Dear friend,

I have been fortunate to fill many roles in my life: daughter, wife, mother, sister, aunt, niece, and friend among the most prominent. Many of these roles have led me to become the person that I am today, but the role that led most directly to who I am as a business owner is that of English teacher. I began teaching in January 2005, and my time as an educator was a journey of learning and discovery. As I learned about the craft of teaching, I also began learning about the intangibles of what having "it" meant for the minority students I taught.  In my second year, I started trying to educate my colleagues about what it meant to reach all students and meet the needs of those of varied cultural, religious, and socio-economic experiences.  

The irony of teaching is that the more thoroughly you try to teach something, the more thoroughly you must study and learn.  I've spent the time since that second year in continuous learning, training, and reflection, developing my passion for bringing understanding and connection where there was once misunderstanding and hatred.  The longer I live and the more people I meet, the more I am dedicated to ensuring that we achieve our goals.

For one of my first events for a newly-formed In Purpose, I invited my great uncle, who was 80 at that time. I remember being really hurt when he told me he would not be attending (he’s always been one of my biggest supporters), but he said something that stayed with me since and gives me focus and direction. He told me at that time that he was not attending because he had participated in conversations about race and equity his entire life so that I would not have to have those same conversations. However, he was tired, and so was passing the torch on to me. It was sobering and poignant considering the type of example he had set for me throughout his life. He deserved to rest after achieving so many “firsts” so that I could stand on his shoulders.

Now I do this work in the hope that our children will not have to do it. I do it with the hope that we will foster connection and understanding in our lives and communities, making it much easier to join together to correct systemic inequities so that we can create an equitable society that frees each of us to become our best selves. We will listen, learn, and love our way to a better world for all.

I ask that you join me on this journey. Support our programs by purchasing tickets and webinars, donate to this nonprofit so that we can afford to fully operate and pay our consultants their worth, and share the valuable information that we present through this site. With your help, I know that one day In Purpose Educational Services will fully fulfill its goal of achieving equity in a diverse world, one person, one program at a time. 

Sincerely,

Heather Fleming