“Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself.” – Mohsin Hamid
We believe empathy is one of the most important ingredients enabling effectiveness and so we connected with some amazing folks to ask them about the conditions that allowed them to develop into such empathic leaders.
Camille Kauer
Growing up as the perpetual “new kid,” attending 26 different schools across Europe and the U.S., taught me early how to read people, adapt fast, and find connection wherever I landed. I spent years in ESL, voice and diction classes, often feeling behind, and even endured abuse from an elementary teacher, which no child should ever face. Read More>>
Guènaël Oristel
I love speaking about this because empathy is not something I learned later in life—it’s something I was shaped by. I was raised in Haiti by a single mother who carried the weight of two children on her own. From an early age, I learned to observe, to listen, and to respond to the needs of those around me—family, neighbors, friends. Read More>>
Katie Macaluso
I grew up in a small town outside of Fargo, North Dakota, where generosity was a way of life. My parents gave freely, even when they had little themselves. Helping others wasn’t framed as charity; it was simply what you did. That early lesson stayed with me, quietly shaping how I see people and their circumstances. Read More>>
J Turpin
Empathy was instilled in us not only by our family, friends, and community members, but also through the shows, literature, and other forms of media that helped us better understand one another. Additionally, building our non‑profit, Carabiner Collections, in a space where LGBTQIA+ identities are often met with resistance fosters greater empathy toward people with both shared and differing experiences and opinions. Read More>>
