26. Alan Manwaring: The Executive Director of the Jan Broberg Foundation on the Challenges of Victims and Survivors Telling Their Story In August of 2022 I was working with The Jan Broberg Show Podcast as a trauma-informed interview consultant and an adviser to The Jan Broberg Foundation. Jan told me that she was interested in having a guest on her show who had been a life-long friend of hers, and who had a story of childhood sexual assault, but wasn't quite sure he was ready to fully express his sexual assault and rape story. She asked if I would meet him and talk to him about the process of being on her show as a guest. A short time later I met this friend of hers, Alan Manwaring. Via email, Alan shared with me a written narrative of his story; we didn't meet until a few weeks after that; but, in an instant a strong, brother-like, bond happened. As a side note, at the time, I had no idea what an accomplished and important figure he is on the diplomatic stage of national security, and his history of helping his father in that capacity; what an amazing story that is!...he talks about that in this episode. It wasn't long after that, that I also learned that, because of his strong and vast experience of working with non-profit organizations, Jan had asked Alan to onboard with The Jan Broberg Foundation as the Executive Director. Suddenly, Alan and I were work colleagues. It became evident to me, and him, that our shared respect and admiration for Jan and her Foundation, was going to keep us in a very strong work, and friendship, relationship. Alan and I have shared with each other our like-minded feelings of how important it is for victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault to talk about their stories and to continue on the trauma recovery path, daily. Then, we decided to do an episode on this topic on my show…this is that episode! It's another of our many endeavors to continue to help bring justice to victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault, and its intent is to acknowledge what a difficult and challenging journey it is to tell others of one's own story of victimization and the recovery process. Alan and I both hope that if you are a victim or survivor of rape, sexual assault, or any interpersonal violence for that matter, that you are encouraged and uplifted by this episode. And if you're not in any of those situations, that you'll have a deeper understanding of those who are. Thanks for listening, and please share this episode with everyone you know. https://markel-consulting.com https://www.thejanbrobergfoundation.org/ https://sites.libsyn.com/302675 https://www.startbybelieving.org