Dear Katie: Survivor Stories

S7E4 Setting the Stage for Boundaries

Sharing her journey through learning and teaching, Kim Shively brings light to insights that storytelling in professional acting can provide. She reveals how navigating the personal can help us understand how to better set boundaries and tell stories in ways that honor ourselves and others. 

Kim Shively is a typical 21st-century multi-hyphenate: an actor, director, Intimacy Choreographer/Coordinator/Consultant, professor, and researcher. Her career evolution started with professional acting, added direction and teaching in academia, and now includes developing and leading workshops and consultant work—all of which have taken her around the world. Her passion is helping people maximize their humanity through understanding boundaries and consent, power dynamics, and collaboration. Her research in bringing this work to spaces that include minors and young adults has been a major focus for the past decade. She is an Associate Professor at Elon University where she teaches acting, and a Guilding Faculty of Theatrical Intimacy Education, a global organization committed to helping everyone in the room be better at being in the room.

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrina Aglubat and Emily Wang

S7E3 Explicit Consent on Set: How Movies and TV Shows Depict Intimacy

'The workplace is more often about are you willing to do X, Y, and Z.'

Bringing consent-informed practices to Hollywood, Amanda Blumenthal shares her experiences coordinating intimate scenes to protect the safety of performers and crew while channeling an artistic vision for viewers. Examining the nuances of workplace and interpersonal consent, she sheds light on ways the industry sets standards for consent to navigate differences in power and create professional environments. 

Amanda Blumenthal is one of the founders of intimacy coordination for film and television, which aims to create safer spaces on set for both performers and crew members while empowering bold and creative storytelling. She comes to this work with a background in sex and relationship coaching, sex-positive queer sex education work, and advocacy work for survivors of sexual assault. Amanda is the founder of the Intimacy Professionals Association, which provides SAG-AFTRA accredited intimacy coordinator training to a global audience, as well as educational workshops for the film industry on topics related to intimacy work for the screen. 

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrina Agluat and Emily Wang

S7E2 Brave Box of Justice and Fearless Fighter

This week, Helene Weiss and Grant Boyd share their experiences advocating for survivors and working tirelessly to protect their rights in the courtroom. They share visions of hope and victory, bringing to light brave survivors who have pushed to make their voices heard and fight for themselves and their community. 

Helene Weiss is a partner at Marsh Law Firm and works on a wide range of cases representing survivors of sexual abuse. She is a former Special Victims Bureau Prosecutor who has tried dozens of cases from jury selection to verdict, both criminal and civil. Helene also works as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Hofstra University, teaching Advanced Trial Skills.

Grant Boyd is an attorney from St. Louis, Missouri. His practice focuses on representing sexual abuse survivors and families of victims. In just 10 years as an attorney, Grant has won over half a billion dollars for crime victims and continues to assist victims in navigating criminal cases.

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrina Aglubat and Emily Wang

Re:wind to Re:process Track S1E15 Laura Davis, Author of The Courage to Heal

Find new insights with this classic episode of the Dear Katie Podcast, featuring Laura Davis. 

Laura Davis has helped survivors world over with her book The Courage To Heal, co-authored by Laura Bass. She has now written a memoir of her fraught relationship with her mother. The Shining Light of Two Stars is a riveting story of the love and anger that drew them together and pulled them apart in the decades since Laura told her mother that her grandfather sexually abused her. In this episode of Dear Katie: Survivor Stories, Laura discusses the dangers and the benefits of reconciling with a toxic family member, and what survivors can learn from her experience.

Hosts: Katie Koestner and Claire Kaplan

Guest: Laura Davis

Editor: Kelsey Styles

Guest Coordinator: Emily Wang

S7E1 101 Countries for Vision and Values

'We all have had a very different journey and therefore have different wounds or scars and different needs and abilities and strengths and weaknesses.'

This week, Mandeep Rai, the author of The Values Compass: What 101 Countries Teach Us About Purpose, Life and Leadership, tells us about cultural humility and what is necessary to listen to and understand others. She shares the considerations that individuals and institutions must make to hold space for others, and the many lessons she has learned traveling around the world. 

Dr. Mandeep Rai is a global authority on values, working with companies, institutions, and individuals worldwide. She has traveled to more than 150 countries and reported as a journalist for the BBC World Service and Reuters. Mandeep studied philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE), has an MSc in International Development from the London School of Economics, and completed an MBA at London Business School. She also holds a PhD in global values.

