aX Michelle Mester © Mon, Dee 10, 12:54 PM (9daye ago) Yr. ‘Aloha Alina ‘Tnope this email answers your questions. 1 admitecly was a ite unorganized answering and took a couple days to answer... Please lat me know it ‘need to clarify anything for you. Lalso Included few documents that you can use for Information. you can also cheek out our website or the International website for more GOTR info! Best of luck with your presentation! 41.When did you start working for Girls on the Run? "became the Counsl Director tr GOTR Hawal Tis eummor. But my tet oxpornco win GOTR wasn 2012 n San Francisco. | was a bucdy runner for my fence daughter. (A Bury Runner isa carenunty member (or a pare) that rans tne Calebraton 5K wth a GOTR gi and encourages them ard helps to Resp them sale a the way othe frist line. Last Sing Seascn | started QOTA teem at Millan Waene Elereniary and had grea ime. When the opportunity ‘become Involvod at tno admntatvo lovel ononad up ris yoar (our prevous counel acct was laving to ho mamland win hor far), a test dn tn | ould do but hen I remamsered tit a SOTA Gil CAN! And jst Hk that Iwas ed! 2. Prior to your currant positon at Girle on the Run, were you Involved In any othor organizations which deal wth women empowerment? What aro they? ‘See above, aso was invlved as the president of my women laxosse cub at my unversiy_Atthe time tha stared playing forthe cub, we weve brand rew. At ‘atime, the men’s cio had unversy suppor wit very ite stuggle Bu for women, thane, we Rad ic rely do alto gt the same Suncor because We wore 2 women's eam. {3 Why did you choose to work with this particular organization or any others that you are involved with? Funry stor... Was never realy a runner. Infact, ‘25 aki, | was vary insecure arcund ihe gis Val were anletes In mi School. | nave ie’ out fot any o! my schoo teams Decause I was convinced hat | would not ‘make the team anyuray. it wasnt uni | was an ad that I sarted to run and read tnt I cou rn races and not be competing wih anyone ese, Overtime | ‘began to love running end he camaraderie thal getting involved in unning clubs provided. Wen | ‘st earned about GOT, te nor-compeliive message {esonated wih me, cant nelp Da wonder now my Ife may nave Deen velyaiferent trad a program ike GOTR. Iknow tat the gis tal are involved in GOTR have more confidence and less fear than ever cia thet age, ithe sorng, Iwas running the Hbscus Half Marathon and was passing @ gf, rurng wth her dat, ‘hat was stugging to say motveted. He saicto her, Wat does your GOTR coach say?" Ard sad"Getit Gur" Then next mie or 0 leauldht sop thinking ‘about at gt and nor dag. How cho was sitagging but iho Notde of Por GOTH coach ho cone of etexng 0 and tnshing, even f you cant un, wore MokpIng het fish! Al the next water sttlon, | pled out my phone ard emailed the Counel Director to see f they had found her replacement. They hain macie& decision but he tme to anply was clcsed. Atthe thigh ine |actualy saw the crecir and spoke to het, she told me to sand my resume, just n case. Idi. They ‘accepted as gavo mo an nero and a day r wo ler | nad a ooract to Be tne new ceca. 1 know that my bale and passion for! program is wnat Got me the postion. Andtha belet and oassion fr the crcoram fuels mv ally work! 4, What does Girle on the Run do epecitically to empower gila? GOTR folone a 70 wook curroulum that Wol rasaaroned and doveloped especialy with tho development, both emctional and phyScal,o the gs inthis particular age group. Tne curriculum covers a wie array of topics including making good ard healthy (holes, standing up for themselves and oihers ard in ganeral dong the right hing. Each of tne lassons is woven int he warring for our SK celebration. Vary of tho gr nave novor participated ina & and cant imagine at ho boginning of tho ccason that thoy could actually completo one. The boct partis that we cont ‘encourage @ competitive envronment, the gis are eicouraged io fist at ther pace, cunning, walking, skipsing..even dancing across the fnis ne s perfectly ‘2cceplabla. By tne oalebraton day, they ae a6 excite