Changemaker Paige Piper, Executive Director, BraveBe Child Advocacy Center

Paige Piper, the passionate Executive Director of the BraveBe Child Advocacy Center, takes us on a journey through her unexpected career transition from higher education and marketing to leading an organization dedicated to supporting child abuse victims. Her story is one of embracing opportunities and the power of passion to effect real change in the lives of vulnerable children. We explore the profound impact BraveBe has in offering hope and healing through their comprehensive services, including forensic interviews, medical evaluations, and advocacy, all designed to support children and families through unimaginable challenges.

BraveBe isn’t just a beacon of hope for those it serves; it’s also a nurturing environment for its staff, committed to fostering a supportive and trauma-informed workplace culture. Join us in this inspiring conversation and learn how you can be part of the movement to protect and empower our children.

Welcome to the Agency for Change podcast.

Chapters

• 0:01 Supporting Child Abuse Victims
• 8:06 Fostering a Supportive Work Culture
• 15:47 Child Abuse Response and Prevention Services
• 22:31 Building Resilient Families Program Launch
• 32:22 Protecting Children and Building Communities

Transcript

Connect with Paige and BraveBe at: 

·       Website – https://www.bravebe.org/

·       Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/BraveBeCAC

·       Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/bravebecac/

Paige Piper: 0:01

Love the people who are loving the people.

Announcer: 0:07

Welcome to Agency for Change, a podcast from KidGlov that brings you the stories of changemakers who are actively working to improve our communities. In every episode, we'll meet with people who are making a lasting impact in the places we call home.

Lyn Wineman: 0:30

Hey everyone, this is Lyn Wineman, president of KidGlov. Welcome to another episode of the Agency for Change podcast. So today we're going to talk about what might be an uncomfortable subject for child victims in their darkest time. BraveBe Child Advocacy Center is here to listen to them speak their truth and to be the courageous support that they need to heal. So I'm excited to welcome back my friend, BraveBe’s Executive Director, Paige Piper. She is going to talk today about her team and how they stand as pillars of hope for kids and families facing the unimaginable. We're also going to explore their impactful work, the importance of supportive organizational culture and how we all can come together to protect and uplift communities. Paige, I can't wait to talk to you today. Welcome back to the podcast.

Paige Piper: 1:35

Thank you so much for having me back.

Lyn Wineman: 1:37

So I feel like so much has changed with your organization since we last talked. Could you just start by telling us about BraveBe Child Advocacy Center and the mission that drives your work, and that might be something that hasn't changed, but talk to us a bit about that.

Paige Piper: 1:58

Absolutely so at BraveBe, we are a nonprofit service that responds anytime there's been an allegation of child abuse, and for us that typically means children who have experienced sexual assault, physical abuse, neglect, kids who have witnessed a violent crime like domestic violence or a homicide, have been recovered from a kidnapping or sex trafficking. It is heavy, but the beautiful part is that we get to be sort of that first line to support them and hear them and believe them and help them navigate what comes following an abuse incident.

Lyn Wineman: 2:34

That's great. I feel like the community, the 17 counties that you serve, are so lucky to have BraveBe available to them. I'd like to hear I know you to be a very inspirational person and a great leader. I'd like to hear how did you personally get involved with BraveBe and what really drew you to this line of work as somebody who honestly, literally, could do anything.

Paige Piper: 3:05

Oh well, that's very kind of you to say. I had a not so linear path of stumbling into this work and was very fortunate to find my passion in it. Actually, at the time was still working in higher education, teaching at the university and working part time for another nonprofit organization, and had received a call from a friend who said there is this amazing organization looking for somebody to come and help work in marketing. Well, I love marketing and I love nonprofits.

And so I came and I interviewed and I was offered the job on the spot.

Lyn Wineman: 3:47

Wow, that doesn't happen very often. I could see where you're the type of person that would have an amazing interview and just feel like the right fit.

Paige Piper: 3:52

Well, I appreciate that too. You are the best hype woman. I need your help every morning.

Lyn Wineman: 3:58

Yeah, it's no surprise that I got involved in marketing. 

