The Playbill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

​

Headline: Optimistic Theory Launches the Develop Taste Fund to Expand Access to Exposure Experiences

​

Sub-headline: Dr. Brittany Conners Introduces a Giving Initiative Built on the Belief That Discernment and Self-Trust Are Skills Everyone Deserves to Develop

​

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI — July 1st, 2026

​

Optimistic Theory, founded by Dr. Brittany Conners, has announced the launch of the Develop Taste Fund — a giving initiative designed to fund exposure experiences for individuals who lack access to personal discovery opportunities that shape self-trust and discernment. Dr. Conners designed the fund for people trying something for the first time, working professionals, and entrepreneurs who want to discover what genuinely moves them.

​

The fund operates on a simple premise: taste is gated. The people who know what they love — art, music, design, food, literature, ideas — are typically those who were exposed to those things early and often. The Develop Taste Fund exists to close that gap by funding one person's exposure experience at a time, beginning with a $50 direct investment in something they have never had access to before.

​

The fund officially launches July 1, 2026 and is accepting applications and nominations immediately at developtastefund@gmail.com. The fund operates nationally with the goal of expanding globally. Optimistic Theory connects with each recipient after a brief selection process, purchases the experience directly, and documents what was learned in the experience with the recipient.

​

Supporting Details:

​

The Develop Taste Fund is the giving arm of Optimistic Theory's broader mission to teach people to trust themselves by using silence as a functional tool. The fund currently operates two giving streams: the Exposure Experience, which funds access to a personal discovery event, and the Taste Library, which funds books, albums, museum memberships, subscriptions, and other resources that expand a recipient's frame of reference.

​

The fund was inspired by a guest who experienced a silent retreat offered by Optimistic Theory through the support of a Silent Partner — someone who believed in the mission enough to fund another person's access. That recipient later donated $500 to become a Silent Partner herself, extending the same opportunity to someone else. She now dedicates every Saturday to spontaneously doing only the things she loves.

​

Dr. Conners describes the fund as both a giving initiative and a societal statement — a direct response to the systems that gate access to discovery and call the result a matter of personal preference.

​

Quote:

​

"Positioning others to discover what they like, love, and prefer is a priority for us as we set out to help our community develop a taste for their own lives. The knowledge, exposure, and refinement processes are crucial to understanding who we are and will become at this moment in history. We believe each person should be able to do, be, become, and belong."

​

— Dr. Brittany Conners, Founder & Chief Executive Optimist, Optimistic Theory

​

About Optimistic Theory

​

Optimistic Theory is founded by Dr. Brittany Conners, a licensed occupational therapist whose work sits at the intersection of self-trust, silence, and human function. Through workshops, consulting, and live experiences including Set Your Terms, Optimistic Theory helps individuals, teams, and organizations turn down the volume of life to experience it better. The Develop Taste Fund is the giving initiative that extends this mission beyond the room and into the world.

​

Media Contact

​

Name: Dr. Brittany Conners

Email: info@optimistictheory.com

Phone: 314-952-2497

Website: www.optimistictheory.com