The Power of Being Seen: Building Belonging Through Mentorship

Olympia Edwards didn’t find her first mentor through a formal program — she noticed her skirt, her shoes, and the way she walked with confidence. Sometimes mentorship unfolds organically like it did for Olympia and her mentor, Kelly. Other times, a path has to be intentionally created so more young people can experience the leadership, confidence, and belonging that relationships like theirs make possible. That belief is at the heart of Project Girl.

In this episode of the Redefine What’s Possible podcast, Olympia, founder and executive director of Project Girl Mentoring Program, shares how that early, informal mentorship shaped how she leads and why she built a community-centered program that has supported over 1,000 girls across the Puget Sound since 2012. She reflects on what it means to be truly seen, why consistency matters, and how everyday moments of attention and care can change a young person’s sense of self.

Olympia takes listeners inside the work of Project Girl — from school-based programs to after-school spaces — and explains how belonging is built through presence, trust, and shared experience. She also offers practical insights on supporting young people, interrupting negative self-talk, and showing up in ways that are human rather than performative.

This conversation is a reminder that building belonging doesn’t require a formal title or a perfect plan. It starts with noticing, listening, and choosing to show up. If you’ve ever wondered how you might get more involved in your community, this episode offers a meaningful place to begin.

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Transcript

Shanon Tysland (00:12.44)
All right, y'all, welcome back to the Redefine What's Possible podcast, where we explore the stories of people and organizations creating real change in how we live, lead, and care for one another. Today, we're tackling a question that matters to every community leader, parent, and mentor listening. How do you build belonging?

strong enough to change a teen's trajectory, especially when funding is scarce and equity programs are on the chopping block. Our guest today is someone whose work embodies that mission, Olympia Edwards. She is the founder and executive director of Project Girl Mentoring Program based here in the Pacific Northwest. Project Girl empowers young women of color to make positive life choices, discover their authentic voice, and

realize their full potential. Since 2012, Olympia and her team have mentored over a thousand girls across the Puget Sound, fostering confidence, resilience, and leadership through community mentorship and love. Now I've known Olympia for years and I'm really excited for our conversation today. She's

hosted our leadership team from Experience Momentum for an offsite at Project Girl. And in turn, we've hosted Project Girl mentees at Experience Momentum to garden with our dieticians and move with our fitness coaches. And I always walk away inspired by the depth of connection that Olympia creates. Now, what's at stake here isn't just programs. It's voice, it's safety.

and opportunity for these girls and for the future of our communities. And Olympia is a powerhouse. She was just named Business Woman of the Year for the city of Lynnwood. That's a city where both of our businesses are. She's literally across the street from me. And Olympia is one of those rare leaders who leads with both strength and deep compassion. Olympia, it's so great to have you here today. Thank you for joining. Hi, thank you. Yeah, I'm really excited for today.

Shanon Tysland (02:19.662)
And before we dive into Project Girl, I would love to start with your story, just so we can connect our listeners to who Olympia is. I'm curious, where did you grow up and what were the experiences that shaped you, shaped the woman that you've become today? Okay. Hi, my name is Olympia and I am the daughter of Linda Johnson and Freddie Milton and I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida.

in the 90s and early 2000s. That right there has completely shaped how I look and my vibe and how I see community and see how things just be and come. And it gives me all the creativity. I think I was early involved in doing like student government stuff and playing sports and hanging out at the beach. And so a lot of times I bring that personality out and I let that shine no matter what, what is actually happening. So yeah. You know what? And I can see that shine.

You get the privilege of meeting Olympia sometimes. She has a glow. And I know life isn't always easy. And I know that you've gone through some ups and downs, but you're just one of those people that brings it and exudes like that joy and confidence. And it's just, it's an infectious trait. So I love that about you. Thank you. I'm curious, was there someone who saw you early, a mentor, a teacher, a family member who helped you see your potential?

So yes, I had a very great and wonderful mentor who I'm still connected to. Her name is Miss Kelly Warren. She was, or not was, but she is one of those women who was so creative as well, like me. She was actually in maternity leave when I actually got the position to be student government president. And so she didn't get a chance to connect with me until she actually came back into the office. But some of the other staff at the school was talking about some of the ideas that I had for changing.

working with some of the students in the community college landscape. And so when she actually came, she was like, I heard about you. Just let me get to know you. And then from there, it was like really organic versus like us just connecting. I'm a big advocate of sitting at the same table with people and eating with them and learning from them and watching their everyday moves. And that's what I started doing. Her office was across from mine. So I would see her office and see the way she moved and see the way she communicate with people. And from that, I learned how to just

Shanon Tysland (04:41.57)
be nice and be kind and be that leader. Where I learned that leadership is not one of those things that I'm gonna be a leader, but leadership is when people can watch you and see that you are that leader off and on when you're just doing your thing. One thing that I love that she did, that she brought me into her world. she allowed me to...

get her house on the weekends as a student. We had like college parties at her house. She brought me around her family. She let me see like her kids and her husband and her lifestyle. And then even gave me the chance of actually flying and traveling with her doing some student government leadership stuff and really teaching me what leadership meant, what it meant to be a pillar in the community just as a student on the student population.