Paige Piper: 4:09

So I accepted the job and that evening I got a call from the then executive director and she said Paige, our development director, just quit, would you like that job instead? And I thought I am not qualified for that. But yeah, absolutely, let's do it. And so I had the opportunity to work here for a number of years as the development director and just fell in love with the kids that we work with, with the mission of the organization, and I thought someday I could see myself advancing in leadership. But I thought ultimately a nonprofit is a business and my experience was higher education and marketing, and so I left,  and I went to the startup sector and that was honestly probably one of the best things that I've ever done for my career.

Paige Piper: 4:56

I learned so much and, for anybody who know Paul and Stephanie Jarrett, I had the opportunity to work closely with both of them and I learned so much from them. So when the opportunity presented in 2020 to return, I threw my name in the hat and the board welcomed me back with open arms and it's truly my dream organization. I think, you know, kids are the most vulnerable population and I have personal connections and experience with some of the issues that they've experienced, and I thought you know this is, this is an organization that I really could have used a certain way in my life, and now being back and having the opportunity to be there and to grow this and to help BraveBe step into the next chapter of what we can provide for our community, is truly a dream.

Kids are so resilient and having someone come alongside them in those really dark days can make all the difference in the trajectory of their life 

Lyn Wineman: 6:06

Absolutely. Paige, one thing that strikes me about your story and it's something that I think I've heard from a lot of leaders who have been on Agency for Change is that you had the courage to say yes when an opportunity presented itself, and it may not have been the opportunity you expected or the timing you expected- but, having the courage to say yes change the trajectory for you too, and I think that's kind of a cool thing to hear from you, a cool lesson to learn for all of us. But you also mentioned the dark days, so obviously this is a very emotionally challenging field. Like I'm really curious, how do you maintain and grow a strong organizational culture at BraveBe in the midst of the difficulty of the work that you see in the experiences that you are exposed to?

Paige Piper: 7:07

Great question. You know, I am forever in awe of our staff for not just being able to respond to one family a day, but multiple. Doing that over and over and over. It's a lot of secondary trauma and vicarious trauma that they're absorbing and helping carry the burden that the children and families are experiencing, and so I firmly believe that the most important part of my position is really taking care of the people that I lead and letting them know that we see, I see the work that they're doing and I value it and I have a responsibility to make this a great place to work.

You know, just because we're working with some of the most traumatic and difficult subject matter doesn't mean that the team can't come to work every day and love their job. So some of the ways that we've really worked to do that were number one by creating what we call trauma-informed policy. So if you read our entire employee handbook, it is very intentional in the way that that we've worded things in the way the policies that we've implemented. A good example of that would be discretionary time off.

We tell staff we hired you because we believe in you, do great work and take care of yourself, and if you need a day off, go. Be at home, snuggling your dog or your baby or whatever, is bringing you joy in the world.

Lyn Wineman: 8:36

That feeling of trust Paige has to be so empowering, and I've honestly never heard anyone else use that term before. Trauma-informed policies. Like in the world of marketing, we talk about trauma-informed color palettes or trauma-informed verbiage, but to think about like taking that as a cornerstone of your culture. I think that's so astute, and I could really see where that would work. But I also interrupted you. I know you have more to say on building culture.

Paige Piper: 9:09

Well, I appreciate you calling that out, because I do think that that is a cornerstone of what we've tried to implement to make this such a beautiful place to be and help our culture thrive. And I think, beyond just the policy work, it's also leaning into, it's establishing trust, predictability and safety in an environment of chaos. Our staff are on call 24-7, 365. It means that sometimes we're coming in for an emergency case where potentially there's been a horrible sexual assault or a homicide the darkest sides of the world that they see.

Lyn Wineman: 9:46

And those things don't happen between eight to five only right?

Paige Piper: 9:49

No, they do not happen just between eight to five, that is very true, and so they have very little control of what's coming through the doors, and because of that we've really tried to identify as an agency, how can we establish consistency and predictability, even in the way that? We manage our team meetings and we have our supervision practice that's really grounded in a supportive model, to make sure that when staff come here, they know that, while we can't control the environment, they can certainly lean on their leadership and leadership will love them through it, and so I feel really proud that over the past four years, we've done a lot of work on building positive, supportive culture, and that culminated this year and winning one of the best places to work.

