JESSICA MORRIS| GIRL BE HEARD
Girl Be Heard Philosophy:
If a girl can change her own life, she can change the lives of girls everywhere.
Jessica Greer Morris, one of Newsweek’s 150 Fearless Women who “shake up the world” is an activist, wife, mother of twin boys, and Executive Director of Girl Be Heard, a non-profit theater company that brings global issues affecting girls center stage by empowering young women to tell their stories.
Jessica’s fearless drive and dedication to “raise visibility and awareness of what is happening to girls and women everywhere” stems from her personal story. Incest left her spending her girlhood trying “to take up less space on this planet – to be thinner, to be quieter, to be invisible.” She shares her journey within the safe space of Girl Be Heard for one reason: “my story empowers others.”
A born and bred New Yorker, today Jessica mentors girls from the ages of 12 to 21. “Our healing begins from telling our stories.” She sees the transformation of each girl and even those in the audience when they perform the pieces they’ve written.
More than 150 members of Girl Be Heard tour the globe and bring to life their personal stories about bullying, sex trafficking, gun violence and violence against women and girls to humanize these social justice issues. “These girls are the leaders of our global movement.”
“The vulnerability of girls is universal,” Jessica says. “If we give girls an opportunity to speak about the brilliant things going on in their minds and to tell the real story of what it is like to be a girl then we can change the world. “
Jessica reminds us, “6 out of 10 girls worldwide will experience physical or sexual violence in her lifetime. The vulnerability of girls is universal. And I am no exception. I have risen like a phoenix from the ashes just by sharing my story and I encourage each and every one of you to do the same.”
