced loss and there are many types of grief, reminding the students that our classroom is a safe space for their grief.

I went on to facilitate an introductory grief lesson at a high school in Chicago and was astounded at how open the students were about losses they’ve experienced and how they aren’t sure how to show up for their peers during hard times. I had an experience with one of my own students after her mother passed away last fall and knew that the grief training and classroom and facilitation skills I have could create a curriculum.

That’s when “Unpacking Grief” was born! It’s still in the baby stages as my next steps are to get the program, which entails education about the types of grief, coping skills, and building empathy so students (and teachers) can have the language to speak their grief out loud into middle schools, high schools, and colleges around the country.

I believe that creating grief informed classrooms will allow students the opportunity to name and identify their emotions as well as build resiliency in and out of the classroom.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As a teacher, mother, and trauma survivor, I combine tenants of social-emotional learning & cognitive behavioral coaching—to facilitate whole-hearted conversations with clients, students, and faculty.

I discovered Dr. Brené Brown’s life-changing work about embracing vulnerability and responding to fear with curiosity. Dr. Brown’s research gave me the toolkit I needed to begin honoring painful emotions as natural (and necessary!) parts of the healing process. I started making an effort to treat myself with the same compassion I would extend to others, and I learned that vulnerability is not weakness—it’s courage.

In 2019, my mother was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. My brave and beautiful best friend was slipping away. Engulfed in grief, I returned to Dr. Brown’s framework for emotional support while serving as my mother’s caretaker leading up to her death in spring 2020.

I facilitate grief workshops and coaching because we were never meant to do grief alone. My devotion to this work comes from the intention to help normalize grief – how we heal it and how we express it.

Together, we lean into discomfort and find the courage to explore difficult emotions, the vulnerability to take risks, and the humor to laugh at our mistakes.

My passion as a Grief Advocate is to help folks deal with what they feel. Grief work is about exploring the ways that grief manifests in our lives & finding tools to heal along our journeys with loss.

In 2024 I took another leap and started a podcast – The Kindred & Brave Project. The goal of The Kindred & Brave Project is to talk about the interconnection of strength and struggle in our lives by digging into topics such as mental health, emotional wellness, grief, motherhood, partnership, communication, and how to be learner instead of a knower. I share experiences from caretaking to the college classroom and beyond and offer actionable practices for listeners to try in their own lives.The Kindred & Brave Project aims to cultivate community by focusing on heart first, human centered, story driven connection.

I am most proud of the work that I’ve done to understand the most difficult experience in my own life and my passion for turning what I’ve learned into solace and support for my clients and students.

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

Shortly before my mom was diagnosed with cancer I earned a Tenure Track Communication Studies Professor position at the college I’d been at for 13 years. The ultimate dream job for a teacher. After she died the thought of staying in Seattle away from my dad (I’m an only child) gutted me. I was ready for a change and more space for my family. That meant giving up the coveted position I spent months applying and interviewing for. I was lucky to be able to stay on as an adjunct instructor but this meant taking a significant pay cut. My husband left his teaching job of 12 years and still had not found a job by the time we sold our home in Seattle. I trained with a mental health coaching company and added that to my resume while also welcoming a surprise pregnancy. Our little family moved across the country with big hopes and big worries. My son was newly diagnosed with ADHD and would be beginning kindergarten at a brand new school. We were knee deep in the throes of grief – it was messy and there were many unknowns. What I did, have done in the last 5 years, is resilient and encompasses my passion to live on and continue my mom’s legacy. She was the strongest woman I’ve ever known.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I was my mom’s caretaker when she was sick. I took a leave of absence from my new teaching position and went back to live with my parents. I would fly back to Seattle every few weeks for a couple days to see my husband and son (then 5 years old).
I made my life about caring for my mom and am so proud of the job I did. The lesson I had to unlearn was that being a caretaker did not mean not caring for yourself. I thought my only job, especially since I put my career on hold and left my family, was to take care of her.
Months into her treatment when I was taking her to several appointments in a single day I experienced a panic attack. Luckily we were at the hospital and a doctor took the time to remind me about the oxygen mask metaphor. I would be no good to my mom or family if I wasn’t taking the time to take care of myself as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kindredandbrave.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kindredcoaching
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KindredandBraveCoaching
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandy-jankus-380933141
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MandyJankus

Image Credits

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