Lyn Wineman: 10:39

Congratulations. I think that's just amazing. It's a great award, but it's really a reflection, because best places to work is judged based on the feedback of your staff. I just give you such kudos for that. I think that's fantastic.

Paige Piper: 10:55

Thank you, we were really excited and we celebrated over and over here because, you're right, the most important feedback that we can consider is that from the people who are doing the hard work every day and from the kids and families that we serve.

Lyn Wineman: 11:13

That's great. Paige. This is probably a good time for me to mention to our listeners that KidGlov has actually been involved with BraveBe and helping you with some branding and marketing. I'm also on your board, so I'm going to say, as a board member, I also feel that support and appreciation, even though I'm not the one doing the hard work, but I feel it as an extension of your culture. I've heard you talk about the intangible benefits of being in the nonprofit sector. Can you share some examples of how these play a role in your culture at BraveBe?

Paige Piper: 11:51

Absolutely Well. I think one thing that we lean on a lot at BraveBe is reflecting on our core values, and we're an agency that's not just putting them on the walls and some stuff might be able to acknowledge what they are, but it's truly embedded into our culture. I can guarantee you that every single staff member at BraveBe, I truly believe, could tell you all five of our core values if you put them on the spot and ask them.

Lyn Wineman: 12:17

That's amazing.

Paige Piper: 12:18

I say that because we talk about them at every team meeting. We talk about them at every supervision. It's the only thing that we evaluate our employees on annually. How they demonstrate those core values, and so I share that, because one of our core values is remember your why Nobody is coming into this line of work thinking, uh, my days are going to be easy. I'm going to be off by 5 PM. I'm going to get an incredible salary.

They’re coming into this work because I think you know loosely, one of the intangibles is it's passion and purpose driven.

Lyn Wineman: 12:54

Yeah, very much.

Paige Piper: 12:57

So much meaning that comes from sitting with someone in their hardest days and saying I know you are so scared and I see that and I feel that, but I'm going to stand by you and we will get through this together. I think, when we think about some of the more fun, lighter intangibles that we've built into our culture, even within the policy that we have, are things like we're a dog-friendly workplace. If having your furry friend here brings you some joy, bring all the dogs, let's do it.

Lyn Wineman: 13:30

I love that.

Paige Piper: 13:32

We do too. We do things like we have an internal committee we call WellShine. We did not mean for that to sound like the name of a pharmacy. It's a combination of wellness and sunshine and that well shine committee is working monthly on what are the fun things that we can do as a team.

And so sometimes it's health challenges, and other times it's helping plan fun activities like an annual summer Olympics helping plan fun activities like an annual summer Olympics.

Lyn Wineman: 14:05

I've heard your annual summer Olympics are quite competitive.

Paige Piper: 14:08

They are quite competitive but we spend half a day. We let our staff we pay them for their work to have fun. And we play silly games like trying to play volleyball with balloons and pool noodles. If you haven't tried it, it's a hoot.

Lyn Wineman: 14:24

Okay, I can't even imagine it not being very athletic myself too. That might be a sport that actually would be good for me, so I love that. Paig,. I want to turn the corner a little bit and talk about the impact of the organization, and the first thing I'd actually like you to do is could you talk to us more specifically about the work that you do, because I think most people are really aware that you address issues of abuse and neglect with kids. But just tell us more specifically what that looks like.

Paige Piper: 15:00

Of course, I'm happy to answer what our services look like when kids and families come here. So BraveBe provides a handful of response services that are critical for immediate intervention following an abuse incident. So when children come here, we are often referral-based, meaning that our referrals are coming from law enforcement, health and human services whoever took the initial report to launch an investigation. And when kids and families come, oftentimes they're here with who we call the non-offending caregiver and it's a safe person for that child, whether it's mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, a foster parent, whoever that safe person is typically accompanies the child here. When they arrive on day of service, there are kind of three key services that they receive. The first is a forensic interview, and a forensic interview is a fact-finding interview to help collect the child's testimony of what happened, what brought them to us today. And one of the things that fascinates me about our forensic interview process is the staff who collect those testimonies have to think like a criminal investigator and speak more like a therapist.

