Friends of the California Grief Center,

In a time when fear poses as strength and cruelty masquerades as law, Judge Hannah Dugan stands as a living reminder: justice without compassion is no justice at all. Her life’s work has been a quiet revolution—steadfastly defending the vulnerable, honoring the dignity of the courts, and refusing to trade humanity for power.

Long before joining the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Dugan had spent decades alongside those most in need—as a poverty attorney, a leader at Catholic Charities, a law professor, and president of the Milwaukee Bar Association. Always, her work carried an old truth: the law must protect the powerless, not persecute them.

In 2016, voters rejected political machinery and chose Dugan, a judge who belongs to the people.

Now, in an era when judicial independence is under siege, Hannah Dugan stands accused—not of cruelty or corruption, but of compassion. Of daring to bring humanity into a system built on fear. Federal agents call it obstruction. History may call it something else: conscience.

When others stayed silent, she spoke. When others looked away, she stood her ground.

Today, we honor Judge Hannah Dugan—teacher, advocate, and guardian of what is right. She reminds us that real courage is quiet, costly, and essential—and that sometimes, to be faithful to justice, one must risk everything.

1 day until… Grief, Mindfulness, and the Long Repair of America (Virtual)

💛 Healing Ourselves through the Present Moment (HOPE Group)

A Mindful Gathering for the Weary, the Watchful, and the Willing
with Mariela Bravo and Brian Stefan

In a world that moves too fast and asks too much, there is something quietly radical about pausing. About choosing stillness—not to escape life, but to meet it. Gently. Together.

On Saturday, April 26, you're invited to sit with us in the soft, sacred space of HOPE. This isn’t a workshop, or a lecture, or another task for your to-do list. It’s a gathering of breath, courage, and conscience—a place to steady ourselves in a world that feels increasingly unsteady.

This month, we will begin, as we always do, with a guided meditation. Then we’ll gently move into a mindfulness of emotions practice (optional) to help us meet this moment of fear, anger, and sorrow: a moment when even the pillars of justice are trembling.

We come together at a time when a judge, Hannah Dugan—a woman who has spent her life defending the vulnerable and honoring the law’s true purpose—faces retaliation not for cruelty or corruption, but for her compassion. She reminds us that real strength is tender, real courage is costly, and that justice without humanity is no justice at all.

The HOPE Group has been a refuge since April 2020—a community without judgment, shame, or pressure. A place where grief can be named, and hearts can be held. Whether you are heart-heavy, soul-tired, or simply in need of a reminder that you do not carry this alone—come.

No fixing. No performing. Just presence. Just us. Just now.

🌿 Saturday, April 26 | 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM PT | Zoom
👉 Register Here

Circle These Dates—They’re Worth the Show-Up

A round-up of gatherings that matter—because presence is a kind of healing.

🎨 Fragments Reimagined: Grief, Mosaic, and the Art of Becoming Whole Again
with Tabitha Fronk and Brian Stefan

A California Grief Center Workshop
Saturdays | May 10 – June 14, 2025 | 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Venice, CA (Abbot Kinney) | Sliding Scale | Adults 21+

Some stories can only be told in fragments. And some kinds of healing can only happen when we stop trying to make it all make sense.

In Fragments Reimagined, we gather not to “fix” our grief—but to sit beside it. To let our hands, breath, and bodies speak what words cannot. Through somatic storytelling, psychodrama-inspired practices, and mosaic art, this six-week experience invites us to honor what has shattered and to imagine what might still be shaped from the pieces.

Led by Tabitha Fronk, LPCC, ATR-BC, ATCS, CCLS, and Brian Stefan, LCSW, this workshop is a space where no grief is too strange, too small, or too much. Whether you’re carrying personal loss, ancestral pain, political disillusionment, or quiet heartache, you are welcome here.

We’ll begin each session together, ground in the body, and move between creative expression and shared witnessing. Each participant will create a personal mosaic by the end—a piece that holds memory, meaning, and the glint of something that still shines.

This is not therapy. But it is deeply therapeutic.

💔 Grief in all its forms is welcome.
🎭 No performance. No pressure. Just presence.
🥗 Breaks for lunch and nearby cafés.
🚗 Free parking. Substance-free space. All art supplies provided.

Because sometimes, when language fails, our hands remember the way.

👉 Register Here

Spots are limited. Register now to join us in this tender act of collective becoming.
Let’s meet in the mosaic of our shared humanity.

🌿 A Dharma Talk for the Weather of the Soul
with Trudy Goodman

A Virtual Gathering
Sunday | May 11, 2025 | 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM PT
Zoom | Donation-Based | Open to All

Some seasons don’t show up on the calendar. There are years when spring won’t come, when autumn clings to every corner of the heart. Grief, too, has its own weather. So does the slow, quiet work of healing. And often, the bravest thing we can do is stay where we are, until the sky changes.

On May 11, Trudy Goodman offers a kind of refuge. Not to erase the pain, but to stand with it—to steady us when the winds are fierce. This isn’t a sermon, or a solution. It’s the soft glow of a lantern on a dark trail. It’s the hush that comes after the storm has had its say. It’s a hand lightly resting on the edge of your sorrow, reminding you: the roots still hold.

She’ll meet us not as a teacher towering above, but as a fellow traveler—patient, kind, and willing to sit through the long winter with us.

🕯️ Sunday, May 11 | 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM PT | Zoom
👉 Register Here

Bring your weathered heart. Your heavy coat. Bring the part of you that isn’t ready to bloom. We’ll be waiting—keeping the fire lit.

Monthly Healing Ourselves through the Present Moment (HOPE Group)

📅 Next Virtual Session: Saturday, May 31 | 10:00 AM PT | 1.5 hours (Zoom)
👉 Register Here

In a world that often rushes to fix or flee from pain, the HOPE Group offers something quieter—and braver. A place to stay. To breathe. To be.

This month, we invite you to a special session titled:

Spotlight on Suicide (SOS): Mindfulness, Deep Suffering, and Sitting With Suicide
with Dr. Jamie Gamboa

Suicidal suffering is often met with fear, silence, or hurried solutions. In this gathering, we will practice another way: sitting mindfully in the presence of profound pain without judgment, without rushing to rescue or retreat. Guided by Dr. Jamie Gamboa, we will explore the courageous act of bearing witness—to ourselves, to each other, and to the suffering that asks not to be solved, but to be seen.

Whether you carry your own story of survival, grief, or are simply called to deepen your understanding, you are welcome here.

Come as you are. Leave a little lighter.

👉 Register Here

More About California Grief Center

🌿 Where Grief is Given Space to Speak

At the California Grief Center, we honor grief as a natural, sacred part of being human. It needs space, patience, and steady hands to help shoulder its weight. That’s what we offer.

We provide individual therapy for grief, support for couples and families, and community experiences like Catharsis Theater—a daring mix of story, movement, and meaning. Our reach goes beyond counseling rooms: we bring outreach, education, and training to schools, workplaces, and communities ready to meet grief with compassion.

If you—or someone close to you—are walking through a loss, whether fresh or carried for years, we are here.

Visit www.caligrief.com to explore our services, register for a workshop, or invite us into your community.

With heart and hope,
Brian Stefan, LCSW
Founder, California Grief Center