Align Your Wealth with Social Justice

Testimonials

 

TESTIMONIALS

Money coaching with Iris has been a game-changing experience for both me and my partner. Iris excels at creating and holding space, navigating the liminal (and sometimes uncomfortable) space of transformation, validating us and celebrating our wins, and holding us accountable to the goals we set from a place of compassion and love. This work has helped to heal many of the wounds I have carried with me around money, including the traumas that have been passed down to me through my family. Ultimately, I feel more confident and capable in regards to money than ever before. I feel grounded and solid in my values and in our vision for our future. I feel equipped to navigate difficult conversations with my partner and/or my family. I feel more confident in my ability to show up in money conversations from a place of safety, love, abundance, and compassion; rather than from a place of fear, agenda-pushing, and urgency. And I feel free to express myself authentically. Honestly, if I had to sum it up in one sentence, that would be it: I feel free.
— Jess W.

Iris is a kind, caring, and highly organized coach. Her approach to money coaching encompasses both the logistical matters I came in thinking about (budgeting, giving plan, access to inherited wealth, investing), and more importantly, the internal world that guides us in making logistical choices. In Iris’s coaching you start by diving into yourself, into your beliefs around money and who you are, in order to understand blocks in making values-aligned choices and to heal any harmful narratives. Not to eradicate these narratives: to heal them. This distinction was crucial for me. Iris’s approach to coaching builds a kind of self-acceptance and self regard that I found foundational in establishing how I interact with money in any way. If you are considering investing in yourself and our collective future through money coaching, and a holistic approach feels right for you, I truly recommend Iris.
— Isabel W

Coaching with Iris Brilliant was incredible. A perfect balance of joy and hard work- approached in a holistic manner. The coaching was structured and personable. I learned so much, I grew in incredible ways and I made tangible progress in all of my goals around money. With Iris’ help I tapped into my fears and ambitions, worked through the gritty parts and found the action steps that align with my values and my dreams for a better world. When I came to coaching I was extraordinarily overwhelmed and lost with regard to my money, now thanks to Iris and our process together, I feel grounded, capable and connected to a broader movement for justice and redistribution of wealth.
— Morgan Matter

Working with Iris was one of the greatest decisions I’ve made. In a few months I achieved changes I had been wanting to make in my life and my relationship with my inheritance for a decade. Her creative strategies helped me transmute my shame into connection and my inertia into action. Her knowledge of this foreign landscape of social justice funds and values-driven wealth management organizations was invaluable. Our time together has left me feeling so grateful for her work in this world.
— Jenya Schneider

Iris is phenomenal. I was blown away by her clarity and discipline of coaching, as well as the power of the tools she offers and her listening and creating a space to be vulnerable and take bold actions. I highly recommend Iris to anyone stuck in any realm of personal finance and philanthropy, she is well worth your time.
— Dan Lewis

Iris is one of the deepest listeners I’ve ever known, and the way that she has created space for complexity and reflection while continuing to coach me towards living in alignment with my values has transformed the way I relate to money, my family and myself. Through working with Iris I’ve learned to own my narrative, approach issues around money with curiosity and resilience, and have successfully organized my family to move over $500,000 to social justice movements. I’m so grateful to Iris for coaching me through this work that I know will help sustain my commitment to redistribution throughout my life!
— Rose Pytte

After working with Iris, I now feel so much more clear and confident in my relationship to wealth and power; I’m regularly budgeting now (and having fun with it!), I feel safe to give away almost all of my inheritance, and I feel stability and less shame in my relationship to money.. Iris gave me the space and tools to show up in my whole self and to take steps towards aligning my values with my actions. I recommend working with Iris to every friend of mine who wants to redistribute wealth but finds it hard to take all the necessary tangible steps required to get there.
— Flannery McDonnell

Working with Iris was transformative. I now feel confident making decisions about giving, spending, and saving that are routed in my values rather than shame or guilt. She helped me clear confusion, fear, and avoidance surrounding my wealth so that I can responsibly manage it in line with my values, and joyfully give more than I ever have before.
— Cordy Newbury

Working with Iris is a holistic experience. She created a kind, respectful, and joyful space to examine my relationship with money, define my values, and set goals that were both challenging and achievable. Iris is an amazing guide to where, how, and why to move your money for philanthropy, investments, and everything in between. Through our work, I have learned how to be more thoughtful, impactful, and progressive with my wealth.
— Carolyn Plank

Working with Iris was the single best thing I could have done to overcome my guilt, fear, and inertia around inheriting wealth. She has helped me to move forward in ways that are both good for my family and will have positive ripple effects into the world. Thank you, Iris!
— Sita Sanders

