Who We Remember Kristen Oliveri on her grandmother - Rooted, Not Rushed
We ask each of our guests a simple yet profound question: "Whose life story from your own family would you most want to have documented on film?" and "How does your family's story shape your own personal and professional legacy?"
Today's guest: Kristen Oliveri, founder and CEO at Wealth Reimagined.
Kristen's pick: Her grandmother, Maura O'Brien Healy
Sound Bites
- “At 29, before she could board the steamer at Ellis Island, they pulled every tooth in her mouth -and still she came to America alone. That kind of resilience stayed with her, and with all of us.”
- “I don’t have many of her things - just one little clover pin my mom gave me two years ago. But in holding it, I feel her presence, as if every cup of tea and every patient glance is still here.”
- "My grandmother always found space for others—six kids at home, yet she still took in cousins, neighbors, and friends. That spirit of hospitality is the thread I carry forward in my life and work."
Summary
Journalist and founder of Wealth Reimagined, Kristen Oliveri honors her grandmother Maura O’Brien Healy—an Irish immigrant whose quiet strength shaped three generations.
Prompted by a single clover pin and a surprising scarcity of heirlooms, Kristen reconnects with her mother and aunts, sparking a shared family archive and fresh conversation about memory, migration, and meaning. She revisits Maura’s extraordinary path—from leaving Wicklow at 14, enduring a full dental extraction to pass Ellis Island’s exam, to a five-year courtship and six children in Brooklyn—and the “village of women” who helped raise 25 cousins.
Along the way, Kristen traces the thread from tea-table interviews with Grandma to her own calling in storytelling, hospitality, and amplifying women’s voices.
It’s a tender, grounded portrait of legacy in everyday ritual: a brooch, a cup of tea, a slow meal—rooted, not rushed—and how those gestures echo in the work and lives we build.
About Kristen
Kristen Oliveri is the founder of Wealth Reimagined, a platform dedicated to reshaping how we talk about wealth by highlighting its human, lifestyle, and legacy dimensions. With nearly two decades of experience in the family wealth world—as a journalist, event curator, and advisor—she brings people together to share authentic stories and fresh perspectives. A native New Yorker now based on Long Island’s North Fork, Kristen blends her love of storytelling, travel, and hospitality with a passion for amplifying women’s voices and fostering meaningful connections.
Join Us
Visit us at storykeep.com/podcast to learn more about how StoryKeep is preserving family histories. Subscribe on your favorite platform to catch new episodes released bi-weekly, available in both audio and video formats.
Join me, Jamie Yuenger, as we go on a journey of remembrance and discovery, celebrating the stories of those we cherish. Don’t miss our enriching journey—subscribe today and be part of "Who We Remember."
Credits
Produced by Jamie Yuenger and Piet Hurkmans. Our show’s musical intro and outro is taken from the track “Thursday” by the independent artist Nick Takénobu Ogawa. You can listen and support his music on bandcamp here