It just opened my eyes in so many different ways. Like, I was able to see so many different things, like how a woman can lead with having a family and how a woman can lead with thought and at the same time where you didn't have to have all the pieces together to be connected.

but she really showed me what mentor is. And even now to this day, when I still connect back with her after 20 something years, it's still that same thing. It's still that same connection piece. It's like she's proud of me. She's watching what I'm doing, even though I don't know that she might be.

listen to this podcast on the internet or on Facebook, it's that still constant check-in. And throughout the years, and even on campus, we used to have this inside joke where we became like Kelly girls. And the thing about being the Kelly girls, even if Miss Kelly wasn't around, we still embodied her. We still knew that we represented her. And that was so important for when you're on a big campus and you're walking around, even you're doing things in a community. And to go back, I represent so many people when I walk into spaces. And I

Shanon Tysland (06:25.314)
have a full support group of people behind the scene. And so that is what it meant to be a Kelly girl. And it's about two or three of us that still as adult women with our own kids, own careers, we're still like, hey, we're still Kelly girls out here. I'm the only one that's on this side of the coast. And so it's very cool to know that her support and her love has almost 3,000 miles away, all the way to Washington. And so there's a lot of people here that might know who she is.

versus like me talking to her, talking about her. And so that's still there learning what it means to be a Kelly girl. So take us back. So Kelly Warren was a mentor for you. And this was at university. Where were you at? This is at Florida Community College. I was a student government president, student council type stuff. And she was actually the student advisor to student activities. OK. I'm curious at what point in this relationship did you

Look at Kelly as a mentor. It happened organically. It really was, I think maybe like when I saw her skirt and I was like, really like that skirt. And then I just, was like, wow, I really like her shoes. I like the way when she walks with confidence. And it wasn't like I even asked her to be my mentor. It was like, hey, do you got a moment to sit and chat? And I would just grab my notebook and I would ask her questions about life or ask her about questions that I needed support in. And then.

she would like, okay, and then she would turn around and give me these nuggets. It wasn't like she was like, hey, I'm gonna see if you're comfortable with this. She was like, hey, if that was me, I would not do that. I would go this route, or you should go do this, or you should go connect with this person. So it wasn't like we actually sit down and said, hey, I'm gonna be your mentor, and you're gonna be my mentee. It was more of like, very, get it, we're just gonna sit and connect and go from there. So.

Was there, I'm just curious, I want to unpack this a little bit because I think when we look at mentors and mentees, sometimes it can happen organically and sometimes people approach someone and we'll get into this with you, run a mentoring program. So when people enter your doors, there's an assumption of I'm going to be mentored. And in this example with the Kelly girls,

Shanon Tysland (08:36.974)
There was no formal contract. There was no, I'm going to be your mentor, you're going to be my mentee. It just happened organically. I'm curious, what are the traits that, aside from how Kelly looked with a dress, that drew you to, ooh, I wanna unpack this gal a little bit more? She was kind, was a big thing. She had an open door. Her door always opened. You saw her as a real human. And on top of that,

she was very creative like me. And so she had many projects that she would be doing. And I know we'll talk about that later. She's into making jewelry, doing different things with her hands, taking photography, writing, creative writing. And like me, I saw myself like, wow, one day I can be in the office and lead students. And people will respect me and see that I care about the life that students are growing. OK, you wanna, I wanna unpack this just a little bit. You made a comment.

that Kelly saw you as a human. I'm curious, were there moments in your life maybe leading up to that where you didn't feel seen or maybe you didn't feel safe? And how did those experiences maybe impact your trajectory? I would say growing up as a young black woman in Florida, in the South, sometimes you have those notions that...

Who really sees me? Like, who really sees my creativity? Who really sees what type of person I want to be? And I think when I was in middle school and high school, I was going through one of those moments and I was like, this is hard. Growing up is hard. How do I see this life that I want? But how do I get there? And I think what the time that I met Kelly, I actually, I am a C plus student.

I'm not the best high school student. So when I graduated high school, I had a 2.5. And I remember the conversation of me trying to go into a university. the university told me that I wasn't college material. And so at that time, it completely broke me. was just like, OK, I'm just... I knew that college was the gateway to get me out of any type of poverty or life situations. But I couldn't... I didn't have the best grades to get to college. So then when I went to community college, it was one of those moments like...

Shanon Tysland (10:42.296)
feeling a little defeated because someone told me I wasn't college material. So then once I started taking classes and then when my first semester I got involved in student government and then I was like, wow, this feels connected. This feels great. It's a little different what I thought my life would be and what I thought my college career would be. So then I have to take remedial classes to get my skills up and just having that connection with a human and who was an awesome writer to say, wow, there is a woman here that I can support.

And maybe it's just showing kindness and maybe it's just connecting and maybe it's just really just walking in the office and saying good morning. What I'm hearing is like there's this thread of becoming the thing you wish had existed for you when it comes to Project Girl, right? You're not the type of person that I'm going to say is you're not smart enough to do this or you don't have the skills to do that. You're just the complete opposite of that. And when no one builds the table for Olympia, you're building it for yourself. And I just...

