Recognized as part of the March 2026 San Diego Weekly Standouts Series honoring leaders shaping San Diego, California, the Cali-Baja region, and communities connected to the region around the world.
San Diego Weekly Standouts | March 2026 Honoree
As the founder of The Higher Love Institute and author of Raising Amazing Humans, Krista Kokjohn-Poehler is reimagining how parents shape identity, confidence, and purpose in their children, offering a simple but powerful approach that meets families where they are and stays with them for a lifetime.
SAN DIEGO, Calif.
A Story That Stayed With Her Long Before She Wrote One
Some ideas are learned. Others are lived.
For Krista Kokjohn-Poehler, the idea that would eventually become her life’s work began as something deeply personal. It wasn’t a framework or a theory at first. It was something her mother gave her as a child, a story. Not just any story, but a repeated, intentional narrative about who she was and why she mattered. She now calls it an “anchor story.”
At different points in her life, that story showed up in different ways. As a child, it helped her push through moments when she felt unintelligent or unseen. As a teenager, it carried her through loneliness. In her twenties, it guided her back to her core values when she felt off course. Later, when her professional life came under scrutiny, it grounded her in who she was beyond the noise. And in her forties, it gave her the courage to write the book she had been holding within her for years.
What she came to understand over time was simple, but powerful.
We become the stories we hear repeatedly about ourselves.
“You don’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.”
The Moment That Changed Everything
While Krista had spent much of her career working in social impact, designing programs aimed at unlocking human potential, there was one experience that shifted her perspective in a way she could not ignore.
During a girl-led learning journey in Ethiopia, she met an 18-year-old who had been trafficked at the age of 14. As Krista mapped out the root causes that led to that moment, one factor stood out with painful clarity.
The absence of maternal protection.
That absence had contributed to a chain of events that began years earlier. After the workday ended, Krista sat outside the British embassy in Addis Ababa, overwhelmed. She drew the connections, then wrote words that would stay with her.
“I wish I could go back in time and give her her mom.”
That moment didn’t just stay with her. It reshaped her.
Becoming a Mother, and Facing the Unspoken Fear
Years later, when Krista held her own children for the first time, she found herself speaking words many parents instinctively say.
“I’m your mom, and I’m going to love you forever. You are safe with me.”
But there was something she wanted to promise that she knew she couldn’t.
That she could protect them from everything. And that realization brought her back to what she could give them.
Not control. Not protection from every hardship. Rather something far more enduring.
A story.
The Anchor Story: A Simple Idea With Lifelong Impact
The concept behind Raising Amazing Humans is deceptively simple. Krista introduces what she calls the “anchor story tactic,” an intentional, repeated narrative parents share with their children about who they are at their core and what their purpose is in the world.
It is not about perfection.
It is about reinforcement.
About giving children something to return to when the world tells them otherwise.
Because, as Krista explains, the world will tell them otherwise.
Relentlessly.
Social media, peer dynamics, and cultural messaging create a constant stream of noise that can erode self-worth over time. The anchor story acts as a counterbalance, something stable, something rooted, something that stays.
“You are love. Everybody feels your love like a glowing light when you walk into a room… your purpose is simply to be love in the world.”
Designed for Real Life, Not Perfect Parenting
One of the reasons Krista’s work resonates so quickly with parents is because it does not ask them to become experts. It does not require more time, more systems, or more pressure.
Instead, it integrates into conversations they are already having.
The book itself reflects that philosophy. It is a 10-minute read, visually driven, hand-illustrated, and intentionally designed to feel approachable rather than overwhelming. It replaces language, not schedules. It shifts mindset, not capacity.
For parents balancing work, life, and everything in between, that accessibility matters.
The Real Impact Shows Up in Small Moments
Krista is clear that the impact of this work is not something she claims ownership of.
“It’s not my impact. I’m just a conduit.”
But the moments she shares tell a deeper story.
Like the night her son, at 11 years old, began to see his talents not just as skills, but as tools for living out a deeper purpose. Or the moment her daughter, standing at the threshold of a difficult social experience, used the visualization of an “invisible balloon of love” to navigate hurtful interactions and support others in the process.
These are not dramatic, headline-making moments.
They are quiet.
But they are foundational.
They shape how a child sees themselves.
And how they move through the world.
A Philosophy That Extends Beyond Parenting
At its core, Krista’s work is about more than parenting. It is about culture.
She believes that if enough parents intentionally shape the internal narratives of their children, it has the potential to shift how people relate to one another at scale. To move from judgment to understanding. From fear to love.
She also grounds her work in a deep respect for lived experience. Her design process consistently centers the voices of those directly impacted, ensuring that solutions are not imposed, but co-created.
“To exist is a fact. To live is an art. The journey is moving from fear to love.”
Why Her Work Matters Now
In a time where children are growing up in an environment saturated with comparison, criticism, and noise, Krista Kokjohn-Poehler offers something both simple and profound.
A way to anchor identity.
A way to reinforce worth.
A way to remind children, consistently and intentionally, of who they are beneath everything else.
Because while parents cannot control every message their children will hear, they can control the one that stays.
Learn More
Book
https://www.amazon.com/Raising-Amazing-Humans-instilling-self-worth/dp/B0D2W9XPFH
Website
www.RaisingAmazingHumans.love
The Next Playbook Podcast Interview:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7r3XOjOYEuStJuNPg23avv
Who’s Who Press Release (Social Impact Career):
https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/506039/krista-kokjohn-poehler-has-been-inducted-into-the-prestigious-marquis-whos-who-biographical-registry
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristapoehler/
What Parents Are Saying
Early readers of Raising Amazing Humans are already beginning to reflect the kind of impact Krista envisioned. Through simple, intentional language, many parents are seeing shifts not only in how they speak to their children, but in how their children begin to see themselves.
This recognition is part of the March 2026 San Diego Weekly Standouts Series honoring leaders shaping San Diego, California, the Cali-Baja region, and communities connected to the region around the world.
San Diego Weekly Standouts | March 2026 Honoree
About the San Diego Standouts Series
The San Diego Standouts Series from San Diego Weekly highlights individuals whose leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship, and service are helping shape the future of San Diego, California, the Cali-Baja region, and communities connected to the region around the world.
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Profiles featured in the San Diego Standouts Series are selected by the San Diego Weekly editorial team to highlight individuals whose leadership and service are helping shape San Diego and the Cali-Baja region. The Editor’s Choice is for individuals whose impact on San Diego and the broader region is undeniable: the founders redefining industries, the advocates transforming communities, and the visionaries building what comes next. Past and current considerations include civic leaders, nonprofit founders, tech entrepreneurs, educators, creatives, and cultural icons across the San Diego and Cali-Baja region. These editorial recognitions are independent features and honors, there is no fee required to be selected.
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