Today we’d like to introduce you to Meredith Wilson Parfet.
Hi Meredith, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Most of my early career was in finance – I have nearly two decades of asset management and hedge fund experience, including serving as the Chief Operating Officer for two alternative investment funds. Additionally, I’m passionate about the intersection of investing and philanthropy and co-founded Denali Venture Philanthropy, an impact investment portfolio that funds entrepreneurs who are committed to social change.
But for better and worse, I’ve also endured crises across all areas of my life. Those experiences led me to explore questions about the human experience and related suffering. While still working in finance, I became an End-of-Life doula. And I was so inspired by the hospice chaplains with whom I interacted, I followed up my MBA with an MA in Spiritual Care and became a hospice chaplain myself.
All of my learnings – personal and professional – led me to found Ravenyard Group. Ravenyard is a crisis management boutique that is unique in its emphasis on problem-solving and strategy, while also supporting the well-being of leaders in crisis. People often point out that it’s a little morbid to only work in death and crisis, but it is, without question, my calling. I believe that people can survive crises in transformative and meaningful ways. It’s profoundly rewarding to be able to stand with people in the darkness and help them.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road! I run a crisis management firm and am a hospice chaplain, so struggles define the road. The tragic loss of my sister in 2006, my near death in 2011, and a significant business crisis in 2018 profoundly affected both who I am as a person and where I landed professionally.
Like so many of us, the path from where I started to where I am now is not a straight line – it was full of unexpected twists and turns. But at every stop, I made a point of asking myself what I could learn and where I could grow. Which allowed me to just keep building on everything that came before.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Ravenyard Group is a crisis management boutique that fuses business and legal expertise, operational rigor, and well-being support. Rather than jump straight to communications, we take a more holistic approach. Because crisis affects every aspect of a business – financial, reputational, legal, brand, operational, organizational, and personal – we examine the whole picture.
We often work in matters that involve legal or regulatory action, scandal, white-collar crimes, large insurance litigation, fraud, industrial accidents, workplace fatalities, or complex family-office disputes. But we work in all sorts of situations that could simply be described as a difficult thing happening and an organization needs help figuring out what to do next. We also work with individuals experiencing grief or personal crisis. As a society, we like to make the delineation between work and life, but there’s no such thing – it’s all just life.
I’m most proud of the fact that what sets us apart at Ravenyard is not just our professional credentials, but the personal backgrounds we bring to bear. We all know from personal experience that people and organizations need structure and order from the chaos. And they need support to help them to be their best selves during tremendously difficult times. We strive to help them achieve that.
What do you think about happiness?
If there is anything that I’ve learned through sitting with people who are dying, it’s that the only thing that matters in life is connection. I have very deep relationships with family and friends that mean the world to me.
I find so much joy in being silly with my children. And nothing beats the power of a kitchen dance party, preferably with lots of friends and a playlist heavy on Lizzo. Bonus points if someone brings a mini strobe light.
Contact Info:
- Website: ravenyard.com
- Instagram: @Chaplain_MBA
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithwilsonparfet/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7CymYaS3_EgoZJn5yJHcQA
