Pearl began with a question:

What brings out the best in youth?

Our creator, Elise Phillips, spent over a decade in education and witnessed something powerful — many students crave a deeper kind of learning, one that focuses less on grades and more on identity, less on behavior and more on belonging. In response, she developed the Pearl, a program that invites young people to slow down, reflect, and uncover the inner wisdom that has been there all along.

Drawing on Elise’s background in teaching and youth development, she and the team focus on meeting young people in the moment — balancing structure with creativity and evidence-based tools with empathy. Pearl uses coaching frameworks rooted in positive psychology, neuroplasticity, and social-emotional learning to help tweens and teens recognize and celebrate personal values and strengths.

Pearl empowers youth through one-on-one coaching, small-group sessions, and classroom programs. We believe that tweens and teens thrive on self-understanding and self-compassion — and that peers, teachers, and families can better support when equipped with real insights. Through a guided process of discovery, we help young people build confidence that shines in every part of life.

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A woman named Elise Phillips with long brown hair smiling and sitting on concrete steps, wearing black sneakers, black pants, and jewelry including rings, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces, outdoors with a metal railing to her side in Seattle, WA.

PEARL PROCESS

At the heart of our work is the Pearl Process, a three-step journey from Exploration to Creativity to Articulation. Through meaningful prompts and reflective discussion, you’ll first explore who you are and what you value. From this foundation, you’ll develop creative ways to express your authentic self. Finally, you’ll build the skills and confidence to articulate your voice in meaningful ways — at home, in school, and across community settings.

Explore

Create

Articulate

Collage of photos and illustrations on paper and a quote that says 'The Beauty That Remains', placed on a wooden table with tape and small paper items nearby. Pearl Process in Pearl Journal.

PEARL JOURNALS

Pearl Journals are designed to lead young people through the Pearl Process of self-discovery. In each session, you’ll receive questions and prompts that help you uncover your own inner wisdom. Through mixed-media art, you’ll process what you’re seeing in yourself — exploring questions like “Who am I?”, “Where am I going?” and “What tools do I have?” — without needing to put it into words right away. The journals are then paired with one-on-one or group discussion, inviting empathy and understanding for yourself and others.

WHY

Coaching lends itself so well to teenagers and emerging adults. They are in a sensitive stage of development and therefore are more in tune with others’ judgement. They are more self-conscious as they are forming their identities and trying to fit in. As they deal with heightened emotions and sensitivity with hormone surges, they are more impulsive and willing to take risks as they separate from family and create their own community. A non-judgmental approach is healthy for everyone but especially important during this developmentally vulnerable stage. Feeling heard can make the difference between if they reach out for help when they’re struggling or get the support and guidance they really need as they navigate toward healthy independence. A non-directive approach is a way to respect their need to develop their own voice, choice and self-confidence (Youth Coaching Institute).

Where Science meets Art

A collage of various cut-out images and illustrations, including a woman with glasses pointing at a pink abstract painting, scenes of nature, a smiling mouth, and text snippets with phrases like 'Listen without expectations', 'Trust, in its simplest form', and 'Small victories'.

“Research shows that having just one caring adult can make the difference between whether a child will thrive or not.”

Marc Brackett, Permission to Feel

A collage of various photographs including a lush green canyon, a person with a backpack, a person wearing painted skull face, a clown with a red nose, several black-and-white images of people's faces, a solitary tree in a field, and abstract colorful designs.

“We can choose how we approach life, especially during major inflection points-adolescence, midlife, times of loss or trauma. We can ignore the existential questions, and the booting-up of our spiritual awareness. We can medicate with pharmaceuticals that dull the pain of the questions, or with substances that give us a temporary reprieve-or a synthetic version of the transcendence we long for. Or we can open the door to a reshuffling of meaning, to the foundational, felt awareness that we are loved and held and part of it.”

Lisa Miller, The Awakened Brain

Collage of fashion illustration and cut-out images with motivational messages, including a woman in striped clothing, stylized graphics, and text about positive energy and beauty.

“The teenage brain is especially primed to learn during the growth spurt. As the white matter grows, it allows for more and stronger interconnections within and across brain areas permitting sophisticated, smoother, faster communication.”

Lea Waters, The Strength Switch