for Memselvas as ay are Tor al of ie gis on tna eam and on ta othe ears 00! ‘5. When working withthe young gils who participate in Gris on the Run and trying to buld thelr self esteem, what insecurities have you noticed they ‘normally nave? Our program involves gis trom ara grade through ain grado. Most of tho git havo vory typical Ineocurtioe for that ago Group. Thera aro ‘ressures tobe Iked and eccepted by the other Kids in thelr school nd through our curiculum based arograming they aze given unigue coportunites to talk about {hase insecusies with te gris on thelr team wth be haip cf an ect that isnt a aacher oF perant bul a coach (im Ao sure wh bu! coaches have a sparal place ‘most kids vee thoy tond to bo uniquely authonty figures and finde a! the came ‘ime). Tho GOTR toam isa safe, norjudgmon.l placo whore tho ges ae ablo to learn and grow! 6.1n your opinion, why is it important to bulld gis’ self esteem? Mors than just se estaem, girls need to know that they are capable to do wha! they are passionate about ard not o be alr’ of rejection or juigement Mary times socie'y olay a role in making gis fe! infer especialy with socal macia these ‘ays. everyone posts tne best pic, melt best Lmes andi appears they dont nave a single stuggle, rat sets up an unrealcte eal and can lead to tals sence of everyone alse i killng tat ie but me!" Qur program not only helss bull heir sa esteem but eos them to build commarity in which they learn to encourage ‘one anotrer and become sttangerfogaiher al whatever iis ey are passionate about. Thly, GOTA Is 2 Jumping of pot forthe Turel 7. Some ofthe boys in my cless were (gnorantly) ‘astonished’ when they heard there was no organization celled ‘Boys on the Run’. Why, in your ‘pinion, ae thelr no male empowerment organizations? | nik there afe a's of opportu fr bays tobe InyoNed in emonwetmentorganizacons, tke Boy ‘Scouts, fr example. | wes surprised to lear tis year tha! thee is group thats very much ike GOTR and scaled Hero Boys. Although we are not aflated, they de have a tam here in Kanal his year ac they paticpated in our ‘al 5K Celebration! You can check them out athe ink and reed whal they publsied on at weDste Too: hnupeiwmuuiersbeye.org/ "HERO Rays ca youth developmen: and engagement program for boys in 3rd Sh grades, Using running as abese activity HERO Boys inspires boys to discover te character and courage tha resides inside each one of them o be brave ta for that whic is right. and use their talents and strengths 10 lead ard sat the postive example amongst their peer.” £8. What, specifically, o you do for Giris on the Run? What isa ‘normal day’ at your Job lke? ost of what I do as he Council Ditectr is aciinistatve, eoping up he websta, ordering supplies, working dacely wih our bosre,. et. | dort really navo a rormaY" day but Were are lie of tase tat | no9d © completo ‘regula, answering emails and checking in with coaches, for example. Alargs amount of my tmeis spent promoting the program to folks thai havent heard ebout (GOTR. Spreacing ne GOTR massage ‘vary importary, espacaly here in Hawal because we are very new io thelsiands. | also wai the coaches in the ‘curiculum are supeent tem tougnout te sbason.‘8, What is something you have learned from your time working for Giris on the Run? l2amn alot everyday! This is @ new position for me and | havent been in the work wort in many years because of my milliery commitments (lama family member and we move al). [rely on my GOTR core values often 10 hela guide ime (ll attach those for you) and whenever | fet ike cant do it | am reminded that GOTR git's CAN! 40. n your opinion, should some of the activities taught to gitts through your organization be taught elsewhere, ike In schools? Why or why not? | would love to see more scioo's adopt programs thet cromote gi empowerment and accouniatily. | have seen similar pograms working inte schoo's, especialy al the ‘elementary level but many mes in middle school those programs beg io fll away due to other academic requirements, In my ophion, kids can not hear the messages we teach often enough. even we acuits need o know we can doi! ‘11, What is your greatest achievement? (This does not have to solely pertain to your position at GOTR,) Within the organization, |The io make small goals ‘and reach them often. We had a di in partcipation the Fall because of cur transition admiistratvely.. my goal curently & 9 Grow ths program tnice ts ze In the next 5 year, For now, lam working oat least have as mary gifs as we had last spring co that we can recover fiom ou low numbers lat yew... say tuned, | believe we are on track! 