Spring, Renewal & the Courage to Heal with Nikki Mark

This March, we’re adding a powerhouse to our Expert Panel: Nikki Mark—grief + healing speaker, author, and the Co-Founder/President of the TM23 Foundation.

March is our “spring = new life” month. Not in a “just think positive” way—more like a real-world reset: making room for what’s heavy, letting what’s ready to move actually move, and rebuilding your energy systems with intention. Nikki’s work is exactly that: grief and loss, handled with honesty, hope, and a plan.

Nikki’s story (the short version, with the heart intact)

In April 2018, Nikki’s 12-year-old son, Tommy, went to sleep and unexpectedly never woke up.After that, Nikki and her family built a legacy for Tommy that radiates love and brightens our world with his spirit of play.

Nikki co-founded the TM23 Foundation, a 501(c)(3) with a mission to develop initiatives that inspire children and young adults to play, pursue their dreams, be themselves, and impact their community. 

The Foundation has already delivered tangible outcomes, including building four state-of-the-art multipurpose athletic fields, each called “Tommy’s Field” that impact hundreds of thousands of children every year:

• Tommy’s Field (Westwood Recreation Center) opened Sept 26, 2021, serving youth orgs, schools, park programming, and free play—managed by LA Rec & Parks.

• Tommy’s Field at Vista del Mar opened Aug 22, 2023, a lighted multipurpose field supporting children of all circumstances and abilities, as well as the surrounding community. 

• Tommy’s Field-  Burkina Faso - Bringing more light and play to children in a part of Africa that experiences so much darkness. 

• Tommy’s Field Boyle Heights (Sixth Street Bridge area), opening at the end of 2026 and for which Momgevity has proudly helped raise $175,000!.

TM23 not only gifts new athletic fields but it activates them too with fully sponsored tournaments like the TM23 Community Cup that are fully sponsored so all children have access to play.

Nikki’s leadership background and career building start-up companies shows up in the execution: she oversees TM23 operations, and the organization reports raising more than $3.5M to date. 

LaReine And Nikki for the "Tommy's Field" book release

hosted by Momgevity at WME

Why Nikki’s approach matters for moms

Here’s the truth: loss and grief isn’t just about physical death. It’s also about:

• The version of you before motherhood

• The pregnancy you didn’t get

• The marriage you lost or thought you’d have by now

• The job that didn’t work out

• The dreams you haven’t pursued

Nikki doesn’t treat grief like a problem to “fix.” She treats it like a process to navigate—with creativity, curiosity  and heart. On her website, she shares that in early grief, she didn’t feel traditional talk therapy and prescription meds would work “fast or deep enough” for her. So, she pursued alternative approaches to healing a mother’s broken heart and now shares tools,resources and everything she’s learned along the way for others who have lost or are feeling lost..

She even created a resource hub and a toolkit (From Meditation to Mushrooms) that spotlights 10 alternative healing modalities she’s found helpful.

Momgevity’s March focus: Spring = permission to heal (without rushing it)

Spring is nature’s operational reset: clear what’s old, feed what’s alive, and let growth be incremental and consistent. Nikki’s messaging aligns with just that: healing is practice—and your nervous system needs simplicity and repetition, not pressure or judgement.

Below is a mom-friendly outline inspired by Nikki’s themes—purpose, play, community, and building a personal toolkit—so you can start where you are and keep moving.

Nikki’s Grief + Healing Framework (a practical outline for moms)

1) Face what you’re carrying (no euphemisms)

Grief grows in vagueness. Name it and surrender to it::

• “I’m grieving my old body.”

• “I’m grieving safety.”

• “I’m grieving the life I used to have”

This is not “being negative.” or giving up. This is risk assessment—you can’t address what you won’t see.

2) Build your personal “healing toolkit”

Nikki’s core idea here is simple: one modality won’t fit all people and every season. We have options, and its healing in and of itself exploring them:

 Start with a short list you can actually execute:

• Daily stillness and grounding (5 minutes): breath, prayer, meditation, or stroll in nature, or even a quiet sit in the car. You never know what will drop in.

• Body-based release (2–3x/week): movement, stretching, breathwork, yoga—anything that moves energy through your body so grief doesn’t get stuck and make you sick.

• Connection (weekly): surround yourself with community, even just one conversation with a friend who can hold the truth without “fixing” or “judging” you.

Nikki also writes about the “power of play” as a powerful way to transform grief—play counts as medicine here, not a reward you earn later. For when we play, we open our hearts, find new skills, make new friends, and reengage with life in new ways. Play may feel counterintuitive during times of loss and grief,  but for Nikki, it is an essential part of the healing and transformation process. Play takes many forms and we are the ones to judge the kind we need. 

3) Put purpose on the calendar: prioritize it!

Prioritize what matters. Purpose is a stabilizer. Nikki describes clinging to the mission of building Tommy’s Field during her darkest days because it gave her hope and a reason to keep going. For moms, purpose can be smaller and still real:

• a weekly walk

• a meal prep routine that reduces chaos

• a therapy or new kind of healing appointment you keep

• a “one brave thing” list

• serving others in a way meaningful to you

4) Choose community over isolation (even if it’s imperfect)

TM23’s projects are literally engineered around community and access—fields “for everyone,” built to create a place to gather and play. Translation for moms: you don’t heal alone. You heal with support systems—even if that system is one reliable person who cares. Say “Yes” to those who offer to help. Let them. This is how we all learn to give and receive for the benefit of all.

5) Keep it safe and evidence-aligned

Nikki shares interest in alternative modalities and discusses exploring non-traditional approaches on her platforms and in the press. Practical boundary: match the tool to the need, and use qualified support when you’re dealing with trauma, depression, anxiety, or anything that feels clinically significant. Alternative modalities aren’t for everyone. Nor are they a substitute for medical care when that is warranted.

The March takeaway

Nikki’s story is proof-of-the power of love: grief can break you—but the love at the core of it can also re-route you into service, community impact, and a new internal operating system. The TM23 Foundation exists to keep Tommy’s spirit of play alive by building safe and accessible places where kids can be kids and engage in healthy fun.

This month, we’re focusing on new life and healing—not as a slogan, but as a strategy: small consistent practices, honest naming, community support, and permission to rebuild at your own pace any aspect of your life that’s calling for attention.

Welcome to Momgevity, Nikki. We are so thankful you are here!