Lyn Wineman: 16:12

Wow, it's almost a translation situation, yeah.

Paige Piper: 16:16

Very much like a translation situation, but typically those two different types of brains are not synonymous, so it's very specialized staff that provide this service and the purpose of that forensic interview is, previous to BraveBe existing. If a child were to disclose, on average they were interviewed about 17 times. 

Lyn Wineman: 16:25

Oh my goodness, that's so many times. That has to be exhausting emotionally, maybe even physically.

Paige Piper: 16:46

Of course, and very traumatic, and I encourage all of the listeners to pause for just a moment and think about the worst thing that's happened in your life, the most traumatic situation you've encountered.

And now imagine telling that in detail to 17 strangers. And now imagine that you're 10 years old. That is a heavy burden that was placed on children to respond to the needs of the system instead of the system responding to the needs of the child. And so the forensic interview process allows for that child to share and speak their truth just one time to a trauma-trained professional whose whole job is to talk to kids. And we record that. And our partners from law enforcement and health and human services, the county attorney's office they watch the live stream of that interview so we make sure that we check all of the investigative boxes and then they hold on to that interview so that as the case progresses it's entered into evidence the same way it would have been, you know, 20 plus years ago, before this existed. So the forensic interview process is very, very important to capturing that child's truth and not asking them to have to retell and retell and retell.

The second key service that they receive while they're here is a medical evaluation, and that is really ensuring from head to toes that that child is physically healthy and, if there are any concerns related to the abuse, we treat them. We treat them right here. We also have the capability to do sexual assault exams and evidence collection if necessary.

Lyn Wineman: 18:23

Something none of us ever want to talk about, but it's very, very necessary and, I'm sure, very necessary to follow a very specific protocol as well.

Paige Piper: 18:36

Absolutely and really we want that type of examination done with a specialist, because it is it is a very intense and lengthy process, and so having a specialist who can provide that critical care is really important to establishing that feeling of safety for the child.

The other thing that I love about our medical program is that it allows the child to ask any questions that they have about their body and an abuse incident, we oftentimes really wonder what that means for our physical wellness and they ask a lot of really important questions and hearing from a nurse or a provider that you are perfect and, if there's issues, we are going to treat them and make sure that physically you are okay, that can actually make a pretty significant difference for their mental and emotional healing following trauma.

Lyn Wineman: 19:36

That's amazing.

Paige Piper: 19:37

The final service that we provide day of in our response service program is advocacy, and when I talk about our advocates, I really view them as a bridge and as a translator. And what I mean by bridging is oftentimes when families come here, the issues are so complex. We might sit with a caregiver who tells us you know, I recognize that I'm here for my child and my child experiencing sexual abuse, but also I don't know where I'm sleeping tonight, or I can’t pay my electric bill, or we don't have food. And so part of our advocate's job is to really look at this from the lens of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and say how do I bridge you to other community resources to create stability for this child and for this family? And those needs are evolving. What they need, day of service might look very different next week, next month, a year from now, and so we stay involved and help address that.

Lyn Wineman: 20:40

That's amazing, I mean think about all of the scary things in your life all together a traumatic situation that's happening to a child, a legal situation, a healthcare situation, and then just the stability of your life and your relationships and connections. All of those things all together, um, I that's got to be very, very overwhelming. So I appreciate you going through those services, because that was great. I also know, though, that you're growing in the area of prevention, which I think is really a neat thing, I mean, wouldn't it be lovely to think that maybe someday you wouldn't have any children coming in? And we all know that's not realistic in either of our lifetimes. But you know, if prevention can help, that would be amazing thing too. Can you speak to the prevention services?

