Today we’d like to introduce you to Kellye Kimball.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I learned about Woman Within when one of my friends invited me to her Celebration. She had just completed the Woman Within Weekend* and all the women who had recently attended the Weekend in the North Texas area were being Celebrated. *The Woman Within Weekend offers a series of experiential activities, guided meditations and focused individual and group exercises. These processes have been carefully designed to help women find and access their inner power to support themselves in their daily lives. In a supportive environment, each woman has an opportunity to reclaim her wholeness as a woman. The women being honored stood confidently, spoke their truth authentically and practically glowed with power. I knew I wanted THAT, whatever THAT was, so I committed to attending the next Weekend in our Region. That weekend was April 2002 and life has not been the same since! The Woman Within Weekends is staffed by women who have gone through the Weekend themselves, with usually a 1.5:1 or more staff to participant ratio.
Serving and supporting these women as they dive deep into themselves over the weekend fills me up leaving me wanting to do it again the next weekend. The South Central Region of Woman Within includes New Mexico, Texas, Lousiana and Mississippi. I served on the Board of Directors a few years ago as the Regional Liaison and am into my second year as President of the Region. This work transforms lives, mine included, and I can think of no better way to give back to the world than to support Woman Within and spread the word that each person can make a difference, change their lives and in turn, change the world.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Life is not a smooth road. Throw in actively growing and learning and evolving and you end up with an unpaved road with a big boulder in the middle or a steep incline and a slippery surface. The growing pains are uncomfortable. Looking at my thoughts and actions can be difficult and occasionally at odds with feeling safe or comfortable. Practicing new skills involves messing up, usually with other people involved. The thing that keeps me going is it ALWAYS feels better on the other side. Each new discovery about myself opens up a new world and way of being. I am more confident and vulnerable with clear boundaries and an awareness that I’m still a work in progress.
Woman Within International – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Woman Within (womanwithin.org) is part of a global, not-for-profit community of women dedicated to becoming the best they can be. We are women from around the world – of all ages, cultural backgrounds, and belief systems – on our own paths of self-awareness and personal growth. While Woman Within is based in the United States, there are now Regions in the United Kingdom (English-speaking), France and Switzerland (French-speaking), Germany and Belgium (German-speaking), New Zealand, South Africa and Australia One of my favorite things about Woman Within over other self-help/leadership/empowerment workshops is that Woman Within has a way to integrate what I’d learned on the Weekend into my real life! Woman Within Circles are groups of women who have attended a Circle Training and meet regularly to support each other. We don’t “fix” each other or give advice. It is a safe place to share my truth, feel heard and accepted and if I’m open to it, receive suggestions or probing questions to find my truth that is somewhere inside me. I’m able to bring challenges from my real life into Circle, work on solutions in a safe environment then take that learning and awareness into the world feeling empowered and confident. I have been in my Circle for 16 years meeting twice a month. Some women have come and gone, while others have been there since 2002.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
While I believe things happen when they are supposed to, I would consider stepping onto the Facilitation Track earlier. I went through my Weekend in 2002 and stepped onto the Facilitation Track in 2012. The women who work directly with the participants on the Weekend are called Facilitators and they have gone through rigorous training to get where they are. The process to become a Facilitator is called the Facilitation Track. Those who have not reached the level of Facilitator are called Facilitators-in-Training or FITs. To become a full Facilitator involves moving up through six levels, each with more responsibilities and higher expectations. The absolute fastest one could reach the top might be four years. Realistically, it is more like 8-15 years depending on how often your staff, how quickly you pick up the process and if you’ve had prior experience in this kind of work. I’m not in a hurry. I am actually enjoying the process. After six years at the second level, I recently moved to the third level. This is where most of my growth has been. Facing myself and my fears, returning to staff again and again, and learning to trust the women around me all contributed to growth I could not have imagined.
Pricing:
- Open Circles • FREE, to experience the safety and acceptance that can be hard to describe with words
- The Weekend in South Central Region • $750 (includes food and lodging), Financial Aid available
- Circle Training • $125 to form your own circle or join existing circle
Contact Info:
- Website: circlesofwomen.com
- Phone: 281-660-8846
- Email: centerdirector@circlesofwomen.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/CirclesOfWomen/
- Other: womanwithin.org
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
