My understanding of empathy didn’t come from books. It came from people. I studied cultural anthropology to understand how culture shapes behavior, then spent years working with youth in the justice system and children in foster care. Those experiences changed the way I see others. They taught me that people are rarely defined by a single decision or circumstance, and that what we call “behavior” often hides pain, survival, or hope.

Over time, empathy became more than awareness. It became a discipline, one rooted in listening, patience, and perspective. It taught me how to recognize the conditions behind someone’s choices and how to meet people where they are, not where I expect them to be.

Empathy, to me, is the bridge between understanding a problem and creating something that truly helps.