HQP Teacher Profile
Laurel Callan
 For
Hoffman Teacher Laurel Callan, life is about joy. As a child growing
up in New England, she was acquainted early with grief and loss
when her older brother died by suicide. “We weren’t
a real effusive family anyway, but after my brother’s death,
my parents shut down — the family became frozen and joyless.”
With no space in the family for her natural expressiveness, Laurel
went outside to find her family.
“I looked for people and things that helped me connect with
a sense of safety and belonging.” One of those places was
the theater. She studied acting and voice, loved to perform, and
was active in theater groups through college, using performance
to express herself and to deepen her feelings of connection to herself
and others.
Another source of family was her beloved horse, Lafayette. “I
see now that our coming together was a gift of spirit. He was a
wise teacher and a good friend.”
Laurel earned a BA from Mt. Holyoke and an MBA from Northwestern
University. She went on to build an impressive career in corporate
finance and investment banking, eventually transitioning to the
human resources side of the industry.
But during the late 1990s, after a 20-year career and several failed
relationships, she realized that she was re-enacting the frozen,
joyless life of her parents. Thanks to encouragement from Hoffman
Advisory Council member Sonia Choquette, Ph.D., she found the Process.
When asked what she got from the Process, Laurel enthusiastically
replied, “The whole Process was extraordinary, but the best
part for me was Play Day. I reconnected with my natural joy, enthusiasm,
and hope. I reclaimed myself.”
During her time at the Process, Laurel knew that she wanted to
become a Process teacher. “Teaching is an expression of who
I am. It’s service. I feel blessed that I get to hold the
space of hope and possibility for each student, and to witness amazing
transformations.”
With her background in recruiting and her experience as a Hoffman
teacher, Laurel headed up the Institute’s recent search for
additional Process teachers, in which 72 graduates applied for eight
teaching slots, making the selection process quite a challenge.
The Hoffman Institute is a family affair for Laurel. Her husband
Tim is the Institute’s chief administrative officer and a
Process teacher. They met during Process teacher training and married
in 2003. “It’s important for us to have the common foundation
of the Process to deepen our relationship and work through issues.
We use the tools (especially transference communication!) and are
careful not to talk about Hoffman 24/7.”
In keeping her commitment to a balanced life, Laurel recently tapped
back into her passion for horses. She takes lessons and rides several
times a week, sometimes with her 12-year-old nephew, Weston. “Horses
are all about service and they’re immensely loyal. The connection
between horse and human is complex and subtle. It elicits love,
dignity, trust, and, oh yes, lots and lots of joy.”
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