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Emily Wang and Catrina Aglubat

S6E25 My White Cotton T-Shirt

'I didn't get the chance to know what my life would have been like if I hadn't been assaulted.'

New to campus and excited about college, Mary Simmerling starts her life in Los Angeles at a party, where she is assaulted while trying to rest. Initially faced with harsh denial of her experiences, she is pushed back into herself and continues to live in fear. Mary shares with us her journey from the throes of an eating disorder and dropping out of school, to finding support in literature and freedom through art. 

Mary Simmerling is a poet, scholar, and activist. She holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Illinois and an MA in Psychology from Adler University, specializing in applied ethics, social justice, and trauma recovery. In addition to being on the faculty of Cornell University, she serves as the Senior Research Advisor to the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). Mary is both an Affiliate and Board member of Amherst Writers & Artists, and maintains an active role in nonprofits across the US & Canada that provide direct services to survivors of violence and trauma. 

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Emily Wang and Catrina Aglubat

S6E24 Root Chakra Alignment for Healing

Sheila Wood, an Intuitive Healing Coach with a PhD in Clinical Pathology, holds a
distinct space in trauma healing. Her unique fusion of energy healing, mediumship, and
Akashic Record insights with her academic alignment create prolific healing
environments. Rooted in a mission to heal the generational echoes and lifetime impacts of sexual assault trauma, Sheila's method locates and liberates deeply ingrained, often
physically expressed, emotions. Her integrative approach serves those plagued by
remnants of harrowing experiences, offering them liberation from embedded traumas and a path to transformative healing.

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Emily Wang and Catrina Aglubat

Re:wind to Re:process Track S2E10 Got That Swing: Special Guest Antuan Raimone

This week, revisit our episode Got That Swing, featuring Antuan Raimone. 

The first time Antuan Raimone spoke out as a survivor, he had 90 seconds. But those 90 seconds were all he needed to secure funding for the sexual assault organization he was working with for the following year. In this interview, he details how he dealt with his trauma, how the theater helps him find his strength, and how he learned to acknowledge and live with fear.

PAVE Ambassador Antuan Magic Raimone is an Author/TEDxSpeaker/Activist/Actor with over 20 years of experience in Musical Theatre who is currently a Universal Swing for "Hamilton" on Broadway and across the U.S. He was also the Vacation Swing for the Off-Broadway, Broadway and 1st National Tour of "In The Heights" and has performed at Radio City Music Hall and the Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee. In addition to being a member of the Office of Victim Services’s Advisory Council in NY, he has been a Keynote speaker at the University of Virginia, the SPECTRUM Conference in Albany, NY and has spoken at the United States Merchant Marine Academy(USMMA). His mission and purpose as a Soldier of Love is to empower and encourage others to live a whole life. A life where mistakes can exist, where fear is not debilitating and where vulnerability is not a weakness.

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Craig Stanton

Producers: Claire Kaplan, Kelsey Styles, Emily Wang

S6E23 Journey from Caterpillar to Butterfly

This week, clinical psychologist Dr. Sabina Mauro shares her expertise on the non-linear process of healing. She shares multiple analogies to help us better understand our nervous systems, bringing to light the many paths and facets of processing our trauma, thoughts, and experiences. 

Dr. Sabina Mauro is a clinical psychologist specializing in treating trauma survivors. She operates a private practice in Yardley, Pennsylvania, is a published author of 2 books, and has been featured on various websites on topics related to PTSD and trauma. Dr. Mauro is a member of the American Psychological Association, Pennsylvania Psychological Association, and American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. 

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Emily Wang and Catrina Aglubat

S6E22 Skydive Mid-Jump Kiss

'This isn't violent, in an alley, with a gun to my head, he didn't throw me in a dumpster after, does this even count?'

Sydney Williams is a dynamic speaker, author, and the visionary founder of Hiking My Feelings, an organization that helps folks from all walks of life find healing in nature. Her new book, Hiking Your Feelings: Blazing a Trail to Self-Love, captures her transformative journeys across Catalina Island and offers readers a framework for self-love and healing. Through her work, Sydney has become a beacon of hope and resilience, helping countless people reconnect with themselves and the natural world. Today, she shares her own story and healing journey, from self-doubt to body image issues, engaging with doing, and finding solace through nature.