The Origin of Guided By

Last year, 2025, was a different kind of year for me.

For most of my life, I have experienced a steady rhythm of synchronicity. One project leads naturally into the next, opportunities appear at the right moment, and the work unfolds in a way that feels aligned. I have been very lucky in that sense. Much of my career has felt like moving through a kind of flow state.

But last year, the signs and symbols quieted.

I didn’t feel afraid, and I didn’t feel lost. Instead, I recognized the moment for what it was: a pause. A period to recharge and reconnect with what mattered most to me.

So I did what many people do when they find themselves in that kind of space. I explored.

I spent 90 days traveling through Europe, giving myself time to think, observe, and step outside my usual routines. When I returned, I had a major doctoral exam waiting for me. Preparing for and completing that process took longer than expected, and the waiting period for grading extended the reflective pause even further.

Not long after, I found myself at a conference in Slovenia.

During that time, I was still contemplating many questions—what the next chapter of the New York City Fair Trade Coalition might look like, which projects I wanted to invest my energy in, and what role I wanted to play moving forward. For once, I felt less interested in leading and more interested in contributing, volunteering, and learning from others.

I was very much in a season of listening.

After returning from Slovenia, one night while adjusting back to the time zone, I woke up in the middle of the night with an idea.

I would love to say it arrived fully formed, but that wouldn’t be quite accurate. What emerged felt less like a clear plan and more like a meditation. Somewhere between a flow state and a trance, I began writing and sketching ideas in the quiet of the night.

That was the moment the skeleton of this project appeared.

Four themes surfaced almost immediately: Power, Materiality, Community, and Future Thinking.

At the time, I had no idea what form the project would ultimately take. A book? A workshop? A set of essays? I simply followed the thread of curiosity and kept creating.

For the first time in a long while, I also kept the project entirely to myself.

Usually, when I start something new, I share it with friends and collaborators right away. But this time felt different. I realized how much I was enjoying the simple act of creating again—without expectation, without pressure, and without needing to explain it before it had fully formed.

There were other things I technically “should” have been working on, including a grant deliverable that had been weighing on me. But instead of forcing myself into something that didn’t feel aligned, I allowed myself to follow the ideas that were arriving naturally.

What emerged from that process became Guided By.

The series is the byproduct of that quiet period of reflection and creative return. It brings together many of the questions that have shaped my work over the years—about power, systems, sustainability, and the ways we relate to the world around us.

I hope you enjoy exploring it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Guided By Power

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