Yeah, I think that's so important. And I think this, I don't want to put words into Project Girl, but when I think of what is the problem that's trying to solve, like what happens when a young person has no positive mentor and what becomes possible when they do? And I'm curious from your lens, like I want to zoom in on mentorship because it feels like the heartbeat of your work. And from your perspective, why is having a mentor so important?

for a young woman of color? Having a mentor is so important because it allows you to bounce ideas off of somebody and to really to be in space with someone maybe who is just maybe a little bit advanced than you might be in life. And it's like we don't know what we don't need if we don't ask. And sometimes you need that safe...

grounded spot for you to talk to somebody and really just say, hey, I'm struggling in this part. Or you just say, hey, what is this right here? Why are you reading this book? And then all of a sudden, it's like that shared knowledge and that community building just starts rolling. And then next thing you know, you're in a mentor relationship with someone, even if it's not like a label saying, I am officially your mentor. So that is where mentorship is so important. And one of my philosophy here at

Shanon Tysland (12:55.47)
Project girl is that let it happen or get let it just happen like just be yourself so that the relationship doesn't feel like it's forced like any relationship I have with anybody in community I'm not actively going out and trying to make sure I'm in the right spots with them like it's just us laughing and being forced and it's like supporting when we can support and then after a while it's like me and your relationship is why I really like this person this person really sees me I really like this person this person really sees me going back and forth as well we have a shared knowledge we have a shared

I want to do a deep dive on that because Olympia, I remember a conversation of years ago meeting you and our businesses are literally right across the street. Experience Mentum on one side, you walk a block and a half in Olympia and Project Girl on the other side. And I remember meeting with you and being like, can Experience Mentum support the work that Project Girl is doing? And you were very intentional of, let's figure out how to do this organically.

I don't want a forced relationship. And that really resonated with me. And to me, that organic relationship, it does mean putting intention into how you're showing up, but that not forcing it. Can you expand on that a little bit? Yeah. So like with us, I would say, like it was intentionally me not just to go over there and say, you're next to me, you have a business. How can you monetarily give to project, girl?

How can you, what do you have that I can take? But mostly me going over there and really seeing, wow, this is a really cool space that you have. And then you coming here and saying, wow, this is a really cool space that I have. And then us seeing each other on around the area and connecting. And then by chance, we ended up getting the street right behind you all, or I think in front of you all of the park cleanup. So that was, again, very organic. Like we didn't know what street was gonna get. So just saying like that, we also taking care of our areas.

but we're directly next to each other. And so it's like that mutual respect going when we're out in different communities and we're sharing each other's names and we're supporting each other. It's that very organic type feeling where it doesn't feel like Shanon want something from me and Olympia wants something from you, but it's more like how can we continue to support each other and continue to grow together in this community. So with the mentoring, I'm curious, what do you see happen maybe?

Shanon Tysland (15:15.498)
emotionally, academically, even physically, when a girl doesn't have a positive role model in their life. When someone doesn't have a positive role model, you can see them, you can see it physically. You can see like those shoulders are slumped, the eyes are peering down, they're definitely not engaging with you. And sometimes it can even look like a bad day, but you can just continue to tell they feel defeated, they feel deflated. And then the flip side is that when they do have a mentor, and when they come to Project Girl,

they come in knowing that they're gonna see their person. They're coming knowing that they're gonna have someone that's gonna lift them up. And it might be with words or it might be like we do with a snack or it might even be like telling about their sense of work with high school girls and middle school girls of sharing their story, what happened at their school, their highs and lows, but they know they're gonna have someone actively engaging, who's gonna stop what they're doing. And the one big thing that I've always noticed is that when adults stop what they're doing to listen to teens and kids, it's like all of a sudden a flip.

just goes off and is like, this adult is stopping and checking in with me and saying, hey, tell me what's happening in school. And tell me what's happening in at home or whatever. what new things you're into. So that allows that relationship to build and that allows that trust to build. And then it's also two-fold. It's happening is that they're building the trust with you, but they're also building the trust with other adults. And hopefully it rolls off to school. And so what I...

One thing I also say that's a ripple effect. Mentoring just don't happen at Project Girl, but it happens when we're talking about maybe parents and how to have hard conversations with them and how to have hard conversations with them. It goes into maybe my parents is dealing with a lot of stress. Maybe as a kid, I see it differently. So like it rolls into the family, then it might rolls into the school and it might rolls into them doing other activities. Absolutely. And I think when we're looking at just the system, if we call this systems of

You mentioned school, a school system. How much time do teachers have to go that layer deeper of what's happening behind the scenes? Why are they coming in with a D or why are they showing up late to school or while they're falling asleep in class? Like the system, if it fails in schools or whether families are under stress or it's unstable community, tough. And I'm curious, like what role does a consistent mentor play for these youth? Consistent.

Shanon Tysland (17:35.726)
Mentor is like a lifeline. Like I've seen girls who've been in our program for so long where we became their lifeline, we became their spot. We recently just helped a mentee get a job. And I think for me, when I was their age, I was going through a lot in my own family. And I personally believe if I had that space where I can come after school and not experience some of the things I had to experience.

My life could have been completely different around that time, but it was more like I needed something and that's what the mentees here. Like they need something. We can serve that need and then we can support them along the way. And sometimes that need is just a person to smile at them. Somewhere where they can do their homework. A place where they can get another hot meal, a dinner.

someone to do learn a new coping skill. One thing that we also do a lot here is like learning the need of fidgets of like how fidgets is something that it might look like toys, but fidgets are so important for the mind and that newer plasticity to help like slow the mind down. I have a fidget right now that just something on my hand that I can just help, but I didn't learn that until I started really doing this mentoring work where I knew that I needed a fidget just to slow my brain to have in my hand, center me down. But that is a coping skill really. That is a great example.

like just a little life strategy to center, to ground that isn't going to show up anywhere else. And I'm curious when you're looking at the folks that you're mentoring, what are some of the invisible costs when mentorship isn't there? Things the rest of us, maybe from the outside, don't see because it's under the surface. Invisible costs is that the lack of self-worth. You can't see that.

when someone's walking around, because I think we all do great job of masking our feelings sometimes, or having to put that mask on. Even when someone asks like, hey, are you good? And we just like, I'm good. But we just say that without really going in depth. Another.

