Former Mayor Sara Flitner Launches Mindful Community Project

Sara Flitner, owner of Flitner Strategies and former Mayor of Jackson, today unveils a broad-based community coalition with the goal of forging a path toward greater civility in Jackson Hole. Flitner and her team have launched an initiative called Becoming Jackson Whole, and it has a 20-year vision to develop a more flourishing, less divided community. 
In her 20-year consulting practice and during her tenure as mayor, Flitner developed a personal interest in the scientific research around the mindfulness practices that reduce stress and inspire empathy and engagement — the so-called “power tools” of the new economy. The concept of mindfulness has been embraced by mainstream American society in recent years, and mindfulness programs are already being implemented successfully in our hospital and many of Jackson’s schools, businesses, and nonprofits. But until now, Jackson has lacked a unified, community-wide initiative to bring those efforts to scale. Becoming Jackson Whole will make that happen. 
Becoming Jackson Whole is rooted in neuroscience breakthroughs that connect mindfulness practices with dramatic improvements in wellness, workplace engagement, and higher productivity. Studies have shown that daily stressors like work deadlines, conflict at work or at home, or socio-economic worries can trigger a fight-or-flight reaction in humans, releasing hormones like adrenaline and cortisol that — when experienced in excess over time — can take a toll on our bodies and minds. In Jackson, that toll is manifesting in the form of stress-related illness, burnout, lack of engagement or productivity, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. Becoming Jackson Whole will address these issues and offer tools to help our community to respond more productively.
“Becoming Jackson Whole is intended to use science to support local leaders in addressing our thorniest problems.  There are a lot of unsung heroes in Jackson doing great work, and we want to build on their insights,” said Flitner. “Science gives us new gifts, too, in unveiling tools that can transform conflict and overcome the relentless assault of stress that so many of our local families and leaders face. “ 
Flitner is building the model with the help of neuroscientists, local and national mindfulness practitioners, and experts and leaders from three other communities doing similar work.  
The Foundation for a Mindful Society, publishers of Mindful magazine and Mindful.org, is providing expert assistance and fiscal sponsorship through their Mindful Cities Initiative for the first phase of this effort. 
“Becoming Jackson Whole is a leading effort nationally to bring an integrated, comprehensive mindfulness-based solution to the challenges of collaborative leadership to address persistent civic challenges. If successful, not only will Jackson benefit, but it could serve the needs of dozens of other cities in North America,” said the Foundation’s executive director, James Gimian.
The work of Becoming Jackson Whole has been divided into three phases. Phase One is already underway, currently rolling out a thorough community assessment. Through in-person interviews and an online survey, Flitner hopes to extract common themes about local needs, leadership qualities, and the subject of mindfulness. This survey is the first opportunity for the public to weigh in, and Flitner invites everyone to take part by visiting www.flitner.net/news or contacting us at cindy@flitner.net. The survey will be available online through October 15th.
“Jackson has always attracted trailblazers and explorers, leader and pioneers. I believe we are at the forefront of innovation in leadership, and I can’t wait to leverage our resources and collaboration skills to build a ‘first of kind’ community leadership and well-being model,” Flitner concluded.
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