We have some important and exciting updates to share with you, in particular to the future of HmntyCntrd.
HmntyCntrd started as an idea in the Spring of 2020 and came to life in the early Fall with the launch of our Humanity-Centered Masterclass® with one goal: to create a space for folks in the design and tech industry where they could practice choosing courage over comfort and challenging the status quo of what it means to be truly human-centered. From there, we expanded our work to consulting and helping companies design a more trauma-informed and human-centered approach to their design practice and workplace culture. The past 5 years have been filled with some pretty incredible work:
Trusted by the World’s Most Influential Organizations: From Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies to government agencies and conferences, we’ve worked with executives, design teams, and HR leaders to advance meaningful change across 100+ various engagements.
Became a FastCo Award-Winning Company: One of the things that we’re most proud of is not that we were named one of FastCompany’s top 10 most innovative design companies in 2021, but that FastCo sought us out and extended this award to us, when other companies on this list typically have to both pay and apply. We think that speaks a lot to the impact of our work and what we’re passionate about.
Capital One spotlighted HmntyCntrd in its 2022 ESG Report: This is a rigorously audited, externally published document for shareholders, regulators, and the public, recognizing the impact of our work on their organizational culture.
Global Recognition in Media & Leadership: HmntyCntrd’s thought leadership has been featured in Slate, Fortune, Huffington Post, Fast Company, and ELLE Magazine, with our founder, Vivianne, being invited to speak at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit.
Redefining Organizational Culture with a Trauma-Informed Lens: We were one of the first consultancies in the design industry to lead a trauma-informed approach to culture change rooted in personal growth and organizational accountability that has influenced leaders and companies across industries.
Rest as a Business Value: Unlike traditional consulting firms, HmntyCntrd embedded structured rest into our operating model with Rest & Resist Weeks and a summer Rest Month, inspiring clients to rethink productivity and sustainability.
From Consulting to Movement-Building: HmntyCntrd grew beyond consulting, creating community-driven initiatives, group coaching programs, and thought leadership platforms that challenge the status quo in how organizations and entrepreneurs approach people, equity, and care.
Over the years we’ve been able to work with thousands of employees, and we are so grateful for all the creativity, thoughtfulness, and vulnerability folks have shown up with. This work has nourished us and motivated us to grow, and we hope we’ve left you and others feeling the same.
In December 2024 we decided to take a pause on actively pursuing custom consulting engagements. We've always been a believer in being purpose-driven in everything we do so we wanted to gain clarity about how we can serve the community while also exploring new avenues that energize us and give us hope. After taking some time to reflect, we've decided to move on to a new chapter.
What does this mean? Great question!
What does this mean for our B2B clients and work?
Let’s talk about what this means on the B2B front for our current and prospective clients: for our workplace culture work, we will be focusing on licensing our offerings to organizations and will no longer do long-term engagements with companies. Once we’ve taken care of our current clients and their licensing needs, we’ll discuss more publicly what we’re offering to interested B2B parties at a later date.
What does this mean for Alba?
Alba will continue doing our company training on ethical research and design so please reach out via this form if your team wants rigorous and practical talks/workshops on topics like trauma-informed research methods, design team safety and care, and inclusive design. She is also cooking up free resources and a challenging new course on co-design, lived experience, and power for individual design practitioners.
What does this mean for Vivianne?
For Vivianne, this next chapter is about continuing the same mission that brought her to start HmntyCntrd: helping people be and feel more free … but in new ways.
Through HmntyCntrd, she had the opportunity to support individuals and their employers in the workplace, and now she is shifting that energy to support those who want to build something of their own outside the 9–5.
The entrepreneurship consulting and coaching she began in Fall 2023 has officially transitioning from HmntyCntrd to Choose Courage Inc., where she will continue coaching and consulting people who want to create values-driven businesses and discover why and how entrepreneurship can be a healing experience. Choose Courage Inc.'s work centers on entrepreneurship coaching and consulting (developing supportive spaces for founders building with clarity, alignment, and purpose) and Executive Coaching (one-on-one guidance to help leaders reclaim their energy, amplify their vision, and thrive sustainably).
Alongside that, Vivianne is pouring her creativity into building moonpaws in hopes of building another approach to business that challenges the status quo of how business can be done and experienced.
Thank you for being part of this journey with us, and every ounce of courage, care, and creativity you’ve shared has mattered more than you know. While HmntyCntrd is evolving, the heart of this work (choosing courage over comfort) remains the same. Both of us are excited for what’s ahead, whether it’s through Alba’s continued leadership in ethical research and design or Vivianne’s next chapters with Choose Courage Inc. and moonpaws, know that we’ll continue to carry this mission forward in fresh and hopeful ways.
Thank you for allowing us to be part of your personal and professional growth journey these last five years and we look forward to engaging with you in different ways moving forward 💙
With love and gratitude,
Vivianne Castillo, Alba Villamil and the rest of the HmntyCntrd Team
Ps. We’d love to hear from you💙
As HmntyCntrd enters its next chapter, we’d love to hear from you and create some space for you to share your experience with us! We’d love it if you could either leave:
(1) A note of encouragement for me (Vivianne), Alba, or both of us
(2) Reflections on the impact HmntyCntrd has had on you, your team, or your work
You can write a few sentences, record a short voice or video message, or both! Whatever feels easiest and most natural and there’s no pressure to respond to everything. Please just share what feels true for you here (we’ll keep this open for the next month)
Your words mean more than you know and we’d be honored to carry them with us into this next season. Regardless, know that we’re grateful for the opportunity to support you over the years.
With love and gratitude,
Vivianne Castillo (hello@choosecourageinc.com) and Alba Villamil (alba@hmntycntrd.com)
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Testimonials
Our industry is facing a long-overdue reckoning — one that demands changes to our values, team norms, and design processes ... That’s why I think HmntyCntrd is so crucial right now—and a worthy investment for any team.
— Sara Wachter-BoettcherAUTHOR OF TECHNICALLY WRONG: SEXIST APPS, BIASED ALGORITHMS, AND OTHER THREATS OF TOXIC TECH
HmntyCntrd is without question what we as creators and designers of the future need: a space to come together to connect and develop ourselves and our creative process in a way that moves us forward toward actualization rather than traps us in a never-ending inertia loop of tech-enabled human suffering. It cannot have come at a more crucial and impactful time.
— Aubrey BlancheSenior Director of Equitable Design, Product & People | Culture Amp
OMG! I learned so many new ways of thinking about UX work. I'm focusing more on equity and inclusion in all aspects of my research and design work, making sure I'm taking the lived experiences of others into account. I’m so grateful for HmntyCntrd for giving me the opportunity to see the world in a new way.
— Jared SpoolCo-Founder & Co-CEO | Center Centre-UIE
I genuinely believe that the content is unmatched. HmtnyCntrd is doing and has done the best job of taking design from this thing that you can do to make things pretty, to something that you can do to make things effective, and more welcoming, and safe, and courageous.
— Chase MorrisProduct Designer
HmntyCntrd means so much to me. It's this non traditional way of educating yourself, still being immersed in a community, in a space that I never really had in any of my traditional institutions… It keeps me going in my day to day existence, both personally and professionally at work.
