339. Meet Unshattered: The Mission Upskilling a Community of Women in Recovery - Kelly Lyndgaard

Kelly Lyndgaard, Unshattered, We Are For Good Podcast

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Overview

Meet Kelly. She's the Founder and CEO of Unshattered, a nonprofit social enterprise whose mission is to end the addiction relapse cycle through ethical, sustainable fashion. The org provides job skills training and employment for women in recovery to help them build a path toward economic stability and sustained sobriety. Kelly's education is in Engineering Physics, her title is CEO, but her calling is Ambassador of Possibility. Come hear about this nonprofit that's only experienced a single relapse in six years

💡Learn

Why community + employment are key to long-term success
Hidden design elements that personalize each survivor + bag
Understanding Unshattered's impressive sobriety stats
How working for a Fortune 20 company prepared her for this org

Today’s Guest

Kelly Lyndgaard, Founder and CEO, Unshattered

“You go back to that old adage of, ‘You give a man a fish, he eats for a day. You teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.’ I don’t actually think that’s true, because unless somebody gives him a fishing pole and a pond his knowledge doesn’t do him any good.”

— Kelly Lyndgaard, Founder and CEO, Unshattered

Episode Transcript

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Episode Highlights

Kelly’s story and journey to where she is today (3:45)
Overview of Unshattered and its mission (7:00)
What is means to be an ambassador of possibility (11:00)
Three secrets of every Unshattered bag (18:25)
Unshattered’s investment collection of bags (26:45)
What Kelly brings to the social good sector from the corporate world (29:30)
What’s on the horizon for Unshattered (33:00)
A powerful moment of philanthropy in Kelly’s life (39:50)
Kelly’s One Good Thing: It becomes possible by being open handed (42:40)

Powerful quotes

“That intersection was just hearing somebody's story and realizing that the journey of substance abuse was way different than I thought.” -Kelly

“You just started to witness when these women made something beautiful that somebody wanted to buy, it changed something in them. They felt value that they had something to offer. They were being creative. They were making design decisions.” -Kelly

“This group of women is the most creative, tenacious, hardworking, community oriented group of people I have ever worked with.” -Kelly

“If you can show up with an open hand, you can show up and see an individual and see their potential rather than seeing the stigma that's been created.” -Becky

“We're trying to put in the upfront design work to think of the facility as a piece of art. And if the goal of art is to make people feel something or move towards something, how can we use this building to move women towards healing and community?” -Kelly

“The bags themselves are metaphor of the lives of the women, something that was perceived as discardable, and without purpose, being thrown away, remade into something of beauty, purpose and meaning.” -Kelly

“My background in physics and engineering is pattern, pattern repetition and recognition. I think that is what has benefited Unshattered the most, my ability to see that there are patterns in this journey of recovery.” -Kelly

“You go back to that old adage of, ‘You give a man a fish, he eats for a day. You teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.’ I don't actually think that's true, because unless somebody gives him a fishing pole and a pond his knowledge doesn't do him any good.” -Kelly

“Whatever is in front of you that feels like that barrier, or that feels like is the reason that you can't be who you want to be or do what you want to do or reach who you want to reach, it is possible and the way that it becomes possible is being open handed.” -Kelly