Group of nine women, the founders of Water Bearer Collective in Iowa City, posing together against a concrete wall, some standing and some kneeling, all smiling and wearing casual clothing in shades of blue.

Our Story

Water Bearer Collective was born from a simple truth: when we pause to fill our own cups, we discover an endless capacity to pour into others. 

Within each of us lies the Well Within: a deep reservoir of strength and wholeness, waiting to be tended. The Well Within is made up of five essential elements of wellness: Body, Mind, Heart, Spirit, and Path.

Body gives us vitality. Mind offers clarity and curiosity. Heart teaches us love and connection. Spirit roots us in meaning. Path points us toward purpose. When we tend these five elements, we find balance, resilience, and renewal.

Many of our founders come from the world of athletics, where we learned the power of belonging, teamwork, and growth. Those experiences carried lessons that lasted far beyond competition: leadership, mentoring, resilience, health, and connection. We believe that kind of whole-person growth is needed more now than ever.

Multiple hands stacked together, showing diverse skin tones and jewelry, symbolizing unity and teamwork.

Our Values

Guided by our core values of Empowerment, Connection, and Compassion, what began as conversations among friends has become a larger living vision: a community that supports one another and rises together.

Through retreats, workshops, and shared experiences, we gather not just to exercise or socialize, but to remember. To remember that our wellness is not a task to complete, but a well to fill, again and again. We begin by filling our own cups. From that fullness, the circle completes itself: our abundance spills outward into our families, our communities, and the wider world, building the thriving, compassionate future we envision.

This journey was not meant to be walked alone.

Water Bearer is an open circle: expansive, inclusive, and ever-growing, where gifts and voices intertwine to create a shared rhythm of belonging. This is our story, and our invitation to you. Together, let us tend the Well Within — Body, Mind, Heart, Spirit, and Path — and let wellness flow through us all.

Come as you are. Fill your well. Share your gifts. Ripple outward.

Our Founders

A smiling woman with short blonde hair, wearing a cream sweater and a necklace with a round pendant, in front of a blurred background.
Close-up of a smiling woman with brown hair, wearing a white sweater, in front of a blurred window with green trees outside.
Close-up of a smiling woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing a white top and a pearl necklace.
Close-up image of a smiling woman with red hair, blue eyes, gold earrings, and a tan shirtless upper body.
Close-up of a woman with short brown hair and blue eyes, smiling, wearing earrings and a dark blue blazer.
A woman with wavy brown hair and blue eyes smiling at the camera, wearing a beige top and a gold necklace, with a blurred background of white and brown horizontal panels.
A middle-aged woman with gray hair and blue eyes smiling outdoors, with trees and sunlight in the background.

Join us at the Well

Five blue wavy lines representing water.

We believe that the Collective becomes stronger when wisdom and fresh vision are shared in the same circle.

We deeply value intergenerational connection and the energy, wisdom, mentorship, creativity, and perspective that emerge when younger women, midlife women, elders, mothers, daughters, professionals, entrepreneurs, creatives, and community leaders gather together. 

We welcome partnerships with women interested in leading workshops, hosting conversations, sharing creative practices, teaching, mentoring, nourishing, storytelling, and building new forms of community care. We also love to serve organizations, businesses, teams, schools, and community groups who are looking for thoughtful programming around women’s leadership, well-being, communication, culture, connection, and purpose.