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 Goodrich, M.Ed., is a seasoned spiritual director, teacher, musician, and writer dedicated to the art of contemplative practice. With a professional journey that spans choral conducting, campus ministry, and higher education administration, Oliver has spent over two decades helping people find their voice—personally, musically, and spiritually. He is currently a doctoral student in theology and education at Boston College’s Clough School of Theology and Ministry, where his research focuses on the intersection of Ignatian spirituality and experiential education.

After serving in leadership and ministry roles at Bowdoin, Cornell, Loyola Chicago, and Gordon College, Oliver co-founded Spiritual Grounding with a mission to reimagine the ancient wisdom of the Ignatian spiritual tradition for modern spiritual seekers. Based in Portland, Maine, Oliver maintains a spiritual direction practice and frequently leads retreats and workshops. Guided by the belief that attentive, contemplative listening is a profound catalyst for spiritual growth, Oliver empowers people to reconnect with the natural world and their own embodied wisdom.