Thought Kitchen
Practical. Empirical. Intentional.

Thought Kitchen is a coaching and consulting firm built for legal professionals by legal professionals.
Our work in the justice system is more important than ever, and more of us are leaving the legal sector because the demands of our jobs are costing us our mental health, physical health, and relationships. The data on well-being in law is clear: allowing our work to cannibalize the rest of our lives is unsustainable.
That's why we created the Live the Life You Actually Want Without Blowing Up the Life You Currently Have System.
-
It's Practical, with strategies and practices you can apply immediately.
-
It's Empirical, informed by data from well-being in law studies and the lived experience of our clients.
-
It's Intentional. We're clear about the change our clients want to make, and they are committed to prioritizing our work together.
Our Team
Committed to helping legal professionals live the life they actually want
_edited.png)
Jill Carnell (she/her)
Chief Contemplative Officer
Friendly. Curious. Generous.
Jill is a compassionate disruptor who enjoys convening people, resources, processes, and ideas so each of us can live the life we actually want. The daughter of a pharmacist dad and teacher mom, younger Jill didn’t want to be a pharmacist or a teacher. Turns out, she now happily spends her days teaching and helping legal professionals heal from the toll their work has taken. Music -- both band and choir -- was a transformative part of Jill’s childhood and adolescence. She toured on three continents with the Indianapolis Children’s Choir and met other musicians from all over Indiana through band. These experiences taught her that people are more alike than they are different, no matter where they live. She continues to explore the healing and connecting power of sound in her work with clients by facilitating and recording sound baths. Over the course of her career, Jill has worked in manufacturing, higher education, retail, a mid-size law firm, and state and local government. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Leadership and Supervision from Purdue University West Lafayette (May 1999), a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Indiana University McKinney School of Law (May 2005), and a Master of Arts degree in Mindfulness Studies from Lesley University (September 2021). Jill has been licensed to practice law in Indiana since October 2005, and is still active and in good standing, even though she is regularly asked what’s it like to “not really be a lawyer.” In autumn 2016, Jill experienced the full catastrophe – her dad’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis. As unwelcome as that diagnosis was, it also gave her a gift: clarity that the most important decisions we make are how we spend our time, attention, and energy. Her dad died in January 2018, but the lessons remain. She spends most Fridays with her mom, Karen. Jill lives among the trees outside of Mooresville, Indiana, with her husband, Mark, and a whole bunch of cats. Mark and Jill are the proud parents of Patrick, their adult son.
_edited_edited_j.jpg)
Loretta Oleksy (she/her)
Mindful Life & Work Coach
Insightful. Compassionate. Catalyzing.
Loretta is an insightful, compassion‑driven professional who loves creating spaces where honesty feels possible and where you don’t have to carry everything alone. Her early experiences with family caregiving and loss shaped the empathy, steadiness, and commitment to service that continue to guide her work today. Loretta’s passion is helping people feel genuinely seen and supported so they can get clear on what matters most to them and move forward with intention. Licensed to practice law since 1999, Loretta has spent her career at the intersection of social work and law. She began her career in child advocacy, building statewide public policy initiatives and helping secure legislation to support vulnerable families across Indiana. Her work in systems change led her to law school and into a legal career rooted in public service. Loretta has served as a courtroom advocate for children, operated her own law practice, and spent fifteen years with the Indiana Supreme Court, where she spent six years supporting judicial officers in developing programs to improve outcomes and access to justice for families, survivors of domestic violence, and self-represented litigants. She spent her last nine years with the Court as Deputy Director of the Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP), where she offered confidential education and support to hundreds of law students, lawyers, and judicial officers navigating stress, burnout, addiction, and mental health concerns. Loretta has delivered over 200 hours of CLE nationwide on mental health and well‑being. A former chair of the Indiana State Bar Association’s Well‑Being Committee, she continues to advocate for improved well-being for all legal professionals. Recently, Loretta returned to her access to justice roots in a part-time role helping self‑represented litigants navigate the courts and connecting them with legal information and resources. Her life’s work is grounded in the belief that the justice system functions best when all the people within it are supported, steady, and well-resourced. Loretta lives in her hometown of Anderson, Indiana, with her husband, Chris, and their rescue dogs, Neville and Ranger. They are the proud parents of their adult son, Jameson.