Paige Piper: 21:33

I would love to, you know, last year in our response service program we worked with over 4,500 children across our 17 County service area and that stands out to me because ultimately I my dream during my career is to see that number decrease tremendously and to see prevention numbers grow. We've really leaned into our training and prevention program over the past several years and last year we trained nearly 4,000 children and nearly 10,000 people total in our community, recognition and response to child abuse and topics like boundaries and body safety, internet safety. What do you say if a child discloses to you? We have also designed a prevention program called Brave fACES my shameless plug, you were a huge partner in building that with us.

Lyn Wineman: 22:27

We're so excited about it.

Paige Piper: 22:29

We are too. It's one of the things that just lights a fire and gets me out of bed every morning, because this program is really designed around adverse childhood experiences, which are 10 potentially traumatic things that can happen before a child turns 18. And actually this is based on longitudinal research that was conducted by the center for disease control and prevention, very science-based, and actually this was originally, all of this research was done in the medical community. But our brain and our body are connected, even though sometimes insurance companies don't feel that they're all one, and so the way that we process trauma long-term really impacts our physical wellness.

In fact, what we know, aces are measured on a scale of zero to 10, and it's not an exhaustive list. We know lots of bad things can happen, but these are the most common and what we know is, with a score of a six or higher, it actually reduces your life expectancy by about 20 years and as a community have a responsibility to lean into that and say then, how do we prevent these terrible things from happening and what can we do about it?

So the Brave fACES initiative is number one, really focused on helping us all, community-wide, acknowledge that trauma happens and when trauma happens, it affects our health. Second, training on what can we do about it. And third, really leaning into what are the community solutions that exist and how do we create a truly trauma-informed community. Because we have a beautiful, amazing place to live and to build families and what I love is that we are such a collaborative community. But being a collaborative community means that we share in the responsibility to address and prevent trauma.

Lyn Wineman: 24:34

I love that Paige. I have to tell you, the KidGlov team is so excited to build this out because we see the impact that it's going to have on our community and even have this hope in the back of our minds that maybe this becomes a beacon to communities throughout the country and maybe even globally as well, because this is an issue that exists everywhere there are humans, and so we're honored to be your partner in this. So along those lines, Paige, I'd love to know, being a storyteller, and I know you're a storyteller do you have a story that you could share that maybe highlights BraveBe's impact on the children and families you served. We've talked about the services, but let's talk about a story that really brings it home.

Paige Piper: 25:25

Yes, you know, there is a woman who's now a young adult that has just, I've just been carrying her in my thoughts over the past few months because we had this beautiful moment. We had served this young woman when she was a young teenager and it was a case of sexual abuse. And it was horrific and her case progressed from coming in for that initial forensic interview to providing that medical care. There were findings, as a result of the medical, her case progressed to court. She testified on stand against her abuser, with him sitting just a few feet in front of her. Ultimately, this case was prosecuted. It was a success. We partnered her with mental health services that are on site at BraveBe and continued to follow up until she said, okay, I'm ready to move on. And you know when that happens, you always just wonder what their life is like and where they found themselves.

And a few months ago we had a young adult stop by our front desk and she asked if Maya was working and Maya is one of our directors here at BraveBe and Maya was in a meeting. But the person working at the front desk said well, would you like to leave her a note? And on this letter she wrote to Maya. She said I just wanted to let you know how I'm doing. I recently moved into the neighborhood and I drove by this building and I thought of you and I want to share with you, Maya, that you saved my life.

Lyn Wineman: 26:59

Oh, I might start to cry. I've never cried on an Agency for Change podcast, but wow.

Paige Piper: 27:07

I am still thinking about this note makes me tear up, because I think for Maya in that moment you know it was it was so many years ago. And again you just carry and think about, I wonder where she is and how she's doing and for all those years later, for her to have that courage to come back to a building that was one that she visited, visited on a very scary day in her life and to have this thought as she's processing what happened to her, that this experience was so significant in her life that she really feels that Maya changed it to the point of saving it.

Lyn Wineman: 27:43

Wow, Paige. That is what a great story, and it also reminds me of another time that you and BraveBe really did bring me to tears. And there's something you have in your building, it's a stairwell. Can you tell people about the stairwell?

