Katherine (Kay) Foran: Part 2

Part two of my conversation with Kay Foran is a flow of topics for listeners surrounding art, life, grief, our callings and neuroscience. It’s uplifting to find meaning in the last year and there are many dimensions to consider. An easy dialogue for you to join listening as we address a buffet of juicy topics including: how does a person grieve during the pandemic * how imposed social isolation may help some grieve * social awkwardness from our lives now * how little control we have over life at times * how to hear and take responsibility for what we are meant to do in our lives * the spiritual aspect of creating art and writing * trusting our capacities versus our credentials for the work we are called to do * the role of gratitude in making sense of the world * what it means to be a healer * what increasing our awareness of our brain will give us and society * how Brain Dance begins to give us a vocabulary for talking about our brain and lives.

Enjoy. Let it touch your heart, brain and soul.

Katherine Foran, aka Kay, is a rather extraordinary person. She was a key midwife of Brain Dance, especially in its early stages. During that same time, she was also involved in advocating for treatment and caring for her soulmate and husband for many years. He suffered from a rare form of cancer and died just at the start of the pandemic in February 2020.

Kay is currently an editor at the University of Missouri.  A former journalist who worked in Tulsa, Kansas City, and New York City newsrooms, she moved to the more predictable schedule of the “other side” when her children were young. Since then, she has served in public relations and communication roles for public organizations and nonprofits in the Chicago area and Detroit before moving to Missouri in 2015.

She and her spouse Mark Hinojosa were married for 32 years; he lived seven and a half years fighting multiple myeloma. A beloved professor in the University of Missouri School of Journalism, he taught until just days before his death. They have three grown children whom they raised in Oak Park, Illinois. That’s where Kay first encountered me, her across-the-street neighbor and what she has called "the gifts of our warm friendship — and always actionable and inspiring writing."

I am so grateful for our friendship and all her gifts. I am excited about the next steps in her own life. Be sure to also tune in for the second of this two-part series, it will focus on life grieving during the pandemic.

Find her on LinkedIn.