top of page
dots blue_edited_edited_edited.jpg

Our members also love engaging with us on their mobile devices! Join us on our dedicated members app.

Recipe for a Connected Future

What change are you hungry for?

Not a member?
Sign up to engage with our community.

 

The only thing missing is you!

Jill and Loretta are lying with their backs on a tile floor ground legs up a brick wall, they are turned toward each other and playfully laughing.

Everything

with intention

Thought Kitchen is a service firm on the surface, but our passion is far deeper. We believe that being a part of a community is about feeling welcomed and fed, similar to receiving a lovingly prepared meal. We also realize the missing ingredients that prohibit people, organizations, and communities from flourishing are well-being, inclusivity, and support. This is why Thought Kitchen was created. 

 
Our backgrounds as lawyers, mindfulness coaches, and public policy experts allow us to identify the gaps that lead to failing communities. This awareness fuels our desire to cook up recipes that nourish the minds, bodies, and entities that make up our community. Our services help individuals, organizations, and communities achieve connected and healthy outcomes by providing mindful life and work coaching, public policy advising, and supplier diversity consulting. 

 


Learn more about our services.

Thought Kitchen Team, smiling, on a balcony, in a wooded setting.

Furry Companions & Well-Being

Loretta On...

attorney well-being and the positive impact of animals

Loretta Oleksy, a Thought Kitchen Mindful Life and Work Coach, was recently a guest on the The Legal Mindset Corner podcast!

Listen in to explore the therapeutic effects of human-animal interaction and how we harness furry friends in our lawyer well-being advocacy efforts.

Check out the episode: YouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify, The Legal Mindset Corner Blog.



Want to join the conversation?
Become a member and contribute to our forum!

Our Adored Companions

Ranger, a chocoloate brown dog with white spots, is on a porch. He is pensively looking ahead while the sun rests on his face.

This is Ranger -
Thought Kitchen Cuddle Officer

_ird6348_edited.jpg

Another adored companion, Neville, often joins along in mindful movement practices

Spotlight on Guest Events

All Audience Content you(6 × 4 in) (1)_e

Crafted for All Audiences

FREE & On Demand

Without the right tools, even the simplest recipes can become an overwhelming undertaking. Think measuring cups, salt, pepper, spoons, etc. The same is true when it comes to mindfulness-based practices. This free, 7-day course shares our essential ingredients and practices to support your journey to mindfulness and connection. Consider this a standing invitation to cook along with us!

Kitchen Essentials

 

FREE & On Demand

Supplier Diversity: The Missing Piece of Your DEI Strategy Organizations, courts, and law firms have brought Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategies to the forefront over the last few years with a goal of fostering an inclusive work environment for all. While boosting workplace diversity is important, focusing here alone ignores a critical piece of the DEI strategy – supplier diversity programs that promote an inclusive approach to procurement. After completing this program, participants will have a better understanding of what supplier diversity is and why it is important. They will gain an awareness of related policies, laws, and case law at the state and federal level, including the standard set forth in City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co., and they will gain knowledge to debunk the common myths the community of diverse businesses hear the most when trying to work with companies. Faculty: Lesley Crane and Megan Lawson, Thought Kitchen This is an on-demand recording and transcript of the live CLE that was presented on April 6, 2023. The program is approximately 1 hour long and has been approved by the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education for 1 hour of ethics CLE (Course 320407). Please note: This program is appropriate for anyone who would like to learn more about supplier diversity programs. This course is available for CLE credit until April 6, 2024. Cost: Freely offered

Supplier Diversity: The Missing Piece of Your DEI Strategy
 

Legal Professional Content's for you(6 ×

All Legal Professionals

Apply Now

Traditional judicial education has focused mainly on the “substantive” aspects of judging, such as procedure, statutes, and case law, with little focus on the emotional/human relations aspects of judging.  As Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor wrote in My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey, “Most of us think of ourselves as thinking creatures that feel, but we are actually feeling creatures that think.”  Ignoring this reality is unkind to judicial officers and detrimental to their professional conduct, especially in the area of judicial demeanor as set forth in the Model Code of Judicial Conduct Rules 1.2, 2.2, and 2.8. Thought Kitchen’s work is grounded in the belief that addressing the emotional experience of judging results in judicial officers who are not only healthier and happier, but who also make better decisions and behave in a way that is more aligned with the Model Code of Judicial Conduct.  This belief is supported by a growing body of research led by professor and scholar of judicial temperament, Terry Maroney of Vanderbilt University.  The course materials also include discussion of 2017’s The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change, published by the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being as well as 2020’s Stress and Resiliency in the U.S. Judiciary, published in Journal of the Professional Lawyer.

