About Bruce Anderson
Executive Director, Learning Host and Core Gift Coach
Bruce's Core Gift
"My Core Gift is helping people use their imagination to find a new hopefulness.
I give it by helping them have an intense curiosity about what's around the next corner, surface their emotional truth, remember that the answers are often in the soft underbelly of what is unspoken, and slog through the muck of change to get to the thresholds where love is revealed so they can find their way home."
Bruce Anderson is an internationally recognized speaker, community activist, and leadership coach.
In 1990, he collaborated with other groups and developed extensive training and action-based materials about how to identify and use gifts. These methods are now used around the world by a wide range of individuals and groups including executive coaches, youth programs, therapists, social workers, employment programs, faith congregations, and mental health agencies. The Core Gift Institute was founded in 2016 to deepen and carry forward the work of gifts across a broad range of interest groups.
His work has taken him to Alaskan villages, alleys in Los Angeles, corporate boardrooms, and family homes—in pursuit of his goal that every person, regardless of their life circumstance, can know their Core Gift and find important ways to contribute to their world. Bruce is known for his ability to connect and start with wherever a person is on his/her road to self-discovery.
“Being certain of my gifts has made my life full of choices and experiences that continually open up new ways for me to know myself, serve others, and find joy in daily life. I can say with confidence, ‘I am doing what I’m supposed to be doing.’ I eagerly look for opportunities to support others in finding and living into their true gifts and finding the path that’s right for them.”
Bruce brings a unique blend of experiences, including being the mayor of a town, teacher, mediator, executive director of social service agencies, design/build home contractor, and commercial fisherman. He is known for bringing intriguing ideas from other cultures and times, personal stories, and practical ideas into the workshops and sessions he leads.
About Katie Elliott
Development Specialist, Learning Host, Core Gift Coach
Katie's Core Gift
"My Core Gift is helping people to find a bridge from here to there.
I give it by helping them to be completely present in the moment, to share the rich truth of who they are, to get to the heart of what's important, and to know that no matter what happens we can always turn it into something beautiful."
Katie is a writer, educator, coach and corporate consultant, specializing in the areas of wellbeing and behaviour change. In 2017, she founded the Little Challenges project to share evidence-based ideas, inspiration and practical tools to help make the business of being human just a little bit easier. She's also the host of the Adventures in Behaviour Change podcast and creator of Amiko Cards, a self-care reminder tool.
"Every time I accompany someone through the Core Gift process, I am bowled over by their beauty and resourcefulness. Each person is so different and has something so valuable and unique to offer. Discovering my gift has transformed my life and helped me find the deep sense of meaning I was longing for - so being able to help others connect with theirs feels like the most extraordinary privilege."
Before discovering the world of gifts, Katie worked as a children's author and illustrator, jazz musician, social entrepreneur and community activist, specialising in intergenerational arts-based projects.
About Dr. Dan Kaufman
Core Gift Coach
Dan's Core Gift
"My Core Gift is helping people create the meaningful changes they would like to see in their lives.
I give it by helping them uncover the protective masks keeping them stuck and blind to who they really are, by helping them see that no matter the challenge it’s the simple steps they take that will get them there, and that by tapping into their courage to stay the course they will find endless possibilities to explore."
Over the past 40 years, Dan has worked as an educator, a mental health counselor and a leadership coach and consultant. He has worked in schools, non-profits and in his community, always with the focus of helping people find who they uniquely are, to give voice to those that may feel left out or marginalized and to empower them to be the best self that they could be in their work and in their personal lives.
"The one thing, more than any other, that I have taken from the opportunity I've had to meet so many different kinds of people is that each, regardless of their situation, has a light that shines within them. Being able to see that light, even when they can’t, has been the gift that I have received from being present to who they are. Sometimes that light is but a flicker in the darkness, while other times it may shine brightly, but I believe it is always there. This is what I believe Core Gift work is all about: helping people to find their light!"
"Attention is the greatest form of generosity."
Simone Weil
About Rachel Taylor
Core Gift Coach
Rachel's Core Gift
"My Core Gift is helping people connect to their true selves and live in alignment with that in the world.
I give it by helping them to awaken a sense of higher purpose, honor depth and complexity without taking themselves too seriously, connect with others about our collective potential, and align their contribution with regenerative transformation."
Rachel is a coach and group facilitator in her work as a social and environmental justice activist, and occasional entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of The Joyality Project, an organization dedicated to addressing the intersecting ecological and social crises of our time through nature-centered psychoeducation that empowers personal and collective action for change. She believes that Core Gift work is a vital piece of the puzzle of embodying our truest selves and stepping into our fullest contribution to the collective. She’s also an aspiring permaculture farmer and ceramicist.
"Being a human is such an indescribably difficult and beautiful endeavor. For me, understanding Gifts as a universal, unalienable, and integral part of the human experiment is both grounding and inspiring. We are alive at a time when our communities need us, our earth needs us, and we need ourselves to be brave and vulnerable and creative and honest. Supporting and witnessing people in their process of connecting to their innate belongingness and profound ability to contribute is perhaps the greatest honor I can imagine."