In a powerful and deeply personal conversation on Inside Personal Growth, host Greg Voisen welcomes Meredith Wilson Parfet, a chaplain, MBA, TED speaker, and founder of Raven Yard Group. Speaking from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Meredith shares her remarkable journey through personal tragedy, near-death experiences, and large-scale business crises – and how she has transformed these moments into tools for resilience, leadership, and meaning-making.
A Life Shaped by Crisis and Compassion
Meredith’s professional path is anything but ordinary. She holds an MBA from one of the top business schools, has worked in high-level finance, and built a career in crisis management. Yet, her most defining moments came from experiences that no textbook could prepare her for.
From losing her sister to an accidental opioid overdose during the early days of the epidemic, to nearly dying herself during childbirth, Meredith’s life has been profoundly shaped by encounters with mortality. Her deep spirituality – nurtured since childhood and later formalized through chaplaincy training – now informs her work supporting individuals and organizations through their most challenging moments.
Follow Meredith on Instagram and LinkedIn for more insights and updates.
Grief Brain and the Path to Resilient Leadership
One of Meredith’s most compelling insights is what she calls “grief brain” – the biological and psychological state that occurs during trauma or crisis. She explains how cortisol and adrenaline overload can hijack the prefrontal cortex, impairing decision-making, memory, and impulse control – often when these skills are needed most.
Her advice? Build resilience before crisis hits. This means cultivating spiritual practices, self-awareness, and coping mechanisms now, so that when life’s inevitable disruptions arrive, you can respond with clarity and groundedness.
From Personal Loss to Professional Mission
Meredith’s journey also includes navigating a devastating professional crisis – the collapse of a fund where she served as CIO due to fraud committed by others. The fallout was catastrophic for investors, colleagues, and her own career. Yet, it became the catalyst for founding Raven Yard Group, where she now helps leaders manage crises involving scandal, fraud, misconduct, and other high-stakes challenges.
Her 5-step Risk Readiness process focuses on defining the crisis clearly, weighing trade-offs, setting priorities, and identifying “the next right thing” – even when the path forward feels impossible.
Holding Space and Finding Meaning
As a hospice chaplain, Meredith has learned that often the most profound support we can offer is to simply hold space for others – to sit beside them in their pain without judgment or the need to “fix” it. She applies this same principle in organizational crises, helping leaders navigate both practical decisions and the invisible emotional toll.
Meredith emphasizes the final stage of grief, as defined by expert David Kessler: meaning. While anger, denial, and bargaining may never fully vanish, she believes the act of searching for meaning transforms grief from a passive state into an active process of growth.
Key Takeaways for Leaders and Individuals
-
Prepare before crisis hits – Build spiritual, emotional, and mental resilience now.
-
Name the crisis – Clear definition shapes your entire response strategy.
-
Set priorities – Know what matters most to guide the “next right step.”
-
Hold space for others – Presence can be more powerful than solutions.
-
Seek meaning – This transforms loss into a catalyst for growth.
Meredith’s story is a testament to the fact that crisis can be both destructive and transformative. Her work bridges the deeply human aspects of grief with the strategic demands of leadership – offering a roadmap for anyone navigating the storms of life or business.
To explore her work further, visit meredithparfet.com, connect with her on Instagram, and follow her on LinkedIn.
You may also refer to the transcripts below for the full transcription (not edited) of the interview.
[fusebox_transcript]
Leave a Reply