The Inner Work of Judging
9 CJE Credits


 

FREE & On Demand

This course, An Introduction to the Brahmavihāras: For Lawyers, Law Students, & Judicial Officers, is the creative project developed for Jill Carnell's Master of Arts in Mindfulness Studies thesis project, published in September 2021. It consists of seven asynchronous modules, each of which includes a video teaching, formal practice (guided audio meditation), informal practice ideas, written journal prompts, and an online space to connect and share with other participants, all intended to support learning and practice. Module 1: Introduction & grounding practice Module 2: Mettā [kindness] Module 3: Self-compassion Module 4: Karunā [compassion] Module 5: Muditā [joy] Module 6: Upekkhā [equanimity] Module 7: Supporting ongoing practice The reason that Jill chose this topic for her thesis project is that in reviewing the literature about mindfulness and lawyers, law students, and judicial officers, there was quite a bit about the benefits of improving concentration and reducing stress, but very little about the Buddhist psychology teachings of the heart, apart from mettā, kindness. Since the assignment was to find a gap for her project to address, this project arose. Now, in September 2023, Jill has updated it a bit, especially in adding closed captions and including transcripts of audio and video recordings, for re-release. This course is appropriate for anyone who wants to explore these teachings at their own pace. It is freely offered. Thought Kitchen’s work is grounded in the belief that addressing the emotional experience of judging results in judicial officers who are not only healthier and happier, but who also make better decisions and behave in a way that is more aligned with the Model Code of Judicial Conduct.  This belief is supported by a growing body of research led by professor and scholar of judicial temperament, Terry Maroney of Vanderbilt University.  The course materials also include discussion of 2017’s The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change, published by the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being as well as 2020’s Stress and Resiliency in the U.S. Judiciary, published in Journal of the Professional Lawyer.

An Introduction to the Brahmavihāras

 

Learn

With Us

Check Out Our Newest Offering

Sometimes we could all use a little support saying no. 
That's why we created this course for all audiences in mind!

Small Bites: Saying No
 

Small Bites Saying No_edited.jpg

Are you overcommitted and exhausted because you’ve said yes to too many things? You’re not alone. Saying no is a key ingredient of clear boundaries and healthy relationships but putting it into practice can be intimidating and uncomfortable. This five-week course will help you build the skills you need to say a wholehearted yes to the things you really want to do and to clearly and kindly say no to the rest.

NEW & Online

Our Events:
Live, Online, and Hosted by Us

  • Weekly Sangha Sit
    Weekly Sangha Sit
    Multiple Dates
    Wed, Dec 13
    Zoom
    Dec 13, 2023, 8:30 AM – 8:55 AM EST
    Zoom
    Dec 13, 2023, 8:30 AM – 8:55 AM EST
    Zoom
    Join Jill Carnell, Cofounder & Chief Contemplative Officer, for a short guided meditation practice with members of our Thought Kitchen sangha.
    Share
  • What's on Your Well-Being Menu?
    What's on Your Well-Being Menu?
    Wed, Jan 31
    Zoom
    Jan 31, 2024, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST
    Zoom
    Jan 31, 2024, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST
    Zoom
    Does the thought of attending to your well-being feel overwhelming? Good news-- we've operationalized a framework to get you cooking in no time! Come learn more and earn CLE/CJE in the process.
    Share

Engage

With Us

The flavor of impact.

Testimonials

Get a taste of how Thought Kitchen is serving up experiences that transform and connect people, businesses, and communities.

Thought Kitchen Logo
SciAps Logo

At every turn, they listened to our needs and goals, supported them, and exceeded our expectations. Lesley could not have been more responsive and delivered beyond our expectations. The Thought Kitchen team was wonderful to work with and we strongly recommend them to anyone with a procurement need.

 - Don Sackett, CEO & Founder
Thought Kitchen Logo
Firefly logo

It’s an opportunity to discover things and thoughts about yourself and a refreshing moment to pause and reset. I get excited when I see Thought Kitchen on my schedule.

- Amber
Thought Kitchen Logo
Wanzer Edwards Logo

Thought Kitchen encouraged us to ask ourselves and each other interesting and complicated questions. [...] Each participant gained from this program series a deeper understanding of self and of other team members.We are grateful for the opportunity to do this work in a safe and collaborative way.

- Holly Wanzer, Founding Attorney

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Consider this a standing invitation to our kitchen 

Thanks for submitting!

Illustration of 2 women and a man, using thier cell phones, connecting with one another. Icons of chat bubbles, notification bells, and facebook swirl around them. They are smiling and happy.
bottom of page