Blue Skies and Tailwinds 👋

Although I had known for a while that this moment would come, it’s now time to close this chapter for good.

When I started working as a freelance data scientist in 2019 after leaving academia, I could never have imagined where this path would lead me. What began as contracted project work organically evolved into something much broader, and along the way I was fortunate to grow into the person I am today while achieving the professional goals I had set for myself over the past seven years.

At the same time, death gradually began reshaping the direction I wanted my work and life to take. I’ve never spoken publicly about this before, but while undergoing death companion training three years ago, I experienced two significant personal losses within a single month. I won’t go into detail here, but that period ultimately led me to step away from the German impact sector and focus on global independent work beyond human-made boundaries. Alongside my professional work, which also included becoming a certified systemic coach, I entered the hospice and alternative death care field as a qualified volunteer and deepened my sports and movement practice as an amateur athlete.

Although I had met many incredible people in academia and the impact sector, this transition felt like a new beginning. Spending time in Berlin’s hospice and movement spaces introduced me to different communities, and I’m deeply grateful for the wonderful people I’ve encountered there over the past few years. For the first time, I found myself connecting with others who shared similar values and interests, without the dysfunctional dynamics that are unfortunately all too common in academia and the nonprofit sector. Being part of both spaces brought a healthier sense of balance, inner peace, and connection than I had previously experienced.

During marathon training last year, I slowly realized that my future goals and vision for my life no longer structurally aligned with the professional environments I was contributing to. At some point, it became clear that I had outgrown my professional identity and that the work I had done up to then belonged to the past.

What happened earlier this year only strengthened my decision to let this chapter come to a natural close and venture onto new paths. Fortunately, the stars have aligned in a way that now allows me to transition into the hospice and palliative care field professionally, under conditions that also give me the time and space to deepen my knowledge in health, sports, and movement further.

Over the coming years, I’ll likely pursue instructor training and explore whether I want to teach movement on the side or build my systemic coaching business instead. I'm also curious to see how these paths might complement and enrich each other in practice. Either way, I’m excited for what lies ahead and for the opportunity to keep learning and evolving in this direction.

Thank you to everyone I’ve had the pleasure of partnering, co-creating, and growing with over the years. Your trust and shared belief in meaningful change shaped the past decade of my life more than you probably realize, and I’ll carry many of those experiences with me into the future.

With care,
Lisa ツ