Meet the Board: Taylor Elyse Morrison
Taylor Elyse Morrison turned being bad at self-care—and being firmly convinced of every human’s potential—into a career. She’s the founder of Inner Workout and the author of a book by the same name. Recently named one of Fortune’s 10 Innovators Shaping the Future of Health, Taylor is tired of aspirational 'wellness as usual.' Instead, she builds businesses, content, and experiences that make well-being and personal development more accessible. You're just as likely to see Taylor facilitating a workshop at a Fortune 100 as you are to see her talking about TikTok and body image with a high school class. Wherever she goes, Taylor's sure to use her coaching, mindfulness, and movement training to meet people where they're at and offer actionable steps toward creating a world without burnout.
How did you get involved with Prismatic?
I came to Prismatic because I've always been entrepreneurial. I love seeing potential in people, making impossible things possible, and realizing things we thought impossible were possible.
I first came to Prismatic to volunteer and share some of my entrepreneurial journey and what it's been like for me as a black woman to navigate that space. I've had the opportunity to talk about mental health to be like a coach and a mentor for one of the Prismatic programs, and I love seeing students come into their own and realize that they have so much to offer.
I was one of the coaches for the fellowship. I'm pretty sure that young women on my team were initially annoyed at me because they wanted me to give them the answers, and I treated it like coaching. I would ask, “What do you think? What have you tried?”
It was so cool, by the end, to see them start to come and say, “Taylor, we tried this, and here's where we're stuck. Here's where we're hoping you could help,” but with so much more ownership and confidence.
Why is Prismatic’s mission critical to you?
What Prismatic is doing is twofold.
One, it's like skill building in emotional intelligence. It's building confidence in these students.
The other equally important piece is that it shows kids what's possible. Not only in doing things themselves that they didn't know was possible for them to do, but also exposing them to adults who have careers that they may have never heard of, or people who look like them, who are a couple of decades older who have been here able to accomplish things. Then they accept that it's possible for them too.
So it's the skill set side of things and the mind-opening side of things.
What is one of your most memorable experiences with Prismatic?
I don't have one particular experience. I am consistently surprised in a good way with the questions that the students ask.
I was on a panel about mental health with one of my friends and colleagues. I appreciated their willingness to ask questions about mental health. Also, we were both entrepreneurs, so they're asking questions about that, too.
When I finish volunteer opportunities with Prismatic, I always tell my husband, “The kids are alright.”
In some ways, this is purely selfish for me, but the world can be such a dark place, and then you hang out with these students, and they offer you some hope. I hope they're feeling hope for what's possible for them, in the same way that I feel hope for what's possible for the world.
Why is it essential to teach EQ skills to young adults?
I'm very much on the fringes of education. I got diagnosed with ADHD later in my life and realized so many of the learning experiences that I had when I was just being told concepts but never given ways to apply them directly to my life. I did decently well in school; I muscled through it. I thrived when I could make connections, even for more abstract concepts like emotional intelligence.
A coaching mindset, skill set, and toolset is how you make emotional intelligence hands-on rather than just talking at people. If you lead by asking questions, students can draw on those connections when it's hard for them to navigate their emotions or what they would do to demonstrate some of these skills and how that looks different for the relationship with their friends versus a relationship with their teachers. It will be so much more meaningful and impactful for students if they come to those conclusions themselves through a coaching conversation or coaching.
Another big thing, too, is many students, not all, but many of the students I worked more closely with were young women. There's another layer of knowing their voice is valid and valuable. Asking questions helps, particularly those young women, find and own their voice
What are you most excited about working with Prismatic?
I’m excited because these kids may or may not have exposure to people who share some identity in common with them and who are doing things that they may not have thought were possible for them.
There are so many schools in Chicago, and this disparity between the super well-funded schools needs to be addressed. So those schools and the staff in those schools may need more than they can offer to their students, too. Partnering with an organization like Prismatic is valuable because it can do that. They talk about how it takes a village to raise a child; Prismatic becomes part of that village. Here's this programming that can fit in and supplement some skills.
What is your favorite self-care or community care practice, and why?
I always feel better when I'm in nature, whether that's a hike or a walk by Chicago's lakefront. It grounds and calms me.
Join us in shaping the future. Find out how you can get involved with Prismatic’s Turning Point Fund.