About the
SAGE HILL PROJECT
BY MELISSA SWONGER
WISDOM • TRANSFORMATION • KINDNESS • LEADERSHIP
The Sage Hill Project
Who We Are
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The Sage Hill Project is a movement of fierce love and bold kindness—mobilizing ordinary people, teams, and organizations to flip the script and reclaim power to live in unity rather than division. We want to educate, equip, and empower people to lead themselves well through transformation and become agents of change in the world by building psychologically safe, deeply connected, and purpose-driven communities. We help you transform pain into purpose, isolation into belonging, and good intentions into measurable impact.
Sage Hill is inspired by the “Hill of Deborah” (Judges 4)—a picture of wise counsel, courageous leadership, and justice rooted in compassion. The hallmark of this work: wisdom + leadership + kindness that facilitates transformation, put to work in real life.
Mission​
Mobilize radical kindness as a leadership strategy to heal people in body-mind-spirit, strengthen teams, and transform communities. We do this through educating in interactive speaking events, leadership consulting, trauma-informed coaching, research-backed training, and stories that spark courageous action.
Vision​
A world where belonging is the norm—homes, workplaces, schools, faith communities, and cities that are more than psychologically safe, but also include psychological agency, so that culture is co-created; marked by curiosity instead of cynicism, and known for love. Where people realize we are better together because “a house divided against itself cannot stand.”
(Mark 3:25; Matthew 12:25)
Our Values​
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Radical Kindness: Intentional and consistent acts that become movements, regardless of what we may receive in return
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Fierce Love: Truth + grace in action; healthy & functional; courage with boundaries.
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Curiosity over Judgment: Come together to listen first before being heard, by asking rather than making assumptions.
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Belonging: People are seen, heard, and valued—in ways that create dignity and demonstrate worth for all humans
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Integrity: Evidence + empathy; what we teach is how we operate; progress over perfection
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Hope in Action: We measure impact, not just intentions, and document the journey as a testament.
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Witness: Tell what is true; live what is true. Amplify the voices of lived experiences
What We Do
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Keynote Speeches, Workshops, & Retreats​
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Research-backed, story-rich, and immediately actionable. Popular topics:​​​
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From Hero to Villain: The Science of Facilitating Change Instead of Just Being Heard
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Slaying Bullies Without Becoming One
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The 3 Phases of the Integrative Transformation BlueprintTM
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The Architect of Connection-Centered Leadership - 5 Steps to Design
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3 Steps to Leverage Informal Culture for Equitable Change
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Leading Through Crisis: Calm, Clarity, and Care Under Pressure
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Not a Moment, but a Movement: Mobilizing Radical Kindness
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From Psychological Safety to Psychological Agency → Belonging → Performance
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From Trauma to Trust: Everyday Skills of a Healing Leader
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Faith-Based:
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The Arc of Transformation from Grave to Calling to Witness
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The Epic Love Triangle: Love God, love your true self, love others (Mark 12:30-31)
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If you say so: Peter’s Relatable Journey
Leadership Consulting & Culture Design​
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We help teams build psychological safety, agency, and belonging that drive performance.
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Belonging audits & culture roadmaps that drive engagement, loyalty, and production
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Executive Team, Leader & Manager training: coaching skills, feedback that lands, inclusive meeting design
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Conflict resolution & change leadership
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Kindness as a strategy and a catalyst: rituals, norms, and metrics that scale connection
Trauma-Informed Coaching (1:1 and small groups)​
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Using her Integrative Transformation BlueprintTM for founders, executives, family leaders, students, creators, and change-agents who want to lead from wholeness. Strengths-based, collaborative coaching practice that acknowledges the presence and impact of trauma, avoids retraumatization, and supports healing. The first person we lead well is ourselves.​​
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Guided through three phases of transformation
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Nervous-system aware goal setting & accountability
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From burnout to sustainable pace through introspective reconnection
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Identity, boundaries, and courageous conversations
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“From trauma to trust” micro-skills for everyday leadership
Writing & Thought Leadership​
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Best-Selling Author of The Rise of Her, For Whom He Raised (February 22, 2026), Empower Her: Women Rising to Shape the Future (February 2026), Letters to Her (March 2026), Radical Kindness - the Catalyst of the Integrative Transformation BlueprintTM (May 2026) associated workbook (June 2026); Architect of the Connection-Centered Leader, If You Say So: The Relatable Journey of Peter​​​
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Leaders & teams in student-led organizations, faith-based spaces, business, healthcare, education, nonprofits, & sports
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Cities & communities launching kindness campaigns or culture change initiatives
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Individuals ready to heal patterns, reclaim identity, and lead with courage
Who We Serve
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Meet the Founder — Melissa Swonger, Ph.D. Candidate, M.A.​
Architect of Connection-Centered Leadership, Developer of The Integrative Transformation BlueprintTM, Keynote Speaker, Best-Selling Author, Leadership Consultant, Trauma-Informed Coach. Her expertise in leading transformations stands at the center where personal experience intersects faith and academics. Melissa combines lived experience with rigorous training: Ph.D. candidate in psychology, M.A. in Leadership (Gordon-Conwell), Advanced Graduate Certificate in Evidence-Based Coaching (Fielding Graduate University), and B.A. in Journalism: Strategic Campaigns (University of Kansas). She’s led culture and belonging work with leaders across sectors, created practical tools for teams, and speaks widely on psychological safety, radical kindness, and courageous leadership. Her heartbeat: help people feel safe enough to be curious, connect, and have the courage to act. The first person to lead well is ourselves.
Her family is her favorite part of life and faith is the foundation for everything.
Ready to start a kindness revolution where you are?
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Bring a keynote, speaking event, workshop, or retreat to your organization
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Book a discovery call (coaching or team engagement)
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Launch a Kindness Lab in your city, school, or company
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Join the newsletter for tools that turn ideas into action
This is your summons: Be known for fierce love. Practice bold kindness. Start where you are.
“Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8