Paige Piper: 28:01

Oh, our stairwell is my favorite part of our building. I would argue that I am the only person in this community that would say the stairwell is the best part of the building. But our stairwell is so magical because one of the things that we do here is, after children and families complete services with us. We ask them if they'd like to leave a message for the next child and family who walks through, because oftentimes, when people come to us, they believe that they are the only one this has ever happened to. It's a physical reminder that they are not alone and that things can and will get better. Their life is forever changed, but they are going to find so much strength and power and resilience through this process.

So our stairwell is filled with their impactful words and I will tell you that on the hard days I go, spend about 15 minutes in that stairwell and I walk and I read and I just listen to these kids and the feelings that they have, and completing their time with BraveBe.

Lyn Wineman: 29:06

It's really amazing, and I think it does prove something you said early on about how resilient kids are, so I think that's just great. So, Paige, you talked about Brave fACES. You talked about the growth in prevention. Is there anything else on the horizon for BraveBe that you'd like to mention?

Paige Piper: 29:28

Oh, we always have things on the horizon.

Lyn Wineman: 29:31

I kind of knew you would have an answer to that question.

Paige Piper: 29:35

We're always looking to the future and dreaming bigger for the kids and families that we serve and addressing what they need. You know so often in meetings that I've been part of over the last several years, it's an ongoing conversation, I think, in our nonprofit community, but also at a broader level, about mental health.

The lack of mental health availability, because I think during COVID we all experienced high trauma. We all needed someone to talk to, but there is certainly more need than there are therapists in our community. So we've been doing a lot of work in the mental health space and we've been very fortunate to bring several mental health providers into our space. We're collaborating with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Project SAFE program, but waitlists can be long, and so one of the areas that we've leaned into is developing a curriculum that we're calling Engagement Sessions, and it's a way to help children and families lean into safe spaces to learn coping mechanisms while they're waiting for mental health care, because it's hard to have a crisis now and wait 90 days.

Lyn Wineman: 30:47

Oh my goodness, right, yes, I'm having the crisis right now. Right, my emotions need some regulation right now. What do I do with them? 

Paige Piper: 30:58

Yeah, this program is a fantastic way to lean into that and to help address those immediate needs. The other thing I'm so excited about is actually under our Brave fACES program, but we have a curriculum that we developed called Building Resilient Families. And so we are collaborating with Belmont Community Center and First Plymouth Church and Community Action to facilitate voluntary parenting classes, where we are paying parents a living wage. To come and to learn about building resilience in your own family. Through prevention, to talk about the five protective factors in the seven domains of wellness. Because, let's be honest, what parent doesn't need or want additional support?

Lyn Wineman: 31:43

Oh right, it's the one thing in life you do. It's maybe one of the, if not the hardest thing you will ever do, and yet there's so very little formal training that any of us any of us take, so I think that's such a great program page.

Paige Piper: 32:03

Thank you. We're excited it's launching this fall, so there will be much more to come about building resilient families, but we're thrilled to have the opportunity to connect with families in our community, and not just to connect with them, but to recognize that a gift of your time is significant, so to compensate them for that time.

Lyn Wineman: 32:22

Really what I love about that is we all, I think, talk about, you know, accessibility, and oftentimes that is difficult because you know young families typically are resource constrained and so having that opportunity really provides them that access, and I think that's fantastic. So, Paige, it feels like I would be making a mistake if I didn't ask you for some advice you would give to anyone who's looking to understand more about child abuse and wanting to contribute to keeping kids safe in their community.

Paige Piper: 33:07

I love that question. I think a couple of things. One I think it's important to recognize that this is a very difficult subject to lean into and not one that we're often comfortable talking about.

Lyn Wineman: 33:20

Right, very uncomfortable, as a matter of fact, talking about it.

