About the Founders

For full time work, Lauren serves as the Director of Ignatian Spirituality at Loyola University Chicago, where she focuses on the formation and inclusion of faculty and staff to the school's Ignatian mission. She coordinates the university’s Spiritual Exercises program, facilitates seminars and orientations, and directs retreats among other things. Prior to this role, she served as the Associate Director of Campus Ministry at Loyola where she developed and implemented a campus-wide retreat program.

After living on the east coast for 11 years (Boston, New York, and DC), she returned to her Chicago roots in 2010. Prior to working at Loyola, she served as a high school teacher, campus minister, and coach for Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in the Washington, D.C. area. Lauren earned both her B.A. in Theology and M.A. in Pastoral Ministry from Boston College, and has certificates in Spiritual Direction (Loyola University Chicago) and Spiritual Entrepreneurship (Columbia Business School). She completed her D.Min. at Catholic Theological Union in 2024, with her doctoral project "Deepening a Sense of Belonging: Making Space for Religiously Unaffiliated Employees in Jesuit Higher Education.” Her interests include finding new physical challenges, going on adventures, story-telling, exploring the awesome city of Chicago, and visiting her loved ones around the country.

Oliver is a spiritual director, supervisor, teacher, and co-founder of Spiritual Grounding. He has been accompanying people in spiritual direction since 2016 and is in demand as a speaker and retreat leader.

The co-author of “My Life in God’s Project”—a contemporary adaptation of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises—he is passionate about translating the ancient wisdom of the Ignatian spiritual tradition for modern audiences and helping people awaken to God’s presence in their lives through their direct experience. 

His professional journey began in music ministry. He earned a bachelor of music from Gordon College and has since served in music ministry roles at several churches, including First Baptist Church in Danvers, Mass.; Tremont Temple in Boston, Mass.; Annunciation Church in Newburyport, Mass.; and St. Nicholas Church in Evanston, Ill. 

Goodrich worked in college campus ministry for over two decades, serving in administrative and spiritual care roles at Bowdoin College, Cornell University, Loyola University Chicago, Boston College, and Gordon College. He earned an M.Ed. in Religious Education from BC and has also earned certificates in Ignatian spiritual direction (Loyola University Chicago) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (Cornell University).

Oliver specializes in accompanying people who are in discernment, navigating major life transitions, and those who feel marginalized from traditional Christian spaces. Outside his ministry, he is an avid runner tackling a personal goal of running a marathon in every state. When not running, Oliver can be found cooking, bird-watching, and spending time with his partner, Will, and their dog, Shadow.