412 What isthe best thing about working for Girls on the Run and why? What isthe most difficult? I LOVE watching the gis at precios... their interactions ith gts they might not heve become fiends with outside cf GOTR is so cool! They ere so encouraging of ane another and practice being non judgmertal, that Practice leads to 50 much more than the SK! I dont get to spend much tme with te cil asthe drecicrcn a daly bass but do have "Pracice Visis" that get to do ‘once per team per season and thats the highight of my drecior job. The most dificult has been learning ll the new computer programs that | need io use to keep the adminisrative side up and running... nest, | focus on the good stuf and that makes the more dificult completely wort it 18. What would you like to say to al the gis inthe sloaaroom who will be hearing my presentation? Do not kt anyone (teacher, parents, rer) tl you het you are not capcle of..you know yourself beter than anyone. Ifyou wart take potery class and become armas pty, go fort. Ilyou wantto Boome a docor and eure disease, go get itr! You can abecutly do anything that you are passionate about, even if you rend tink is dum, your parents ‘can nlp or cmoone tel you ts 106 Sfeult. You cen do tare you naad to help one another, one anther! Diane Agor Sun, Deo 16, 17:21 AM (3 cays 990) fe = tome ~ HiAlna, ‘Soo my rosponsos bolow. ‘On Mon, Dec 10, 2048 at 3:57 PM Alina Morton wrote: aun! Tank again for arog tea pat of my sone esearch prot on gander naq.aly rly appre. Blow ao re quaeons: [avenue eves Reg nse whos men eu 28 oe ops ee rave yoveuetons ay wee cioenen de mero ne ieee |encarenty emotoyed atm wih avery unusuel waren omen ae he atime ad sat areal wren my cuentw em, Bu i very unctuel In 3009 ofr pb have he a an arey, here wecesvaye mote ale alomeys. Ad the parts ware most male. et wn, ere! yr se acannon bx enw ose pou oe ‘Aan. ta mpi be unuocal but ny caret ce a tery, Loo hat nk! hate ave been severe deetminatesepsint because lam a woman, | fm tortunat tad nothave ose bad expences. Pal cf hat in stele ote fatal have chosen my employer cata. Ihave sheys chosen erplyers tal undantoed he importance family, ard at blvd hal any was aay ore pata han wrk To expoctaton,vnether ibe tom eosty or slmpose, tat you have tobe abl to Go Kall ard do tal ret, and wih no complains very Aifcat. Worn hove says be" be pray caeiaker of et ards hore ie. Bul oer he years, wren have played ager ren ‘ucpotng te fam francily ao vel, Honeer he surpot waren provide at home hes nt necessary docreaood wih thencrease in he tlevand spo Mnancaly forthe fart aswel. So, rn hae alan on much mere resporebaty ovr he year. They ar expected we boo privary carters fr he fay bul have cours ob wel soln ingame nk, bts very haan ner deraning, Women wor al fay the, thn come home and work al gh ning ae of tot famly. oan be overening end exhavsing. But woren have en ncedble Ina bly to gota don, "tenet oe ens ey Wag depry beet yuan ou cae, io ool ou hi Int wou fue peo ye. ‘os, Thsis so ustetna, [know so many women aomys who ae ered oh, hed working ane ge excl ests. Ard ale See ee ee eee Eee scot ‘hucione ta, Wr ox your ues a 7 De end shy oy ‘tis absokiehy and uforuetey tus, | dbetove hat women ate cecieled acai! because when they ar hed ihe employer kon thatthe wean wl tke tina ot of work ete for er cron wen ey ae sek goo fed rp, volunteer ateehco ever ard ear forthe chien curing Sco) beaks. Thisisincerily ufo. Most of he woren ta now who are mothers a tke time oof war oar forte chien do ot rise {boat at work. They