Guest Post | Small Team, Big Heart, Open Doors

I have worked with Chip and the MEA team for more than seven years, and I feel incredibly lucky that my work centers on our people, culture, and administration. Much of my role happens behind the scenes, but one of its most meaningful parts is helping run AGE, our affiliated nonprofit. Through this small but mighty 501(c)3 nonprofit, I see the generosity of our community become something tangible: the opportunity for someone to attend an MEA workshop when they otherwise might not be able to.

MEA workshops are immersive by design, with beautiful surroundings, nourishing meals, thoughtful programming, and the kind of high-touch care that gives people space to step away from daily life and focus on what comes next. That experience can be transformative, but it can also be financially out of reach.

Chip created AGE because he believes money should not determine who has access to growth, connection, healing, and reinvention. Through its partnership with MEA, AGE provides scholarships to help remove that barrier.

Since AGE began in 2020, the generosity of our community has helped raise nearly $2.5 million for MEA scholarships. I deeply admire that I work alongside people who do more than talk about transformation, they make it available to those who need it.

Right now, that mission feels especially personal.

AGE is raising scholarship funds for MEA’s

This workshop offers a place to speak honestly, connect with people who understand, and explore how such a difficult experience might also become a catalyst for deeper meaning and purpose.

It will be led by Dr. Caryn Lerman, a clinical psychologist and director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, and our own Chip Conley, MEA’s co-founder and AGE’s chairman. Chip is navigating cancer treatment himself, making this work deeply personal for him, and for all of us who care about him.

To date, donors have contributed approximately $25,000 toward Cancer Thrivers scholarships, creating a generous pool of partial scholarship support. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has helped make this possible.

Here are my heartfelt asks:

• If cancer has touched your life and you have the means to give: Please consider supporting the dedicated Cancer Thrivers Scholarship Fund. Every dollar donated through this fund helps cancer thrivers access these workshops. Gifts can be made in honor of someone, in memory of someone, or simply out of hope for the person whose next chapter may be changed by your generosity.

• If you are navigating cancer and need financial support to attend: I strongly encourage you to apply for a scholarship. This is exactly why AGE exists, and we want you to know that this opportunity is for you, too.

• If someone you know could benefit: Please share the workshop with them. Send the link, make the introduction, or simply tell someone who may need to hear that this kind of support and community exists.

At the heart of hospitality is a desire to care for people and help them feel supported. That same spirit is at the center of the work we do at MEA and AGE. Our team may be small, but the impact can be huge, and every donor, every scholarship, and every person we are able to support matters deeply.

This work absolutely lights me up. I’m deeply grateful to be part of it and proud to help open the door for someone who may need it. Thank you for being on this journey with us.

With many years in hospitality, Lilly brings thoughtful leadership, strong business administration expertise, and a deep heart for service to MEA’s leadership team. As Vice President of Administration, she supports the organization’s people, culture, and operations and also serves as Secretary-Treasurer of the Association for Growth and Education. Lilly can occasionally be found returning to her hospitality roots by lending a hand on the ranch or taking in a Baja sunset, and is a member of MEA’s 2023 Whole-Ass-Lovers cohort in Baja.