Iris is incredible. She has so much wisdom and it has been an absolute joy to work with her. She has helped me move towards divesting from the stock market and reinvesting in the solidarity economy, redistribute 2 million dollars and pushed me towards more leadership opportunities. My relationship to money has dramatically shifted. Iris has been a huge support in helping me work through the deep emotions, class patterns and triggers that come up for me and this work. She meets me where I am without judgment and pushes me to take actions that are bold, courageous and pushes me towards my bigger vision. Coaching has improved all aspects of my life, not just regarding money. I have been able to dig deeper and get clear on what my bolder visions for my work and imagine the world that I hope for. I leave every call with tangible action steps to move me towards my goals and vision. And it’s so fun!!!
— Heatherly Born

Working with Iris has foundationally changed the way in which I relate to money and privilege in my life. With the support of Iris’s careful listening, steady compassion, and clear commitment, I have been able to find integrity and move towards action in the places in my life that have brought some of the deepest discomfort. Her patience, acute questions, and depth of experience have helped to create the space for other possibilities to grow. For anyone seeking to breathe some life, creativity, and some much-needed disruption into their relationship with money, I can’t recommend working with Iris highly enough.
— Lee Farese

Through my coaching work with Iris, I identified my values and envisioned the life I want to live. I worked through shame and guilt so that I could actually make progress on my money goals. Iris provided the structure, accountability and emotional support to work through the sticky and uncomfortable feelings so that I could get to a more values aligned life. I couldn’t have imagined getting to where I am now without working with Iris. She pushed me gently along to keep pursuing my goals, problem solved with me when I hit a roadblock, and even when everything in me wanted to resist moving forward, our set meetings motivated me to get back in there. After working with Iris, I am way better at listening to and following my own voice rather than the pressures I feel from others. I am moving more money to movement work, I have more autonomy and agency around money, and I am clear about what matters most to me and how to activate money to achieve that. Thank you to Iris for this life changing work!
— Katie Lindsay

Working with Iris has helped me take the existential weight out of my relationship with money. Since working with Iris, I’ve been able to make more practical, values-aligned money decisions. Iris is a meticulous listener, full of insight both technical and emotional. Iris’ coaching style balances the navigation of internal struggles and action-oriented problem solving around money. If you’re looking for a challenging, meaningful money coaching experience, you’ve hit the jackpot.
— Olivia D.

My relationship with money has completely transformed since I began working with Iris. Iris’ multi-faceted approach helped me to identify patterns and introduced me to tools that helped me shift unhealthy patterns. More than anything, she has helped me claim my power and live in my passion. Iris has a unique ability to employ a variety of techniques, which helps create a collaborative but individualized process that inspires transformation.
— Carrie Schrader

Coaching was such an important holding and accountability space for me. One of the most impactful parts of our work was connecting with what felt good and right and meaningful in changing my relationship with money. Coaching was fundamental in shifting my goals and actions out of a self-critical and individualistic view and into a much more whole, collective perspective which is so much more sustaining.
— ML Cerulli

Iris is a discerning listener and imaginative world maker who gives me the space and framework to think and talk through my own values, challenges and accomplishments. Our work together gives me the psychological energy to be present and walk honestly. As a well trained and connected practitioner of social justice philanthropy, Iris also confidently and professionally steps in with timely mentoring. Our work together is helping shape the relationship that I want to have with money.
— Ben Weintraub

My experience working with Iris was fulfilling and meaningful in large part because of her ability to not only keep me on track but to come up with alternative solutions when I found myself drowning in work or struggling to meet one of my goals. Her commitment to meeting me where I was at while also pushing me to lean into my values made me feel supported and cared for. I also really appreciated the depth of knowledge and resources that Iris readily shared and helped introduce new opportunities, concepts, and tools to me.
— Jonathan Goldman

We set and achieved goals including: getting comfortable with giving almost all the money we recently inherited, moving money that would have gone into the stock market into community based investing, and talking with my family about our plans and encouraging curiosity and minimizing my judgment about their financial decisions.

I feel much more comfortable with my relationship with money internally and able to feel joy and comfort (rather than shame) with the money we have and use, and in relationship with people when giving it away.

Fundamentally, what served me best from our sessions was your care, compassion, curiosity and invitation in every session. You didn’t lecture, you didn’t judge - you asked questions, you celebrated with us about the work we were doing together. You set an example of how we can be in the world in conversations about money and privilege.

I will miss you for our regular sessions! You have helped us to accomplish more, learn more, push ourselves farther than I ever imagined would be possible in just 6 months. Thank you.
— Callie C

During my work with Iris I have learned that I am willing to be uncomfortable talking to friends about my class position, that these conversations can create intimacy, or they can be strategic. I have learned that the more I unpack it, talk about it, and accept it, the more at ease I will be in having these conversations. And then, I will be passing along that ease to my children.
— Adina R

Iris held a compassionate space for myself and my partner to explore our feelings around money. I was able to see why parts of myself were hung up around money and how I could move past those particular voices. Iris guided us to dig into our biggest issues when confronted by money decisions. I now feel more confident and capable of handling new challenges around money and my life ahead.
— Miles W.
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If you have any questions about my work or about any of the information above, please feel free to sign up here for a 45-minute call with me to see if we’re the right fit. Each call also includes a complimentary 20-minute coaching session.

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