BullyBuster with Rhonda Orr

Today, I’m speaking with an honest-to-goodness legend. Dr. Lois Lee started Children of the Night over 40 years ago and has rescued over 10,000 child sex trafficking victims. Her groundbreaking work has led to countless awards, most notably the prestigious President’s Volunteer Action Award, presented to her by President Ronald Reagan. Her work was portrayed in a 1985 movie of the week titled, Children of the Night, in which she was played by Kathleen Quinlan. Richard Marx recorded a song, “Children of The Night” in 1989 and the proceeds helped build a world-class 24-bed shelter home and school. I am blessed to know her from working phone hotlines for child prostitutes as young as 11 years old in the 90’s. My nonprofit, S.T.O.P. Child Abuse Theatrical Organization and Productions, here in Los Angeles, raised funds and awareness for Children of the Night through producing a play. After four decades spent helping girls escape prostitution, Dr. Lee remains a maverick who—as you’ll hear—doesn’t hold back. I’m so passionate about the massive and extraordinarily profound work and compassion she puts into her efforts – work she started when no one else cared.

My guest today is Police Chief Jerald Monahan. He has served for 42 years in the public safety community. His incredible service record includes being the Chief of Police for Prescott, Arizona. He’s currently the Yavapai College Chief of Police. Chief Monahan has been the president of the Board of Directors for the End Violence Against Women International organization. He’s also a strong advocate for the Start By Believing Campaign. Which is why I’m so happy to have him as a guest to discuss problems and solution for moms in addressing abuse and bullying and how to start conversations. He’s going to give us some imperative tips today that will guide moms to be a trusted adult, by believing their daughters!

Today, we’re going to talk about the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program. It’s a nationwide organization whose mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships. They do this by pairing kids between age five and young adulthood—they’re called Littles—with carefully screened adult mentors – known as Bigs. My guest is the Executive Director of the Northern Arizona chapter of Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Erin Mabery. Erin is a leader of children and families and has one of the most powerful youth mentoring programs in the United States. I know because I was a speaker for her first mentoring symposium this year. They’ll do another in February 2021. I’m also honored to have a Civility Ends Bullying partnership with Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters. I’m based in the Los Angeles area, but still, I have a profound love and admiration for the large, and enriching Alliance Collaborative projects and associates in Northern Arizona. I can’t possibly name all the weighty regional and state associates that Erin has through Big Brothers Big Sisters, but suffice it to say, there are many.

Today, we talk with a woman who is the very definition of power and yet, is also the very needed woman of today. She has empathy and the courage to help others who have suffered. Abby Bolt was, for over 20 years, a wildland firefighter. She started her career on an elite Hotshot Crew. She continued on, becoming a helicopter rappeller, Engine Captain, and moved up the chain of command to battalion chief. Abby fought and managed fire beside the best of the best in the industry. But then, Abby was raped by a firefighter who was not a member of her team. Someone who should have had her back. Her trust in leadership quickly went up in flames as she found she needed to be her own advocate. She began to hear from others in the same situation. Today, she produces two podcasts –one to get the word out about mistreatment of employees in the fire service, and a second to celebrate women’s achievements.

Today, my guest is Alexa Rosdahl, a college student I’ve known since she was in high school. Alexa was the Young Ambassador for one of my non-profits. She inspired hundreds at our "Civility Ends Bullying" rallies. Today, she talks with me about an atrocious bullying incident that happened to her in high school. It involves a YouTube video and a student council election. We’ll learn what went wrong and how she dealt with it.

Jaime Villalovos is an entrepreneur. Along with her husband, Shawn, she started Team Revolution, Inc., a financial services firm.But Jaime has always put her family –she has four kids— and her faith first. She’s learned the value of teaching all of her children differently based on their individual personalities. That’s especially true for her oldest, 14-year-old Daisy. Jaime has faced a childhood of abject poverty and family sexual abuse with genuine hope, persistent strength, and all the moral strategies that she values in any relationship.Today, we’re going to focus on how we, as moms, or as someone who helps or guides girls in any way, can overcome bullying through our Triangle of Triumph. Jaime is the epitome of being an example of choosing not to stay a victim and we discuss the difficulties of making that choice. We’ll discuss what being a survivor means by defining who we are and what we want for our lives. We will talk about influencing future generations by breaking the cycle of family abuse. And Jaime will explain how she really enjoys being a leader who loves life and enjoys healthy relationships while giving service.

It’s morning, three days before Christmas, 1999. Keokuk, Iowa. A small city along the banks of the Mississippi River, home to about 12,500 people. In a duplex on Franklin Street, a four-year-old boy named Jacob turns on a kitchen stove while his mother is still asleep. The burners start some plastic high-chair trays stored on top of the stove on fire. That fire soon spreads throughout the kitchen. Jacob runs upstairs to wake his mother, Melissa. She finds the smoke and heat too intense to get past it to her other children’s bedroom. The fire in the old house would be like no other the Keokuk Fire Department had ever experienced. On this episode of True Fire, we’ll look back at the Keokuk Apartment Fire tragedy and find out what lessons were learned.

Did you know that more than 3 million Domestic Violence incidents are reported each year in the US? But an estimated 10 million go un-reported. This week on BullyBuster, my guest is Sergeant James Tobin, a highly honored police officer, and a big fan of community policing. He’s especially concerned about Domestic Violence… where the vast majority of victims are women and children. Sergeant Tobin discusses with me the many ways that women can choose not to stay a victim, which is the beginning of our Triangle of Triumph, Then they can survive this illness in our society and finally become the leader (of their own selves, first). He also talks about how we can all help raise up our women and children, together, because it does take a village.

If you’ve ever been bullied at work, you’ll want to hear my guest today. Marilyn Huffman has worked at the Better Business Bureau for nine years. She’s the director for the Pacific Southwest region. Marilyn provides support and education as President of the Professional Women’s Group in her territory. She’s an inspiration to women facing on-the-job bullying from women. Statistics show that woman-on-woman bullying is 65% more common than woman-on-man bullying. Having been bullied at a couple of places during her career, she’s gained great empathy for many women like herself. Those women who need to learn the right and tricky way to approach this pervasive problem. Bullying by a boss causes fears to take over – like needing your job to pay bills, feeling undermined, overwhelmed by condescending bosses and sometimes your peers and subordinates, and walking on eggshells because, evidently, you are doing everything wrong. Our discussion on Bullying in the Workplace will surprise you. We’ll talk about options and ideas to resolve the bullying situations you may be facing or could face in the future.