The Moving Forward Podcast with Coach KJ and Dr. Valentina

#MOVINGFORWARD 8/21/2022 @10:00PM EST COACH KJ AND DR. V INTERVIEW Suicide Awareness Advocate Elizabeth Gerald 

Marcie Gerald, the 2012 Pre-Teen Beauty Pageant State Finalist, an accomplished violinist, NBC prodcuers selection for a show empowering young girls, and community volunteer, smiled on the outside while grappling with pain on the inside. 

The day after Marcy's 15th birthday, a gang member beat and then sexually assaulted Marcie, leaving indelible emotional scars. Marcy tried to scrub herself clean, but the emotional scars remained. She attended therapy, but it could not erase the core of Marcy's pain. The night before she died, she lay in her mother Elizabeth's arms and told her she loved her.

After Marcie's death, Elizabeth developed The Marcie Jonea Movement (MJM) to address depression following brutal sexual assault. MJM's educational and mental health partners utilize the RULER Approach to optimize cognitive growth, relational growth, and creative growth. https://ycei.org/ruler-trainings#:~:text=About%20RULER,learn%2C%20and%20families%20support%20students.

Most recently, Elizabeth Gerald has received a letter of condolence from Michelle Obama and the Presidental Award from the Biden Administration.