Come along for a panel of discussion of women who have turned tragedy into triumph:
- Kayla Keenan - INDY Foundation
- Liz Fiedler - Sunny Mary Meadow
- Tami Kruzel - What Would Bri Do and Bri’s Lodge
Listen to :
- How and why these women are doing the things they are doing.
- What have they done to become stronger in the face of tragedy
- What they have triumphantly built to make our community even better.
Kayla Keenan
Kayla's life took an unexpected turn when she became a widow at the tender age of 28 after her late husband Kyle lost his battle with colon cancer. Faced with grief, Kayla found the strength within herself to not only endure but to thrive and pour her passions into a nonprofit.
Kayla founded the INDY Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing love, faith and financial support to cancer warriors and their family members. Through the foundation, she provides invaluable resources, financial and emotional support.
Balancing the requirements of her foundation duties, Kayla juggles her roles as a caring mother to two children, a committed farm wife, and a full-time sales professional. Finding balance among these diverse responsibilities is an ongoing challenge.
Though her journey has been marked by loss, Kayla Keenan's story is one of strength, resilience, and unwavering determination to make the world a better place, one act of kindness at a time.
Liz Fiedler
Liz Fiedler is a nurse practitioner turned flower farmer, author, and podcast host. During NP school in 2016, she and her husband bought his family farm and welcomed their first child a year later.
Graduating in 2019, Liz started what she thought was her "forever career" as a family practice primary care nurse practitioner right before the pandemic started. They decided to start a "hobby business/side hustle" of a flower farm (Sunny Mary Meadow). They weren't really sure what direction that business was going to go beyond that year, because in December 2020, her husband unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack and she found out she was pregnant again the day after the funeral.
After a couple of years juggling jobs on the farm and in health care, Liz took a leap of faith and dove into entrepreneurship. She now sells over 5,000 bouquets every summer from April to September, is a 5X published author, hosts 4 podcasts, and coaches other entrepreneurs to build product-based businesses. Oh, and she still works 1 day/week as a NP to keep those skills up.
Tami Kruzel
Tami Kruzel is a mother, wife, and registered nurse, known for founding and leading the organization "What Would Bri Do" (WWBD) as its executive director.
With a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management and Organizational Behavior, Tami initially thrived in the business sector for eight years, but after a career shift due to downsizing, she pursued nursing and served at CentraCare in the Telemetry and Nephrology departments from 2009 to 2020.
The tragic passing of their daughter BriAnna in 2013 at the age of 18 to unknown causes deeply affected Tami and her family. Turning her profound grief into a mission of giving, Tami founded WWBD in November 2014. The organization, initially inspired by an ice cream social fundraiser, has since donated approximately $60,000 to those in need, including the placement of the Angel of Hope statue in Sartell on Lake Francis.
In 2018, after visiting Faith's Lodge in Danbury, WI, the nonprofit shifted its mission to focus on helping those grieving the loss of a loved one, ensuring that no one has to grieve alone. This led to the establishment of Bri's Lodge, a space dedicated to providing support through 1:1 companioning, grief support groups, and innovative healing through the five senses workshops such as Equine Therapy, Memory Bear Making, and Grief Yoga. With plans in the near future to introduce Healing Touch and potentially Massage Therapy, Tami envisions Bri’s Lodge evolving into a comprehensive grief retreat center for individuals to come together so no one grieves alone.
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