Kristina Joy Carlson with Beth Ann Fennelly for Outrageous Kindness

Overview

Join us as we welcome entrepreneur, leader and author Kristina Joy Carlson in conversation with poet and writer Beth Ann Fennelly for Outrageous Kindness, a reframing of kindness as a bold, disruptive force with the power to heal, connect, and transform.

About the book

In a world consumed by division, burnout, and noise, kindness can feel quaint-or even irrelevant. But what if we've been seeing it all wrong?

In Outrageous Kindness, Kristina Joy Carlson reframes kindness as a bold, disruptive force with the power to heal, connect, and transform. Drawing from her personal journey, inspiring stories, and practical tools, she makes a compelling case for reclaiming kindness as courageous and world-shaking.

At the heart of the book is the KIND Method-a four-step framework designed to turn heartfelt intention into measurable results. Whether you're leading a team, navigating personal challenges, raising a family, or seeking deeper purpose, you'll discover how small, intentional acts can spark big change.

This isn't a book about being nice. It's about being brave. It's about choosing connection over comfort, compassion over cynicism, and action over apathy. Through relatable examples and actionable strategies, Carlson shows that kindness isn't passive-it's a radical choice that can reshape relationships, revitalize communities, and restore hope.

You don't have to be extraordinary to change the world-only outrageously kind.

Outrageous Kindness will inspire you to see kindness not as weakness, but as the most powerful tool for transformation we have. The world needs your kindness. Now more than ever.

About the author

Kristina Joy Carlson is an experienced entrepreneur, corporate leader and global philanthropy expert. She is redefining what it means to lead with purpose. Through Outrageous Kindness, Kristina helps individuals, businesses, and organizations achieve meaningful, lasting success.

Kristina knows how to navigate change and turn challenges into opportunities. While leading businesses and driving global philanthropic growth, she managed nearly a decade of intense caregiving, profound grief, and her own cancer battle—an experience that reinforced the power of purpose, perspective, and action.

Kristina is a sought-after speaker and best-selling author of Essential Principles for Fundraising Success. Through executive leadership roles at Carter Global, Ketchum, and as Founder of FundraisingINFO.com, Kristina guided transformational capital campaigns, advised on 8-figure philanthropic gifts and grants, created bespoke training programs, and developed innovative technologies for some of the world’s largest nonprofit organizations including Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Habitat for Humanity International, Special Olympics, Susan Komen, and others.

She has also helped maximize the philanthropic engagement of former US Presidents and other heads of state, Fortune 500 CEOs, Forbes 400 individuals, faith leaders, celebrities, and everyday people. Today, as Founder and CEO of Outrageous Kindness, she is applying that wisdom to create a movement that inspires leaders, philanthropists, and individuals to take bold, high-impact action, embrace accountability, and experience the magic of small acts that create big results.

About the conversation partner

Beth Ann Fennelly, was poet laureate of Mississippi from 2016-2021. She teaches in the MFA program at the University of Mississippi and lives in Oxford, Mississippi, with her husband and their three children. Her seventh book, The Irish Goodbye: Micro-Memoirs, will be published in February 2026.