At kid-grit, our mission is to equip educators and students with knowledge and tools to build confidence, character, resilience and self-care.
We offer robust researched-based programs that include curriculum, focused workshops, evidence-based professional development and coaching, leadership development programs and coaching, and workshops for families. Our offerings are anchored in themes that include emotional intelligence, mindfulness, wellness strategies, inclusion, self- awareness, digital literacy and mastery of learning.
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The kid-grit curriculum is the perfect combination of social-emotional learning, mindfulness, character education, and youth development. We offer a 25-hour, inquiry-based, Pre-K-12 program, focusing on mind, body, community/connection, digital consciousness and social media awareness, and 21st-century skills.
Concurrently, we support educators and program staff with robust professional development workshop trainings based on the same foundational modules of mind, body, community/connection, and digital consciousness & balance.
We are committed to this equitable approach to social-emotional learning for both your students and staff. As a result, when educators facilitate the kid-grit curriculum in classrooms or programs, there will be no disconnect.
Two kindred spirits grew up in the same neighborhood on the streets of New York City in the late 70’s and 80’s. A time when kids created their own after school programs, when kids played in parks, when street lights told time, when city buses and subways were traveled by kids all alone, when fire hydrants were their swimming pools, when the parks they played in were filled with kids from all backgrounds and when kids often were taking care of their own parents. Julia and Jeffrey’s individual journeys during childhood took them to neighboring and rival high schools in the same area of Brooklyn. They shared close mutual friends through their childhood but were never in the same room nor on the same street corner at the same time. Despite their proximity and similar experiences as youth, Julia and Jeffrey never had a direct connection until 30 years later. Their common bonds started in their youth by their troubled upbringing. When finally connected as adults, they had found their calling together at exactly the perfect time. Similar lifework and passions, fueled by their shared challenges of broken homes and parents with addictions during their adolescence, ignited the creation of kid-grit. A soulful company that designs social-emotional learning and mindfulness curriculum and professional development trainings to motivate and inspire both students and educators world-wide.
Julia and Jeffrey offer a wealth of knowledge in youth development and the holistic approach to building young people from the inside out. Not only do they share an authentic experience of growing up with resilient mindsets, they have also been digging their heels into the ground in the youth space for over 30 years combined. Their experience includes leading organizations, developing staff, coaching youth and adults, and building positive relationships and partnerships with community-based organizations. Julia, an award-winning educator, possessing a strong NYC theatrical background, has been a dynamic facilitator of activity-based workshops for over 20 years. Jeffrey, a seasoned entrepreneur, has created and led startup enterprises in both public and private sectors, including a youth mentoring non-profit, a holistic life coaching business, and online distribution companies realizing annualized revenues of $53M. They have each built successful and trackable programs from the ground up, focusing on a range of topics from academic enrichment and school support systems, leadership programs, first-generation college bound programs, sports and arts programs, life skills programs and social emotional learning (SEL) programs that are threaded in all of the above. They are already a reputable and expert dynamic duo that has been speaking to audiences across the U.S. since 2016. Between the two, they offer an array of professional and life skill sets that deepen the effectiveness of the company’s mission. Driven by their aligned pasts and the impact of their childhood and moreover, driven by their love for youth… what has developed over the past 5 years has become their combined legacy. This passion project is driven by love.
Julia Gabor brings to kid-grit a holistic approach to youth development that encompasses mindfulness, social and emotional learning, character education, digital and social media awareness. Additionally, she has spent the last 15 years working professionally with esteemed organizations such as the LA-All Stars, the Tiger Woods Foundation and WRiTE BRAiN BOOKS.
Jeffrey L. Jordan is a passionate social entrepreneur who has built several businesses, including a holistic health, wellness and life-coaching practice in New Jersey. His passion is centered on holistic youth development, mentoring and kinetic life coaching. His mission has been dedicated to a Mind, Body, Spirit approach to personal empowerment and life balance for adults, families and youth of all ages.
Dr. Bihr is the Co-Founder of Academic Solutions Group, an education consulting agency that provides strategy and coaching to school districts, administrators and educators worldwide. Dr. Bihr’s expertise ranges from program development and leadership to creating sustainable and equitable learning environments for youth, with a focus in serving students from high needs communities.
Michelle’s career launched as middle school teacher and in administrative roles. Her experiences include professional development coordinator, program evaluator, federal grant director, and out-of-school time program director for school districts. She has over 15 years in leading and starting up self-funded OST programs for school districts and 25 years in education management.
