Founders

The Oak Institute was born from lived experience—inside systems that overlook, undervalue, and emotionally erode the very people holding them together.

Founded by Tricia Martin-Owen, the work began quietly: in homes, in classrooms, in late-night research spirals for her son. Over time, it became something bigger—an invitation for others doing deep care work (often without support or recognition) to come back to their own wisdom, too.

This isn’t a brand. It’s a body of work.
A remembering. A reclamation. A structural soul work.

The Oak Institute exists to hold space for quiet leaders, sacred disruptors, and intergenerational advocates who are asking:
What happens when we stop abandoning ourselves to keep systems moving?