Legacy Planning With Heart
I’m honored to share that I am part of a team that won the Housing Solutions Honor Award from Texas Capital Foundation.
The award supports one nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing long-term housing stability and generational wealth through homeownership. This grant will fund programs that offer homebuyer education, housing succession planning or estate planning — addressing systemic barriers and helping families build lasting financial security.
Now here is the back story on how we arrived at this exact point:
Some connections aren't coincidences. They're callings. Three years ago, Catalina Berry and I sat side by side in Leadership Austin Essentials #45 — neither of us knowing yet what we were building toward together. Catalina serves as Executive Director of East Austin Conservancy, an organization doing vital, sacred work: helping long-time Black and Brown residents remain in their homes as rising costs threaten to erase entire communities from the neighborhoods they built.
They help families resolve title disputes. They protect homes. They preserve roots. But after Catalina lost her own grandmother, she recognized something deeper was missing. The paperwork — wills, titles, estate documents — is necessary. But it isn't enough. Families facing end-of-life transitions don't just need forms. They need to feel seen, held, and guided through one of the most profound passages of human life. They need their stories, their wisdom, their lived experience to be honored — not just their assets.
That's when Catalina called me. She had attended my Willow Workshop: How to Create & Live Your Legacy Now — and she knew there was a better, more whole-hearted way to serve the families of East Austin. So she built it.
Catalina brought together:
✦ Yasmine Smith of Abundance Law — estate planning attorney
✦ Me, Taryn Kinney of Basheli Transitions — End of Life Educator & Doula
✦ East Austin Conservancy — community anchor and trust
She wrote the grant. She held the vision. And Texas Capital Bank recognized the profound value of this work and said yes. This partnership exists so that the wisdom built in East Austin stays in East Austin. So that generational wealth isn't just financial — it's emotional, cultural, and spiritual. So that families can face life's most tender moments with legal clarity AND heart-centered support.
I am so moved to be part of this. The most meaningful work always grows from real relationship, real loss, and real love.
If your organization serves communities navigating aging, estate planning, or end-of-life transitions — and you want to build something more whole — let's talk. 💬
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