Who We Are

We’re the largest online community and publication for highly sensitive people in the world.

Our founders, Jenn Granneman and Andre Sólo, two passionate experts on high sensitivity, are available for for interviews, media commentary, and other collaboration.

Who Are Jenn Granneman and Andre Sólo?

Drawing on their success building the world’s largest website for introverts, Introvert, Dear, Jenn and Andre created Highly Sensitive Refuge to give highly sensitive people a voice. When they first launched, the internet had few resources or communities for HSPs — and they’re happy to be helping change that.

Jenn has known all her life that she was extra sensitive, but had always been told it was a weakness rather than a gift. Andre first learned about high sensitivity when working with writers, artists and other creatives — and seeing firsthand how their sensitivity side fueled their greatest work.

Together, and with the help of sensitive people around the world, they’re on a mission: to let sensitive people everywhere know that it’s okay to be who they are.

Jenn and Andre are published authors, and Jenn’s book, The Secret Lives of Introverts, is an international success which has been translated into four languages. Jenn is a former educator and journalist; Andre is a researcher and the vice president of an educational nonprofit. Both are experts in high sensitivity, empathy, personality and temperament.

As Seen On…

Jenn blogs regularly for Psychology Today; her work has appeared on HuffPost, Susan Cain’s Quiet RevolutionThe Muse, The MightyMotherly, and a number of other outlets. She has also appeared on the BBC and in BuzzfeedGlamour magazine, and The Oprah Magazine. Although we’re not currently recording new episodes, she co-hosted the Introvert, Dear Podcast.

Andre blogs regularly for Psychology Today, and his work has appeared on HuffPost, Susan Cain’s Quiet RevolutionThe Muse, the Good Men Project, the Telegraph, the BBC, and other outlets. He has been a featured speaker at the Hero Roundtable, an international, TED-style series of talks, and a featured guest in personal growth courses by Personality Hacker and on the Personality Hacker Podcast. He is also an independent academic researcher whose work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at major conferences.

Contact Jenn and Andre

Contact by email at [email protected] and [email protected]. For the fastest reply, cc both Andre and Jenn; they check email daily and will often prioritize press inquiries.

Areas of Expertise

  • Highly sensitive people (HSPs)
  • Sensory Processing Sensitivity or SPS
  • Introversion and extraversion
  • The science behind sensitivity, empathy, and emotionality
  • The overlap of sensitivity with giftedness, creativity, and other traits
  • Helping sensitive people find career success
  • Sensitive men/boys
  • Best practices in education for sensitive people
  • Wellbeing and empowerment for HSPs
  • Helping “sensitive souls” live their best life
  • Dealing with overstimulation and overwhelm
  • The experience of “absorbing” the emotions of others — and how to control it

Helpful Links

Our most frequently linked posts for journalists and bloggers:

Photos of Jenn Granneman and Andre Sólo

Portrait of Jenn Granneman, founder of Highly Sensitive Refuge.
Portrait of Andre Sólo, founder of Highly Sensitive Refuge