Support For Survivors

We continue our Survivor Series with Ashley. Ashley was sexually abused by her teacher when she high school. She shares how she got the courage to come forward and report her abuse and how change is needed in the way that schools handle reports of sexual abuse. Her interview sheds light on the issue of educator sexual abuse and how too many times reports of teachers, coaches or administrators abusing kids get ignored or are not shared with law enforcement. It’s time to work together to protect our kids.

Host- Shaunestte Terrell

Guest- Ashley

Host Shaunestte Terrell talks with Stephanie, a sexual abuse survivor. Stephanie talks about her journey of healing after sexual abuse which includes writing a book Transformation After Trauma: Embracing Post-Traumatic Growth and becoming a life coach to help others on their own path to achievement.

Host- Shaunestte Terrell

Guest- Stephanie

This is the second of our two-part series about the physical and sexual abuse reported by kids housed at Miracle Meadows School, a residential treatment center located in West Virginia. Shaunestte interviews attorneys Brian Kent and Guy D’Andrea, who along with their co-counsel, represented twenty-nine former students in civil litigation against school administrators and faculty. Brian and Guy talk about the complex nature of sexual abuse litigation and the important role their trauma-informed training played in helping them connect with these survivors while also respecting their mental health needs. Brian and Guy share how teamwork between co-counsel and the survivors led to an impressive $51.9 million settlement.

Brian Kent is a founding partner at the law firm of Laffey, Bucci & Kent, LLP based in Philadelphia with offices in New Jersey, New York, and Delaware. Brian was a sex crimes unit prosecutor with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office where he worked to ensure the safety of abused children. He handled 100’s of sexual assault and child sex abuse cases from inception and investigation through trial. He also tried and convicted some of Montgomery County’s most dangerous sex offenders.

In his current practice, Brian represents sexual assault survivors in a variety of litigation that has garnered extensive local and national media attention. Specifically, he has represented numerous women who reported they were sexually assaulted at Massage Envy facilities.

Guy D’Andrea is an experienced high-profile criminal and civil trial lawyer who has litigated more than 100 jury trials and hundreds of bench trials. He is a former Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia. During his tenure as a prosecutor, he tried over 500 cases.

In his current practice, Guy regularly handles cases nationally involving sexual and physical assaults in institutional settings including boarding schools, residential treatment facilities, hospitals, universities, sports organizations, day care centers, and schools.

Host- Shaunestte Terrell

Guests- Brian Kent & Guy D'Andrea

Tune in to the first of this two part series about the physical and sexual abuse reported by kids housed at Miracle Meadows School, a residential treatment center located in West Virginia. Twenty-nine former students of the school came forward to report their abuse and seek damages in a lawsuit against the school which resulted in a $51.9 million settlement.

In this first episode Shaunestte and Producer Jaime discuss a brief timeline of events at Miracle Meadows and have a deeper conversation about the changes needed at residential treatment centers in order to ensure proper care is given to children in need.

Host Shaunestte Terrell talks with Shauna, a sexual abuse survivor. Shauna was sexually abused by her father when she was a child. She describes how her father groomed and manipulated her and how she gathered the courage to speak up and report the abuse. WARNING: this episode discusses details of sexual abuse and may be triggering to some people.

Host- Shaunestte Terrell

Guest- Shauna

Our final installment of this three-part series features an interview with Tim Evans and Robert Scheer Indianapolis Star reporter and photo journalist respectively. Both of our guests interviewed dozens of women who came forward to report emotional and sexual abuse perpetrated by Larry Nassar and other USA Gymnastics team doctors. Tim and Robert share details with Shaunestte about how this story began, the discoveries the team made through the depth of their investigation, and the detailed checks and balances that journalists must adhere to in order to responsibly report a story.

Host- Shaunestte Terrell

Guests- Tim Evans and Robert Scheer

Tim Evans is an investigative reporter at The Indianapolis Star and a member of the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame. Since joining The Star in 1997, he has reported extensively on issues related to child welfare, sexual abuse and the criminal justice system. Evans was a member of the IndyStar investigative team that uncovered widespread sexual abuse in gymnastics and the crimes of Larry Nassar and is profiled in the Netflix documentary Athlete A.

In addition to reporting, Evans heads IndyStar Call for Action. The free consumer helpline has saved or recovered more than $1.5 million for Hoosiers since 2016. His work has been recognized with dozens of state and national awards, including the Casey Medal for reporting on children's issues from the University of Maryland’s Journalism Center on Children & Families and Annie E. Casey Foundation; the Tom Renner Award for criminal justice reporting and the IRE Medal, the highest honor bestowed by Investigative Reporters and Editors; the Free Expression Award from the Freedom Forum Institute and Newseum; the Medal of Freedom from the University of Missouri School of Journalism; and Indiana Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists. Evans and his wife, the Rev. Jennifer Evans, live in Brownsburg and are parents of an adult son, Morgan Evans.