Shanon Tysland (19:26.638)
physical costs that people don't see. We don't want to see the pain that people are walking around in. It could be something they experienced the night before. It could be something that somebody said to them, something that they've been carrying with them for a couple of years. We don't really see that. Another thing is that I would say we don't see the thoughts. We don't hear the thoughts that's in their head. Something I read this morning about we have to take every thought captive. And those thoughts that are silent, those are the ones that working with kids and youth that we are trying to, while they won't share those thoughts.

We're trying to go against those thoughts. And so there's some of the things that are unseen. We have to take every thought captive. Yes, we got to take every thought captive. Say more on that. And so what that means is that we got to stop the thoughts before they say something to us negatively. So some thoughts that might be out there is, I'm not good enough. He's like, nope, that's not true. I am good enough. I have friends who care about me. I care about myself.

Another thought that teens and women have is, I'm not pretty enough. Nope, that's not true. I don't have to go into these different standards of pretty. I am pretty in my own well-being. Let's see, let's see another one. I'm not smart enough. No, that's not true. I am smart. I just learn differently. I need other tools to help me process things. And those are some things that those thoughts, those three thoughts, I think that majority of people always have, throw in their life, and we constantly pull that, and then we say it.

but we really have to just stop it and say that no, that's not true. Another thing I was listening to from Dr. Anita Phillips is you have to say, nope, be quiet. That is not true. That thought is done. You're not going to think that. And you're not going to think that to yourself. So when you talk to yourself like that, you really stop that thought in the process. hold on. We're doing something different here. And so having that mind and body connection is all together. I love that. And when you think of thoughts, like no one really knows where thoughts come from.

They just pop into our brain. was reading a research article on thoughts recently and they said the average human has between 6,000 and 60,000 thoughts a day, of which 90 % are repetitive. I have the same thought today as I'm gonna have tomorrow as the next day. And of those, 80 % are negative. So to your point of I'm not smart enough, I'm not pretty enough, I'm not blank enough, that just...

Shanon Tysland (21:41.602)
continues to show up. I'm curious in those instances with being a mentor, do you see the shift in the thought or catching the thoughts, like taking the thought captive and being like, that's not true. What is, what, how do you see that unfold? You do see the, you do see the thought, but it's very hard because it's a intrusive thought. It's a not, you could see the thought happening in their head, but usually we're only here Monday through Thursday, usually from two to six. So when they get home,

those same thoughts might just creep up in their head. So that's why you have to do the constant tools where you're reciting. So I am this, I am that. I am great, I am bold, I am smart. And you really have to retrain and process, retrain.

the mind to think positive stuff. As an adult right now, it's 42, I constantly do the same things. I retrain my mind to say, hey, nope, that's not that thought. You are a good leader. You are a good person. You are an amazing businesswoman. You are. And those thoughts, they just keep coming back. And I just think, I think that's something that I think as humans, we're always gonna deal with those thoughts. But as humans, we also can say, hey, we can have control over.

do something different. We can't let this thought take us down this tongue. Absolutely. And when you, Olympia, kind of look back, you mentioned going back to your mentor at the time, Miss Kelly Warren, and that was an organic relationship. It just kind of happened. What was the one or two principles or more that you still carry with you today, 20 some years later, of her mentorship? Writing thank you note was one. She is a wonderful writer and she was a very big advocate of someone.

does something for you, you write a thank you note, a handwritten thank you note. Or today, that was a couple years ago, you could send a quick text back and forth, something where you acknowledge them and do something for yourself, but also you might lift somebody up. And her one thing that she does, and she probably don't know it unless she's listening, is that her love for community and giving back.

Shanon Tysland (23:42.446)
has given back so many students. I don't know if you ever watched the movie Mr. Holland's Opus. I have not. It's a movie about a music director in a high school. And he wanted to have a career about doing, like, being in this great band, but he ended up working at a high school. And the first couple of years is kind of rough, but then he stayed there for over duration of 20 years, and he realized all the lives of students that he's touched.

And then after he was about to retire, all the students came back and he saw all these students over past 20 years from all over the whole state. Some of them were lawyers and judges, but he had that influence and they all came back to him. So I think of Miss Kelly like that. She's worked with students, I would say, mostly all her career. And so she's probably have 20,000 students that have some type of connection, some type of leadership that she supported along the way. And throughout her whole career,

Like my hope one day is that we get a chance to go back and show her like, hey, because you took your time out for one hour and you was leading us in student leadership, we did this. And even like for me, that's the same way I think. I think about all the student lives that I've connected with, all the students who I've touched, all the young women who I maybe said good morning to, hello sunshine, like how are you? I think about that big variety of.

helping 20,000 young women, especially young women of color, say, wow, somebody was there for me. Somebody connected with me. And I love the fact that even mentors I first mentored when they were 15, now they're like 26, 27. I get to hear those. And then that is a continued feeling of, I am creating my own Miss Kelly girls. And I'm also creating my own Mr. Holland opus of like story of the power of young people and power of students and how.

great and supportive that is. Thank you for sharing that. That's beautiful. think we don't, many times we sleepwalk through the impact that we can have. You just naming that her love, Kelly's love for the community had this resonant impact on your life and how you lead and now the trickle effect, the butterfly effect of that affecting all of the young women that you're mentoring is amazing. And I think for me personally, when I think about mentors, I've never formally

Shanon Tysland (25:50.638)
similar to you said, hey, would you be a mentor for me? But I think I've always been drawn to people who they have that spark on the inside of them. And wow, I wanna be a better person. I wanna be more like them in this capacity. And even in business, I remember before starting Experience Momentum, researching.

who's a successful business person out there that I wanna emulate myself. And I remember reaching out, giving calls to people I didn't know and being like, hey, would you mind if I sat down and just picked your brain? a couple of people said yes specifically. And I remember asking, if you were to start over, what would you do different? And they were so generous in sharing their mistakes, their playbooks, and that quiet generosity just kind of shaped everything. And then on the flip side, there are mentors that I have.

