Co-Founders
Julie Weatherhead
Julie is a supreme hugger, auntie and Licensed Professional Counselor. Julie’s brother Bryan died very suddenly and traumatically when she was 12 years old and he was 16. Her life lens was challenged and shifted from that moment on. Dealing with the isolation of childhood grief, learning about how her grief and coping methods changed over time was, and remains, a lifelong process. Concurrently, her lens was also shifted to one of gratitude with the understanding of how to be an empathic & compassionate supporter of others on their grief journeys.
She received her Masters in Counseling in 2010 and proceeded to work as a School Counselor for ten years with schools in Detroit, Colorado and South America. She began doing grief work alongside her graduate studies at Sandcastles Detroit and throughout her professional career through programs like Judi’s House in Denver, Camp Sheilah in Chicago, Camp Comfort Zone all over the US; and by running grief groups in the schools she worked in. She is a licensed professional counselor and enjoys working with people from ages 5 to 95 in centering and practicing mental wellness as an essential part of our collective lives through her private practice called- Weathervane Counseling & Consulting. She is also one of the founding members of a co-operative healing organization called Motor City Mobile Wellness which aims to meet people in real time crisis with mental, physical and spiritual resources.
She enjoys working with groups and organizations to better identify, understand and cope with grief and trauma with a culturally responsive lens. She believes that community mental health support is a human right and continues to work towards the normalization of healing on a local and global scale. She loves learning from, collaborating and creating with community; playing basketball, hanging out with her family and therapy dog, Feely.
Ms.Blue Jackson
Ms. Blue has had a passion and background in the health care field for most of her life. She's been a long-term caregiver for years and also worked as a direct caregiver, licensed as a CNA. She’s taught early head start, worked multiple non-profits over the years serving in various roles and has been a mentor for over 13 years. Ms. Blues heart truly cares for everyone and their well-being, it's second nature to her. She has recently officially received her certification in Community Health Care and in Mental Health first Aid from Henry Ford College. She is a mother of two beautiful humans, griever of her own mother and lover of her community.
When Ms. Blue's mother passed in 2019 she fully realized there was a lack of grief support and services for working families. Thats what revitalized her spark in health care and being an advocate for the community to have proper grief support and lose the stigma on therapy and grief support.
Simon Anton
Simon Anton is an artist and educator based in Detroit, MI. Co-founder of the experimental design group Thing Thing and has exhibited his work in recycled plastic all over the world. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Cranbrook Academy of Art, where he received the President’s award for Sustainability and the Redmond Prize. He is a lifelong educator and is passionate about sharing the joys of creative expression with young people. In 2022 he was awarded a Knights Art Challenge grant to teach local youth how to recycle plastic and transform it into public art.
While finishing grad school Simon lost his mom to homicide. Even as an adult it was difficult to find resources to guide him through his experience and he felt a deep sympathy for young people going through similar circumstances . Meeting amazing people like Julie and Ms. Blue inspired him to combine his love of arts education with his newfound experiences in grief counseling.