A journey of faith and determination set Kathleen Hassan, CEO of InspiringTeens.com and president of the National Speakers Association New England, on a course to change young girls' lives.

Kathleen Hassan likes to reflect in her meditation room. Photo by Richard W. Green.

Perched atop a stool in a small coffee shop, Kathleen Hassan, former host of her own cable talk show and current president of the National Speakers Association’s award-winning chapter in New England, describes herself with taglines: “the queen of teen self-esteem” and “from troubled teen to teen mentor.” Kathleen’s voice booms. She smiles. Other patrons gravitate to her as if they might latch onto the stream of positive energy she projects.

“You have to have a vision,” she says. CEO of InspiringTeens.com, Kathleen speaks to young people, especially teen girls, about empowerment and success. “The girls of today are our future leaders, yet our world besets them on all sides with unrealistic images that set them up for failure. What everyone seems to misunderstand is that nothing external—not the right clothes, the best parties, the perfect breasts, the cutest boyfriend—will give a girl what she really needs: self acceptance and a connection to her inner power.”

Kathleen, mother of two teens and wife for more than 20 years, has hands-on experience with young people, and this earns her some authority on the matter. But something else led Kathleen to her calling. Sipping on a latte, she recalls the day, years ago, when her own life changed direction and set her on a collision course with mentorship.

“I had just finished my senior year of college and decided to backpack through Europe,” she says. “And it was strange. I had set out there to find myself, as they say, and about three months into my trip, I actually did.”

At a youth hostel in France, she crossed paths with a group of young American women also traveling abroad. They all spent the day together, sharing lively, inspired discussions before parting ways.

“None of us expected to see each other again,” Kathleen says. “But, two weeks later in Italy, I bumped into them. I took that as a sign that these women had come into my life for some reason.”

They boarded a train from Florence headed for Venice. During the trip, they compared their European adventures. Then, out of the blue, the conversation turned to faith.

As CEO of InspiringTeens.com, Kathleen shares her story of empowerment at youth events nationwide. Photo by Gretje Ferguson.

“They asked me if I wanted to pray. ‘Pray?’ I thought to myself. I wasn’t sure I even remembered how to pray, and I had lost my faith many years earlier. But I figured, what did it matter? So I went along and let them pray for me. And that was when the floodgates opened. I cried and cried. It was like God was healing me.”

Both of Kathleen’s parents died when she was young. She was only 10 years old when her father passed away, and her mother followed suit six years later. “My inner child was frozen at 16,” she says.

“We were in a lurch,” Kathleen continues. “Some of my siblings and I were still living at home, bereft of adult supervision. Those were some wild, dangerous times. It wasn’t until nearly a year later that our older sister moved back in. It’s amazing I even made it to—let alone through—college.”

Many years have passed. Through daily journaling, Kathleen has gained insight into her past and unleashed her creativity. She never fails to find another life lesson to share. “It’s important to understand yourself,” she says. “One of the best ways to do so is through writing. By listening to the stirrings of our soul and whisperings of our own truth, we begin to shine our light and emerge as the person we were born to be.”

Kathleen is all about turning her ideas into reality. In 1998, she decided she wanted to host her own cable show. So she did. “I called my local cable access studio, took a course in cable production, and submitted a proposal,” she says. “They gave me a grant to create a set.” She went to work, named her show “The Bright Side,” and gave it a tagline: “how to look on it—even on your darkest days.” Young people immediately descended on her project to lend their helping hands. “I had a volunteer crew of high school students who had taken a video production course. I was just elated to have those kids—even my oldest son was among them—working on the show and learning the power of the mind by listening to the guests.”

Kathleen produced and hosted 26 shows, and New England Women in Cable & Telecommunications later named “The Bright Side” best series produced by a woman. Authors, speakers, hypnotherapists, chiropractors, comedians, and others appeared as guests on a set replete with oriental rugs. Topics included prosperity, health, mind-body-spirit, attitude, humor, and much more.

With much communication migrating online, Kathleen sees new opportunities. “The Internet, with all the media it offers, really gets teens’ attention these days,” she says. “I say we use it to get their attention with healthy ideas.” One possibility she’s exploring is “byte-sized mentorship” downloadable as sound files over the Internet.

Like everyone else, Kathleen has hit bumps along the way. She has faced addictions head-on and fought back the specter of post-traumatic stress. A troubled adolescence of her own provided impetus for the work she does with teens. But the hard-earned lessons also resonate with adults, who attend her workshops as well and learn how to handle stress and the challenges of raising young people in today's toxic, competitive culture.

“Everyone gets blown off track,” says Kathleen, who sees healing as a way of life. “Healing is not a destination. It’s a journey with countless riches along the way for anyone willing to focus and do the work.”

“People can enter your life unannounced and change you forever,” she adds. “I want to be that person for others. All it takes is someone to show you a different possibility or new path that lights the way to a brighter future.”