You and I were just talking about a book before we started this podcast from Brene Brown that is sitting here. And I think people like Brene Brown or other authors like Jim Collins, Yvonne Chouinard, Michelle Obama, the Dalai Lama, I've read their books and I've felt mentored in their courage, in their leadership, in service and purpose. So even though I didn't have a formal mentor program, I've been held up by this invisible web of guides.

And I just love that. And what strikes me though is that adults often, we have the freedom and the resources and the agency to go find those mentors. And sometimes our kids don't and they need someone to come find them and say, I'm here, you're not alone. And when you hear that, how does that land with the girls you work with? When I hear that it lands, it lets me know that we and the team, we continue, you have to be out.

Like, so one part of our, two parts of our program is that we actually go into the schools and our schools are wonderful, but sometimes like that it's still something missing. So we go into the lunch room, we doing activities with them. They get to see beautiful black and brown adult women leaders who may not be in their schools, actually playing games with them and then maybe like mentoring them and sharing them coping skills. And I think that's one part of it's like you have to be.

Shanon Tysland (28:05.462)
Like even that you may not have access to it, especially for youth, they can still see us. They'll still see the name. They'll still make that connection. And they know that there's somebody out there. I don't know who they are, but they're making me smile right now and I could have just failed my test. So that right there is like, made me just do that. So I think that's a big thing of making sure that they can see us and see us outside of.

what it might look like. So I'm not your typical CEO, I would say that. I'm not the CEO that sits behind a desk all the time and writes these amazing reports. I am the CEO that's gonna be out there mentoring girls. You might see me dancing with them in the street, especially if you've been to some of our Juneteenth events. You might see me out there maybe sitting down, even mentoring students right now in math, or even I had an opportunity last Tuesday to go to the schools and connect with them. You might even see me like with my staff.

I might be the CEO that's gonna sit there and ask them like, what's going on with your finances? Why are you not able to save and really sit down there and support them that way? And that is what I feel that mentor is. It's like all of that in cabs and one for them to see while I'm a CEO that has, I'm a mother, I have.

Two kids, I have a husband, I try to work out, I try to eat healthy, I try to get all this stuff together, I try to get my own wellness together. I am flawed, I make a lot of flaws, I'm not perfect, I have a lot of stuff going on, family stuff, world stuff, car trouble, just like anybody else, but that's what makes me real.

That's so well said. And I think what I'm hearing is like, you're just leading by everyday life examples. There's no pretense or putting on this facade of, I've got it all together. Life still life's us. And this is how I respond when life life's us. As a saying of streets, life is life. Exactly. Yes. With that said, I'm sure you put some intentional structure into your mentorship program inside.

Shanon Tysland (30:02.35)
Project Girl, can you walk us through what that structure is? for our listeners out there wondering, gosh, what exactly is a Project Girl mentorship program look like? Can you talk us through? Yes. So in our school-based programs, we are curriculum-based programs. So we operate using certified curriculum that's been proven by counselors in school, different programs where we make it and we tailor it to.

the youth that we have working with. A lot of the schools that we connect with right now are like Title IV schools, so very dense population, low economic, lot of different support staff in the school. So we try to come in and help the schools with them. For our listeners, can you share what a Title IV school is? So a Title IV school has a very high poverty line, high stricken families, maybe low income, might be a lot of just a lot of needs that are needed in the school. So we work with them.

And we really, it might just be us doing a game, learning a coping skill, connecting with them. But we do it in the way of a Project Girl style, so it's quite energetic.

And then we roll into our after school program where between two and six we're doing tutoring, we're doing mentor topics, so we're talking about hard stuff. It might be a game or some type of social-emotional learning skill that's involved in that. And then we are eating dinner together. We're all sitting at the table together sharing something. So some nights we make pazole. Some days it's a quesadilla. Some days it's a chicken nugget. We're doing something together. And then we also roll into our summer.

our programs for summertime, where for about seven or eight weeks, depends on the school schedule. From 10 to six, mentees are with us. And we are, if it's nice outside, we're outside traveling. In Linwood, we just got the new Link train. So this year we were hopping on the train and teaching them how to ride the bus and connecting them with Seattle and Edmonds and doing a whole bunch of stuff. yeah. Wonderful. And the name, I love the name Project Girl. It feels intentional.

Shanon Tysland (32:01.294)
almost like a declaration. Why that name? What does Project Girl mean to you? So when I first was coming up with the name, I was sitting there and I was probably doing one of my crafts and my mom was, I called my mom and she was like, what are you doing? I was like, nothing, I'm just doing a project. And she was like, you always have a project going on, girl. And then I was like, oh, that's it. It literally snapped that fast. And I was like, project, girl, mentoring program. And that was it. And then from there it's like, it's the project girl, project.