Paige Piper: 33:24

And I think it's all of our preference to think gosh, that will never happen in my family, it will never happen to someone I know, but statistically it has happened to someone you know. One in four girls and one in six boys will experience sexual abuse before their 18th birthday. So if you think about an average classroom, how many children are sitting in math class right now trying to learn who have experienced this horrible issue? Wow, but that that, to me, is enough to think it's important to have the conversation and to lean in so to receive some training. We would love to connect with you. We offer completely free community training all the time, and the best way to learn about those upcoming trainings is to follow us on Facebook or Instagram at BraveBe, to visit our website, bravebe.org, where we post our upcoming training calendar. I will humbly brag about our incredible training director, Christy Prang. She not only is an expert in this area, but a fantastic trainer, so it's a great experience to learn, but also it's just fun to be in.

Lyn Wineman: 34:34

That's cool. That makes a difficult subject all that much better. But the training aspect really is an art and a science to know how to do that. So that is wonderful, and thank you for giving us those links as well, Paige. We'll put those in the show notes for anybody who didn't get them written down. But I imagine if anybody wants to volunteer, donate, look into the training calendar, look into the event calendar or, you know, if they maybe have a situation that they need to report or receive some services, they could go to your website and find that as well.

Paige Piper: 35:16

Always, always, visit our website or give us a call. We're happy to help navigate and support any of the different topics that you mentioned Lyn.

Lyn Wineman: 35:21

Fantastic Paige, I want to put you on the hot seat next. You always seem so calm, cool and collected, and you've done this before because you've been on the podcast before. But I love motivational quotes. I love being around inspirational people like those who've been on the podcast. I would love a Paige Piper original quote to inspire our listeners. What do you have for us?

Paige Piper: 35:48

Oh, gosh, I even knew this question was coming. Now I'm sweating. You know something that I've spent a lot of time over the last really six months pondering, and maybe someday this becomes a speech or something. I don't know what I'm doing with it. 

As a leader, I think something that stands out in my mind is to love the people who love the people. I think that my greatest skill set is not necessarily being the person with boots on the ground doing the work. I can help out, but for me, in my day to day, that's not what I'm best at. What I'm best at is helping build and vision and scale and love the people who are loving the people, and I think, as a leader, um, that's the best thing that I can do. And actually I loved I had a conversation with Eric Mooss from Bryan earlier. He was another very inspirational leader, and I shared this with him and he said that's so funny because I've been thinking about care for the people who care for the people. So I just love that. There's this thought that's emerging across our community across systems, about how, as leaders, we really take care of those who are doing impactful work.

Lyn Wineman: 37:12

You know, Paige, that could be one of my favorite quotes we've had on the podcast. It's a really, really good one. So I'm kind of sad that this conversation is coming to an end, because it's been really fun, I think. But as we wrap up our time together today, I'd love to end on what is the most important thing you would like our listeners to remember about the work that you're doing.

Paige Piper: 37:40

The most important thing that I'd like the listeners to remember about the work at BraveBe is the subject matters that we address will at some point touch your life and because of that, it's a shared responsibility from all of us to lean in, to have the conversation, to become educated, to think about the ways that we can make a difference and protect kids. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of all of us as adults to know what we can do to keep kids safe, and that does not mean that you can keep every bad thing from happening. It's certainly that's certainly possible, but we can all know where we can limit opportunity and we can also learn how we really support children when the bad things do happen.

Lyn Wineman: 38:28

Paige, that's very profound. Thank you for sharing that, and I have to say I fully believe the world needs more people like you, definitely needs more organizations like BraveBe Child Advocacy Center. I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk with us today.

Paige Piper: 38:58

Well I am very grateful for the opportunity to help our community learn more about the work we do and the invitation back. On round three, Lyn, I think I should interview you. Very inspirational person, I enjoy the moment that I get to spend with you.

Lyn Wineman: 39:04

Thanks for that, Paige. Thanks again for joining us.

Announcer: 39:09

We hope you enjoyed today's Agency for Change podcast. To hear all our interviews with those who are making a positive change in our communities or to nominate a changemaker you'd love to hear from. Visit kidglov.com at K-I-D-G-L-O-V.com to get in touch, as always. If you like what you've heard today, be sure to rate, review, subscribe and share. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time.