Thriving in Your 20s & 30s: Building a Life That Matters

Brian gets the specific challenges of being in your 20s, 30s, and early 40s right now because he’s living through his own version of it. After walking away from the fast track at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) during a quarter-life crisis, he didn’t just pivot, he went deep into understanding what actually works for people navigating modern young adulthood.

He trained under Harvard’s happiness researchers, earned his MBA, and started teaching at UCLA while building a practice specifically for people tired of generic self-help advice.

Working with experts like Harvard’s Tal Ben-Shahar and UCLA’s Cassie Holmes, Brian developed the MAGIC framework, a practical system for building genuine happiness that works with your real life, not some idealized version of it.

Derek Gehl is a serial e-commerce entrepreneur, speaker, and author. After spending the first decade of his professional career growing one of world’s first Internet marketing companies to over $30 million in sales, he decided that leading a company of 100 employees in offices in two countries wasn’t for him – so he sold the company to a private equity group and refocused his life on the things he loved most: spending time with his family, pursuing his passions, and building and growing online businesses. In 2024, after doing some consulting for MEA, Derek had his own transformational experience at a Navigating Transitions workshop, which inspired him to join the company as Chief Marketing and Technology Officer and then take on the role as CEO, spearheading our mission to reimagine midlife and build a global pro-aging community that inspires people to thrive in the second half of life.

Caitlin creates experiences where personal growth meets real-world impact, because working on yourself shouldn’t happen in a bubble. As Social Impact Manager for MEA Baja, she helps people connect their inner work with outer change, from wellness practices to environmental action.

She co-founded Alianza Cero Basura, a sustainable waste management initiative in Baja California Sur, proving that transformation works best when it includes the world around you. 

Caitlin designs immersive experiences that help you figure out who you’re becoming while contributing something meaningful.