Revolutionizing Widowhood
"To my core, I believe miracles happen, faith grows, extraordinary people love unconditional, hope matters and we all live a life of purpose that leads to our own unique legacy. We need to trust this process. For self-trust to reach a most profound degree, it needs to occur on all levels of your being- physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. This truth reminds us to pay attention to our own experiences and trust connections will come to access higher wisdom. From here, everything can be faced with a limitless sense of transcendence." - Carolyn
As a mom, wife, professional, just a normal girl who was born in the 'City of Angels' in LA, and while young moved to grow up in rural Arkansas, she had her dream career and family by the age of 37...until one night, Valentine's Day, that all changed and she became one of the millions of women daily who suddenly find themselves unprepared to shift from wife and mother to widow and head of household.
She has spent the last 20 years raising her young family, building her career through ups and downs, processing her own journey while being open to seeing the parallel journeys of widows around the world as well. Her mission is to raise awareness, advocate and revolutionize how these formidable women are seen, heard, loved and served in the world. God called her to this purpose and she answered with a resounding "Yes, send me!"
Her latest efforts:
1- Rally the U.S. federal administration to become the first country to proclaim June 23 as National Widows Day of Awareness, alongside International Widows Day.
2- Widow outreach in Costa Rica and Kenya Africa and international partnerships with Global Fund for Widows, Both Hands Foundation, The Loomba Foundation and Art4Healing.org.
3- Produced Virtual 2020 3rd Annual Widow Empowerment Event with 500 widows from 4 countries and 2020 6th Annual Virtual Leadership Conference with 89 widow leaders from 4 countries.
4- Working with a medical school to launch the 1st Widows Health Institute based on medical research produced by Modern Widows Club premier research population.
5- Consulted with NBC New Amsterdam hit TV show on topics of widowhood.
6- Writing the 1st Widow Mentoring and Leadership Community Building handbook and curriculum.
7- Launching in 2021, Modern Widows Club will curate an Art for Healing Club, MWC Book Club and MWC Dating Club to help further education and awareness, as well as, advance creativity and fun for our widow community.
8- Writing a Daily Wisdom and Empowerment book to inspire widows and those who love them to give as a gift.
9- Working with SIX Agency PR Firm for 2021-2022 to launch new, modern and exciting projects on the horizon.
Carolyn is the Development Director and President at Modern Widows Club nonprofit, and lives near her daughters in Orlando FL.
Learn more about her passion work at the nonprofit Modern Widows Club, the Healthy Widow Healthy Woman Podcast and article 'Empowering Widows to be Leaders Changes Lives Globally'.
My Story
"I find a sense of real community by inviting others to join me as I explore revolutionary ideas around healing from woundedness."
"Things I’ve learned about myself are that I love to create strong emotional bonds and experiences where all involved can communicate expressively. I use emotion to create these connections. I find a sense of real community by inviting others to join me as I explore revolutionary ideas around healing from woundedness. I’m an unconventional thinker, always somewhere out of the box, roaming where more answers are discovered. The myriad of concepts that I’m able to see comes from intuition and advocating for an untraditional point of view. I act and speak with reverence. Artistically, I’m always considering different, unique options available to us all.
Working alongside you on your own heroes journey rebirthing and rebuilding your life, in small and big ways, is where I shine using the knowledge, wisdom, and tools I’ve accumulated and hoping to share with you that we all have access to that are both practical and tangible. I invite you to reach out to me and see how I may serve your higher good in the world."
Bio
known as an award winning residential interior designer for 25 years before launching Modern Widows Club nonprofit, has found her calling of great social significance. She's spearheading a movement to revolutionize how widows are served globally, and empowering an epic, pioneering new generation of widow mentors, leaders and advocates. An emerging powerhouse voice, author and global leading authority in widow education development and advocacy.
Having been featured in the WSJ, PBS, NPR, HuffPost LIVE, The Oprah Winfrey Show, OWN, TLC, Growing Bolder Media, Willow Creek Blog and Diane Rehr Show, she's a subject matter expert in bereavement, loss, grief, growth and empowerment for women facing widowhood.
She is a strategically focused, futuristic minded, heart-centered connector, out-of-the-box, passionate activator. An ENFJ with the spiritual gifts of mercy, faith and leadership. Her professional diversity as a pediatric nurse (psychology major) combined with interior design, plus Communication Studies degree from Pace University is her foundation along with being a faithful, compassionate believer. She recently furthered her education through Stanford University course 'International Women's Health and Human Rights' to advance her thirst for knowledge in this area. She scheduled to attend and speak at the United Nations (UN WOMEN) Commission on the Status of Women in 2021 concerning widows and their rights in society.
In 2006, after being a featured guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, she soon became the ‘Go To’ girl for many widows looking for wise counsel. She's affectionately known as 'Yoda' in those circles.
Starting out a sought out 1:1 mentor, she's guided thousands of widows through personal transformation who showed up at her home every third Thursday between 2011-2014. With 14 million U.S. widows nationwide and 258 million widows globally who are surviving and thriving today, the need is audacious and necessary for more widow services, programs, outreach and advocacy. Nearly 2800+ women become widowed every day in the U.S. and 70% of all married women will become widowed in their lifetime, the average age is 59.
Many of these widows encouraged a lean startup for mentoring and training future widow leaders, and therefore, the grassroots idea for Modern Widows Club nonprofit was born. MWC is the foremost widow research population serving to understand widows needs and finding accessible and effective solutions. She's been instrumental in launching the world's only Widow Leadership Program and Annual Conference, this will be their 6th year in 2020 having trained over 89 widow leaders from 4 countries to date.
2020 LATEST NEWS: In order to better serve Modern Widows Club widow leaders at their 30 national chapters, in May of 2020, a benevolent fund was launched called LOVE FOR WIDOWS FUND to give $1000 financial hardship and medical grants, due to COVID-19 pandemic impact, to those widows serving widows. We're grateful and honored to have received several large anonymous foundation gifts that enabled us to make this dream come true and lighten the heavy load for so many women. Modern Widows Club knows that supporting and equipping widow leaders directly is what creates the revolutionary change we need to see in the world.
Living with something Moor
whispered three promises into her husband's ear moments before he died on Valentine's Day, 2000.
Can a promise change your life forever?
Find out in this unpredictable, humorous and spiritual journey as she tries to achieve her final promise ~ to be genuinely happy and to love again! This book demonstrates God's presence through loss and how he will ingeniously use those no longer alive to breathe new life into those who remain behind.
Cindyn: "I read this book a couple of months after my husband died. i could not put it down. Carolyn's story inspires the broken heart and brings hope for life after tragic loss. I've had the awesome pleasure of meeting her. She is genuine and her story reveals the resiliance that we all have inside of us. I recommend this book even if you haven't lost a spouse as it encourages us in how the human spirit can be restored when all seems lost!"
Media
International Widows Day
Why it Matters in 3 Questions
on the Future of Death
MISC Magazine
Teaching Women there is
Moor to life than Grieving
Women You should Know
Troubled Families
The Oprah Show
Group Offers Modern Take for Grieving Widows
Orlando Sentinel
Resilience Can Be Learned
The Wall Street Journal
Three Promises
Growing Bolder
S1 E6: The Morgans
TLC - Shalom in the Home
A Modern Love Story
Pecha Kucha