And to me, Project Girl Mentoring Program means you're not perfect, you're a work in progress. Like so many crafters that will know that you never really finish a craft. You might just set it aside and you'll come back to it. And I think that's what growing up as a young woman means. Like you're never finished. You might just be working on one part of you and your teens. You might just set that aside and then you got to grow to your 20s.

really maybe just all adulthood or just life in general, but like you go through these stages. So you're never really finished. You're never really done. You're always continue working progress. And that is where the connection came from Project Girl to. That's an awesome story. Your mom's got to be proud. I was a part of that, right? She still claims that she owns Project Girl from this day. And I love it. So when a girl walks through your doors, what's usually their first project?

Is it something around confidence, self-belief, feeling safe in their body, something else? We actually, when they walk through the first door, we actually have a first project. Maybe the first project for me mentally is for them to feel a little at ease, to maybe let their shoulders down a little bit. Sometimes it's weird coming to a space they may not know of. So it's just get a snack, grab your Capri Sun or a chip or something like that, and just come to the table and just kind of breathe a little bit. Just see that this space is created for you.

This space is yours. You are welcome here. You are seen here. And so then as they start coming at their shell, it's, okay, now let's meet some new friends. Let's get you to know who's around you. And then depending on what our thing that we're doing for the day, it depends, like we might do yoga or if we do like a mentoring activity type thing, it's, wow, okay, come on, be a part of this crew. Like we want you here. And usually that's what it like. It's always like us getting them to relax a little bit.

Shanon Tysland (34:18.414)
them to see this is their space and then working with them. And will you remind us what are the age ranges for the girls that you're working with? We work with 11 through 18. Sometimes that might be fifth grade all the way to 12th grade. And are they split into different pods or sections or is it all one big cohort?

It depends on what the program is. We have six different programs. And so our school-based programs, they're still split off in their grades. And when they actually come to our after-school program and our summer camps, they are together. But then one part of our program that a lot of people don't really get a chance to see is that we do a diversion program, where we work with girls who maybe have been arrested for small and misdemeanor crimes. So we work with them one-on-one. So they're split off. And then we also have mentees that might need a little bit more counseling, a little bit more diversion.

And those are one-on-one, too. I'm curious, within the Project Girl Mentoring Program, do some of the older teenagers actually end up being mentors to the younger girls in Yes. part of our component of our program is that once you be here for a little bit, maybe like a year or two, you get to transition to a peer mentor. And so the peer mentors have that, almost that, a little bit more leadership, a little bit more responsibility. They help out a little bit more. They kind of get that sense of leadership.

And then they also get a sense of maybe this is my first job. And so we help them, like maybe we do a little bit more that one-on-one type mentoring with them. And then one of our two of our mentors, our peer mentors have then came to actually work for Project Girl and they were able to then actually get a paycheck from Project Girl. So like right now we have one mentee that started. She's mentee, the peer mentor, and now she's been working for us for almost two years now. So having that full transition. That.

It is so powerful. Just to have a girl come in and see the full cycle and now they're working for Project Girl, how cool is that? Yeah, so that's really cool to see that transition, to see that growth, especially for me, to see an idea that I had when I was 15, see how it's now reaching another generation of women supporting their lives, supporting their career goals, being able to see women grow up from maybe 16 when I met them to now like 22.

Shanon Tysland (36:35.406)
26 is seeing that those ripple effects of what community looks like and then even seeing what it looks like when I had an idea of how I'm supporting people. That is just so fun to visualize that whole concept and I know that this hasn't been an easy journey. Founded Project Girl in 2012 and if we just think about the world and what's happened since 2012, a lot has changed and you've kept it going through funding hurdles, COVID.

shifting tides around equity and inclusion. How have you, Olympia, stayed grounded through all of that? Man, it's really hard to stay grounded sometimes. But one thing I have gotten into recently is I am in my workout girl era. As I say, I've been getting into my Zumba. So I started doing Zumba again this year. And I love it so much, I decided to become a Zumba instructor. So I'm enjoying that. And I'm...

recently got back into Pilates, so I'm doing my Pilates. So that right there is allowing me to slow down and connect and like really do that mind-body thing that I always talk about a little bit, but really just having that me time. So I'm like filling back my cup. And then recently I'm actually going to go on a wellness retreat next week to go just unplug some more for a couple of days. so like how do I like all this stuff that's happening in our world, in our community, a lot of stuff I have no control over. And one of those

It's like cliche, but only you really have control over yourself. And so that's one thing that I'm working back on is like, I support mentees and I support other people, but what I have control is Olympia and what Olympia needs to do is maybe get back into their crafts. Maybe it's coloring, maybe it's Pilates, but that right there fills me up. Your projects, you're doing your own projects. You're doing your project to Zumba. I love that. Had you ever done Zumba previously? I used to do Zumba like in 2006 and then I stopped. And then recently this year,

I got back into it and then all those songs came back to me that I fell in love with in 2006. And then I was like, wow, I can be a Zoom instructor. And with the support of the one that we have here, she was like, just do it. And so I did it, I got a certification and it was eight hours of dancing, but learning all these different styles. But then I was like, wow, this fills my cup. This is a new project, but it makes me happy to learn more reggae and do different types of reggae ton.

Shanon Tysland (38:54.37)
that mind balance thing, but it's like, makes me happy. So it is another project. yeah. Fantastic. And there's so much coming at the world. And I think specifically in this moment in time for nonprofits, when funding is, we don't know the federal funding, if it's going to happen for nonprofits. And when we look at equity and inclusion and mentoring programs, maybe they're being cut or stressed. What do we risk losing? Not in theory.

but in real kids' lives? That's a good question. In real kids' lives, I think we're gonna might see exactly what happened in COVID, where we saw a very stark and very fast decline of kids feeling connected if youth programs are not supported in things that are maybe not what people might see as valuable is not supported. We're gonna see the isolation in kids. We're gonna see the self-harm.

and kids, we're gonna see just a loss of sense of community for our community. Project Girl is just one aspect of our community, but we also serve parents, we also serve teens who've had kids and that's trying to figure out their own life. So it's so many different things I think that people don't look at. They might see Project Girl as, it's just a spot where girls get to come.