mak up Por Wor at at ight eron te weokence. Yo! thoy ar “punhod”bocauto othe peropien tat roy do ret ork ae rush #s Delt malecouterparts In eer oes! Rave ever worked the wren were much mote fier wi el me aie al woe They eae in cay, didnt ake beat, and ate unch ithe deck because thoy Krew he "sccord cb of being © mam weuld tat the second thoy walkout of tre clce Wnle te men feqverd aka ong lunches ané spend much more ima bong Socal ane. Because of he he mn sty lt at werk h _an effort to get their work done (because they did not get enough "work" done during the work hours), and because they ere there later, the perception ictal hy ar wong haror anc logar hou. Whereas women who have even con have th “wn of wore lo Soca thoy have Bek Uther everen fom schol, Hence the woking mare ate wih the preston tha thy lave work ely ar dar work a hard as theme an ncrdby using problem with percep, an the perception is a comolt ls account fhe realy othe produtly of werkrg mom in he workloree. ‘Ln your pinion, i yu carer ster (wage cspaity curearscvancementst)bacese you had cies? Was thre a pesiton opportunity tht you ward tke, but cul beease of your chat? ‘Yes, my “career and earning potential cid sufer because | chose to have chiten and chose to be very involved in my chidran's ives. | know women ‘who had chiiren and their careers stil Bossomed because the grandparents were basicaly raising the children. | could have hired a nanny to pick up _my chiéren afer eono9}, do homework with them, and feed thom cinnec. But that was ret the mom | wantod to be. | wantod to be vary involved in my chiklre's lives. So yes, my career cid sulfer because ofthis, bul this was my choice. | chose my family ver my career. | did have a few very lucrative career opportunities that | turned down, or did not oureue because of my cheice to make my family my orimaryresponsibility. | have no regrets about the decisions | have made in this regard. “In you: inion, wht isthe est pat about you ob? Whats the most chalenging? ‘The best part of my jb is helping everyday people navigate the legal world. can be very overwhelming, stressful and confusing to be involved in a legal matter. find much satisfaction in guiding individuals trough ther legal issues with, hopefuly, minimal stress and disruption to ther ves, ‘The most challenging aspect of my job Is the amount of tee it takes to do my Job right. | take much pride in my work and care alot for my cients. 1 want to do the best work possible for them, so | work hard end! long hours to get the best possible results. The time demands of my job affects my {ality tme with my children. Balancing the demands of my job withthe demands of my family is a constant struggle. 4. Whats your greats ochivernen in fe? ‘The fact hat | have happy, heathy, kind and loving children, ‘9. When iced wi something diffe, how da you contin to persevere? [My faith. know that God would not give me anything that | could not handle. | dissect the dificult task and start handling It place by piece. One task Gt atime, once step at time, one foot infront ofthe other. | don't quit. When Im overwhelmed | pause and take a step back to reassess my approach {’t solving the problem and make adjustments where neseseary, 10, Whee have you arm by being a Worn in you eld of work? What have you experiences taught you? ‘ve learned that women are often smarter than men, but do not receive the credit for their contribution. In the legal field, much ofthe work's done bohind the soanes. Many tmas you sae a male atorney in court presonting an argument o a judgaljury. What many do not know is that twas a woman atlorey who read through the flag, cd the legal raarch, and drafted the lagal argument thal the male alornay is presenting 1, As closing quot, what Would you lke to sy toe ars wo Wil Be Wales My resentton, a Wl OW UP De AAMEYS O KE on obs Wa ae sual Aled Ry ‘Stay tue fo your core values and you wil be fine. Do not sell your soul. Stay rue to who you are and what you belleve in and your path (personally {end professionally) willbe righteous and you wil be happy.