My Story
Mimi Gonzalez is a community organizer, writer, and creative that is passionate about making the death positive movement relevant and accessible to everyone, especially for minoritized youth. Channeling her background as a youth activist and Obama Foundation Community Leadership Corps Scholar, Mimi works to bring griefsense to the mainstream. This is a term that Mimi has coined and describes it as “an intuition and inner 6th sense that’s unlocked after loss and inspires purpose, appreciation for life, and creative expression.” Her goal is to foster crucial conversations around death, grief, and mortality. She does this by collaborating with other purpose driven artists, musicians, and storytellers to bring this movement to life whether that is through her podcast, online community, or through her in person events and conference, called The Grief Sala. “Sala” is Spanish for “living room” because when hosting these conversations, it is in a cozy, safe space where the living gets to talk about loss, life, and everything in between, but through a creative and social impact lens. Mimi’s favorite quote is “if you have nothing to be grateful for, check your pulse” and lives by the mantra “life is a privilege.”
Mimi's story is a compelling testament to turning personal trials into impactful advocacy. As a first-gen Afro-Latina from Hartford, Connecticut, her life was marked by early loss, including her father's death when she was just a baby. Her teenage years brought further grief, with the loss of several close individuals, including her friend Meghan. These experiences spurred Mimi into suicide prevention activism and community organizing, a path supported by key figures like her high school principal.
In college, Mimi broadened her advocacy, organizing open mic events on diverse topics like suicide prevention and mental health, domestic violence, sexual assault, racial equity, and accessibility. She championed inclusivity by bringing Unified Theater to her college, the first college in the US to have such a program, culminating in a unique open mic where individuals with disabilities led the dialogue. On the right is a picture of Mimi holding an award, recognized by University Of Hartford’s President, for her open mics and in community building on campus.
Mimi’s connection to hip hop, art, and playing the drums became crucial in her healing journey, shaping her aspiration to merge pop culture with the death positive movement for communal healing. Frustrated by the lack of representation in the death positive movement, Mimi is inspired to make it more inclusive, relevant, and accessible. Her efforts now focus on diversifying narratives within the movement, especially for Black & Latine youth, blending personal grief into social activism and creative expression.
Early Beginnings
Academic, Activism, & Career Journey
Mimi is a three-time graduate of the University of Hartford, spanning from an Associate's degree in 2015 to a Master's in Organizational Psychology in 2018, a program in which she started at 20 years old. Her time at the university was marked by her involvement in the honors program, advocating for gender equity and facilitating a course on human sexual behavior, which sparked her interest in intersectionality and critical race theory. Her advocacy efforts extended beyond the classroom, as she created support groups for sexual assault survivors and led an initiative for a mandatory comprehensive sexual education program, as part of her research for her Masters Thesis. Although this endeavor didn’t fully materialize, it inspired her to continue her advocacy in other impactful ways.
Professionally, Mimi’s career took off in human resources at notable Fortune 500 companies, including Raytheon Technologies, Aetna/CVS Health, and Stanley Black & Decker. At Stanley, she joined the Human Resources Leadership Development Program and simultaneously was selected to participate in the Obama Foundation Community Leadership Corps. This was a formative experience that led to her being a keynote speaker at the Obama Foundation Summit in 2019. Additionally, she was handpicked by President Obama to join a panel, alongside actress Yara Shahidi, to discuss youth activism and mental health, highlighting her commitment to community and social justice.
Mimi's commitment to social advocacy and racial equity was recognized by the Connecticut State Representatives and her inclusion in Connecticut's 100 Women of Color Class of 2020. In response to the events of 2020, she played a key role in community demonstrations and expanded her social justice music and arts festival that formulated at the Obama Foundation CLC. She also became a founding Board member of CT Equity Now, appointed by Senator Chris Murphy where she supported the organization’s mission for transformational justice and to declare racism a public health crisis in CT, which it was successful.
Her talents were soon recognized at Stanley, and at the age of 24, this led to her role as Chief of Staff to the Chief Diversity Officer in the Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office. She took on this role 6 months before she “graduated” or formally completed the HR Leadership Development Program, making this the first time this happened in the company’s history. In this role, she combined her various experiences to lead significant initiatives, most notably a groundbreaking racial equity program for middle school, high school, and college students.
Now
At the end of 2022, Mimi transitioned from her role at Stanley to be further enriched by a year long entrepreneurship program designed for Black women, founded by the illustrious Dr. Avis Jones DeWeever. This experience led to Mimi starting her own consultancy, focusing on creative and organizational development through a social impact lens, with a mission to bridge the intergenerational gaps in several spaces whether that is the workplace, social media, or events. She spends alot of her time advising organizational leaders and teams on social impact strategies as well as how to attract, connect with, and retain Gen Z. Additionally, her ongoing commitment to youth development is evident in her role as Director of Career Development for Hartford Promise, Board Member of Hillyer College, and Soccer Coach for Special Olympics.
In August 2023, Mimi launched griefsense, a deeply personal and transformative endeavor born from years of reflection and the impactful experience of losing over 20 people. This venture is more than a project for Mimi; it's a realization of her true purpose. Through griefsense, she has initiated a meaningful podcast and creates edutainment content that resonates with an engaged community of Gen Z and Millennial grievers. These individuals, much like Mimi, are creatives/storytellers, mental health advocates, and activists, finding solace and understanding in shared experiences.
The aspirations Mimi holds for griefsense are expansive. She is in the process of converting ideas into concrete, impactful programs that aim to diversify and enrich the death positive movement. Join griefsense in supporting young adults navigating grief through dynamic media and impactful events. Explore our approach by tuning into the griefsense podcast, which sets the stage for 'The Grief Sala', our Hartford-based conference designed to nurture young grievers through creativity, learning, and dialogue.
Click image to tune in on spotify!