But if you really actually do a case study on what's happening, there is so many different lives that's being affected. Absolutely. And when you're seeing that, you've worked with over 1,000 girls over the years, that's 1,000 journeys. And maybe the girls aren't aware of what would happen if Project Girl didn't exist. They're in it. when I think of Project Girl, there's probably some, there's a story going on in their lives. And there's the

before they came to Project Girl, there's the, I'm now in Project Girl, and maybe there's a turning point. Maybe something has happened, whether it was a conversation, a program, a tough moment, something that clicked with them, like that turning point, and then you can't unknow what you know, and now the eyes are open, and there's a different way of being, and that creates a ripple in a girl's lives. I'm wondering if you can share.

Shanon Tysland (41:04.658)
a transformational story using that arc, like before Project Girl. And then they're in Project Girl and something happened, this turning point. And they're still in the program, but now there's a different way of being. And now maybe they're a year, two, three, five years later, and you still see that ripple happening. I would actually share one of our recent social media posts actually that we just posted. We had a mentee that came to us through

through schools and connecting. And she came through life stuff, single parent, trying to handle all the things of working and going to school and all the other stuff. And her parent was a woman that was just trying to navigate everything. And she just said, I need help with my daughter. So through...

Her coming to Project Girl, I think maybe like the ninth grade, she was just like, I don't want to be here. I don't want to be in this spot. And then we're like, OK, just give it a chance. And so then her coming, it was like she gave it a chance. And now, like through the years of connecting and then her meeting her mentors and seeing her crew and then building that relationship up, finding herself, talking about coping skills and building up from there, she now is graduating in high school. And she's graduating her.

high school with her CNA license. And then that's just another opportunity for her to unlock her possibilities. So we're talking about ripple effects. Sometimes you don't see the end of the ripple effects, but the ripple effect might just be like you connecting with someone at a mentoring program and it's, okay, wow, here I go. And then you start, you're starting like, want to, need to change. Maybe I met a doctor.

Maybe I met a nutritionist somewhere, something that they took me to, and then all of sudden, I really like this. Maybe I wanna go to school for that. Now I am going back and now I'm in school. So the ripple effects can be so big and you don't really see them happening. And sometimes like...

Shanon Tysland (42:53.664)
It's not my job personally to give them all the tools. It's just my job to spark that one little niche. Like, I hope that girls that we took to your spot, they saw a nutritionist, they saw cupping, they saw a physical therapist, they saw a workout, they saw a CEO. So maybe that sparks something in them that we might not even see until they're 10 years outside of Project GRIL. And that's what...

the risk that we end up losing if we don't get like support and things are not there. And then the risk that if we don't put it out there and continue to share that. That resonates so much. And what I'm hearing is you're describing isn't just mentorship. It's really, it's transformation through belonging. Like maybe they see they belong in a different setting that they didn't see before. Like the material, you have the raw material in Project Girl and then you help them see it.

Name it and live it. That's so powerful. I'm curious, Olympia, the future. Looking ahead, where's Project Girl going? What are some obstacles you're up against? what's next for the organization? Yeah. What's up for Project Girl is that us continue to grow and continue to navigate. We all go through storms. And right now, we're going through a funding storm. And the nonprofit landscape is a lot of things happening that are under our control.

but we're still, we're gonna weather a storm. We're still gonna show it for youth. There's, we are gonna have to scale back some things, cut some programs out, but really continue to support and show up for youth the best way we can. One thing that I always say, we're still gonna, like I said, we're still gonna be youth oriented. We're still gonna show up where they are, and we're still gonna come out there caring for them, supporting them, and being, and helping them be seen. On the fun side, we have our 5K that's coming up in April, April 25th. We're gonna go out there and take up space.

with our mentees and we still have some fun things planned for 2026. We're right around the corner. Fantastic. And I think looking where you're going, if you were sitting down 10 years from now, what would you hope has changed for the girls who come through your doors and for this community? Wow, that's a good question. 10 years from now, I will hope that young women of color are still not looking, are still not asking to be seen or asking to be first.

Shanon Tysland (45:11.854)
I really hope that we get a chance to be at the table and really to help build that table. Ten years from now, I hope that, I know that hopefully funding will change and that communities will see people of color as value and understanding that we need, everyone is needed.

to be love supported in all different avenues. That's so beautiful. And I think when you say that, I do a little internal reflection on my part and what is my part as someone who has privilege as a white male in all of this process. And I just want to preface like our listeners, Olympia and her team are amazing and they are powerful women of color creating change that

is so needed in our community. And when I go to visit Olympia, always, I, feel seen, I feel heard, I feel valued when I walk through your doors. And I'm curious, what advice do you have for me as someone who's showing up and wants to be your biggest cheerleader and support Project Girl on your journey? I would say continue to do so. We all know what it feels like.

when someone is not there or you have that icky feeling about whatever has happened. So continue to lean in to what you feel and maybe it's support more, support with your time, support with your talent, support like whatever you need to do. And this is not just towards you directly, but this is everybody like support more and not just Project Girl, as programs, youth programs, girl gender based programs, boys programs like.

