The History of Grit2Grace
Dawne's Story
As a young girl who left home to escape the abuse that was consuming me, with just the clothes on my back and no plan in place, I quickly went into survival mode.
Sadly, this meant college was not going to be an option for me, as my only focus was making enough money to pay my bills and support myself.
As I continued to navigate life, got married at 23, became a mom to 2 beautiful daughters, and then divorced after 18 years….I focused my energy on my girls and my career.
Climbing the corporate ladder was not always easy without a college degree, but I managed…. I unfortunately had to work extra hard to prove myself.
Eventually, I landed a fantastic opportunity which propelled my career and confidence.
But….at the height of my career, I was hiding a secret behind a smile.
I was living in an abusive relationship that was identical to my childhood and I didn’t know how to get out of it. I was afraid to tell anyone, because I was ashamed. I thought it was my fault. I was also afraid of telling anyone at work because I didn’t want to be judged or even worse, lose my job. A job that I desperately needed and truly loved.
But…I felt like my performance was dipping and I needed to tell my manager, so he understood. I knew he was a compassionate leader who truly cared about the well-being of all of us and I knew that it was safe for me to share my secret with him.
I’m so glad I did, because I was met with so much empathy, compassion and support….and it was through his support that I was eventually able to overcome and thrive both personally and professionally.
THIS is one of the many reasons why my fiance and business partner, Larry Ambrose and I, have made it our mission to help organizations understand the need for “Humanizing the Workplace” – bringing compassion and empathy to the forefront, starting with leadership, to create a purpose-driven, people-centric culture, where everyone feels valued and psychologically safe to bring their whole selves to work every day, despite what they have going on in their personal lives…… just like I did.
In addition – you can find me as a featured Keynote Speaker at Universities, high schools, and Young girls/Women’s groups – speaking on a variety of topics:
Understanding the Red Flags of Abuse; Finding your Voice and Stepping into your Power; Your Origin Story – Getting Clear on generational patterns and the impact they have on you; Creating a new blueprint and rewriting your story; Killing it with Confidence….and much more!
Larry's Story