Robert Scheer was raised in California, and while earning a biology degree from Humboldt State University, took a photo class on a whim and worked toward becoming a photojournalist. After working at several small Northern California newspapers, he joined the Indianapolis Star as a staff photographer in 1998, where he currently works. An early advocate for newspaper video, his still, multimedia, and mobile work have sent him to news and sporting events in Iraq, Greece, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and most large cities of the United States.

In recent years, he has worked on IndyStar investigations into the deer breeding industry, the underregulated world of pet medicines, and with a team of four colleagues, broke major investigations on USA Gymnastics and disgraced team doctor Larry Nassar. Scheer has worked as an adjunct college professor, volunteers as an ESL tutor, and does outdoor things like cycling and backpacking.

We are so excited to share our second episode in the Athlete A documentary discussion with you. In this episode Shaunestte interviews Jon Shenk, the director of Athlete A. Jon and Shaunestte discuss the culture of abuse within USA Gymnastics and how team doctor Larry Nassar was able to groom not only the athletes he treated but also many of the adults around him as he committed countless acts of sexual abuse.

Jon Shenk co-directed ATHLETE A with his film partner, Bonni Cohen. ATHLETE A (Netflix) was selected for the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. Jon co-directed and photographed AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER (Participant Media/Paramount) which premiered on opening night of the Sundance Film Festival in 2017, was short-listed for the 2018 Oscars, and was nominated for a 2018 BAFTA for Best Documentary. In 2016, Jon co-directed and photographed the Peabody Award-winning film AUDRIE & DAISY (Netflix), which premiered in competition at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. In 2011, Jon directed THE ISLAND PRESIDENT (Goldwyn Films), winner of the 2011 TIFF’s People’s Choice Award and IDA’s Pare Lorentz Award. Jon was awarded the 2004 Independent Spirit Award for directing LOST BOYS OF SUDAN (Shadow Distribution/PBS), served as the DP for the 2008 Academy Award-winning SMILE PINKI, and won an Emmy for BLAME SOMEBODY ELSE (PBS), 2007.

Educator resources and discussion guides for the movies Athlete A and Audrie & Daisy are available online. Click the titles to visit those websites.

John mentions the Suicide Prevention Hotline in the discussion. There are resources available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for anyone who is considering harming themselves. Connect with the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit their website www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org to chat online with a crisis center counselor.

Host- Shaunestte Terrell

Guest- Jon Shenk, Filmmaker

Tune in to this first in a series of episodes about the Netflix documentary Athlete A and the sexual abuse of female athletes at USA Gymnastics. We will discuss the toxic culture, cover-ups, and overall failure to protect these girls from sexual predators like team physician Larry Nassar, coach John Geddert and others.

In this episode Shaunestte and producer Jaime will talk about the culture of USA Gymnastics under president Steve Penny’s leadership and the IndyStar investigation that brought USA Gymnastics negligence to light and ultimately stopped serial sexual predator and team doctor Larry Nassar from abusing female athletes under the guise of medical care.

Host- Shaunestte Terrell

Host Shaunestte Terrell talks with Michelle a sexual assault survivor. Michelle shares her story and her personal path to healing which she documents in her book Found: Triumph Over Fear with Grace and Gratitude.

Michelle is the Executive Director at The O’Connor House in Carmel, Indiana. She leads programs that provide women who are single, pregnant and homeless with safe housing and opportunities to improve life for themselves and their children. Michelle is a keynote speaker and advocate for victims of violent crimes. Prior to working at The O’Connor House, Michelle worked at Prevail, a victim awareness and support organization where she led the charge to create Central Indiana’s first Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) focused on victim-centered, trauma-informed care.

Follow Michelle on social media: Facebook and Twitter

Host- Shaunestte Terrell

Guest- Michelle Corrao

Interview with Lisa Bryant, Director of Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich Documentary

This is the third episode of our Jeffrey Epstein series. Shaunestte interviews Lisa Bryant, the Director, Executive Producer and Showrunner of the Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich documentary that appears on Netflix. We are so excited to have Lisa on our show and talk about her experience in making the award- winning four-part series. Lisa discusses the importance of allowing the women who came forward and reported their abuse the appropriate space and time to share their truth along with interesting case developments that evolved while filming. Thank you to Lisa for not only giving these survivors a platform but also taking the time to talk with Shaunestte about her work.

Lisa Bryant is an award winning Director, Showrunner and Executive Producer at Radical Media. Her work has been focused on the true crime documentary genre for the past 10 years. Lisa served as the Director, Executive Producer and Showrunner for the 4 part documentary series Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich on Netflix. This project was created in partnership with Radical Media, Joe Berlinger and James Patterson was awarded two Critics Choice nominations (1 win) 2020 Best Crime/Justice series and two nominations from Los Angeles area Emmy awards for Crime/Justice series and Limited Documentary Series. In addition to the Epstein documentary Lisa Bryant also produced Unspeakable Crime: The Killing of Jessica Chambers, Gone: The Forgotten Women of Ohio, and Chaos in Court.

Host- Shaunestte Terrell

Guest- Lisa Bryant