It's like, all of this is needed. And I know that in our time, there's always stuff going on, but it's so much like we all need, we all need to survive. We all have to get out of this. And not just this us today, this of 10 years ago, this of 10 years from now, this 20 years from now. We want each and every person to survive. We want each and every person to feel loved.

Shanon Tysland (47:16.418)
We want each and every person to feel like they have a sense of something that's holding them here on this earth so that they feel connected. Thank you for sharing that. think that's an inspiring vision and a reminder that real change, it starts in relationships and then it ripples outwards. And the more we talk about it and bring that change, our systems can change. Thank you for that Olympia. All right. Can we do a lightning round? Six quick questions. Just say what comes to mind first.

Yep, I'm ready. do it. OK, what is one book or quote that has shaped you, Olympia, deeply? Recently, something that Oprah just said, when she said, I might walk in a room by myself, but I am walking with 10,000 other women behind me. Powerful. Thank you. What is a song that lifts your spirit or reconnects you to your purpose? India .Arie I am not my hair. I am not this scared. I am living so.

That lives within. I like that. And just for our listeners, I got to share this Olympia, we are close. And a while back I was drove in behind Olympia and I was sitting at a stoplight and she's just like bopping to the music, whatever you had going on there. It was awesome. And I could just see your hair going and your body moving. I'm like, you were getting after it. So I love that. Olympia, what is the lesson your mentees have taught you? You.

about mentorship or leadership. They taught me to laugh, to laugh about everything because it makes you feel good. Laughter is such a powerful medicine. We all need more of that. Yeah. And when you need to recharge, how do you care for yourself? I get into a body of water. So either I go to the spa or I take a bath or I jump in the swimming class or something. So good. One woman in history you'd spend a day with and why?

There were so many, but I would probably love to spend time with Michelle Obama, because I just, I like the essence that she brings. And maybe Whoopi Goldberg, because I like that she had to overcome so much to be this image of woman that we see right now, that when we talk about ripple effects and things that didn't happen, she was the first of so many, and then so many people saw her as ugly, and she had to stop those thoughts. Yeah. In Olympia.

Shanon Tysland (49:37.708)
My favorite question, what does redefine what's possible mean to you? It means that there's not a particular box that you can put yourself. You can always continue to re-see yourself wherever you want it to be, whatever you might need. So like right now, like when we talk about Zumba, I didn't think I could be a Zumba coach, a Zumba instructor, but now I see myself as a Zumba instructor.

So I'm redefining what it might look like to be the ideal body type of Zoom restructor. So sometimes it's just that. Fantastic. And for everyone listening who leads a team, a classroom, or a household and maybe feels a tug right now after this conversation, Olympia, what's one practice from Project Girl our listeners can implement this week to create?

more connection or belong. Create more connection belonging with yourself first is that think of your body and it's called body mapping and think about what pain you might feel in your body. So if it's your knees, think about the color that it might bring to you and then put that color in your head. So if my knees are hurting, I'm thinking the color red or if my heart is hurting, maybe I'm thinking the color blue. And then try to see that and do a body scan and see what do I need to do for that.

That might be something that can help you go to the next level. It's like, maybe I need to get up. Like, life is hard, and we're nowhere in that season where it's really dark outside sometimes. So do that body scan, and then surround yourself with color. If you see my office, it's yellow for a reason, because yellow brings happiness. It's orange because orange brings joy. And so that is what I surround myself with. So maybe that's something that you could do for your own self and your own life. It could be coloring.

If you can't, if you don't have access to change your whole area, you can get some crayons, simple color something color sun, put it somewhere you can see it so that you can continue to uplift yourself. Body mapping. Body mapping. And the coloring I love. I have a five year old and seven year old at home. They love to color. And as an adult, it gives me permission to pick up a crayon and just go to town. And I'm not kidding. It just gets you present. It gets you present to the moment. And I'm like, I just love this. And time just evaporates.

Shanon Tysland (51:52.258)
And if I didn't have a five-year-old and a seven-year-old, I wouldn't do that. And so for all of you that don't have kids, just go get a coloring book and some crayons. It brings you joy. It's the craziest thing. So many great adult coloring books out there that I definitely got back into coloring as another project that I put aside. But every time I color, my two kids, they really be scooting, trying to get their markers out. And we'd just be coloring for hours, maybe watching TV. But it's one of those, another one of those things. It's like you're healing that inner child.

You're connecting with yourself and there's nothing wrong with adults coloring. Yeah. And in just this context of mentorship, if you're listening, I would love for you to think of one person in your life, one young person. Call them, write them a note, tell them one thing in them. That might be the sentence they remember 10 years from now. It doesn't need to be a big thing, but just letting them know that they're seen.

is so valuable. That's what I'm taking away from this Olympia. Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Olympia, I can't thank you enough for joining me and for the work you're doing to redefine what's possible for young women in our community. For the listeners who want to support Project Girl Mentoring or get involved, Olympia, what is the best way for people to connect with you? The best way is on our website at project-girl.org. If you want to see what we're doing day to day, you can find us on Facebook and Instagram.

Project Girl Mentor, and if you want to see me dancing, you can probably find us on TikTok and Instagram Reels, and you might see me do a little ditty with the girls. Love that. Thank you so much, Olympia. We're going to link everything in the show notes. And if this conversation resonated with you, share it with one person who cares about the next generation. And if you're willing, leave a review on this podcast. It helps get more people to find the show and hear the stories that we're trying to share and highlight.

And until next time, keep redefining what's possible and have a great day, y'all.