About And They Spoke

Mission, History, and Board of Directors

Mission Statement

And They Spoke, Inc. is a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 organization located in New Jersey that has been designed to help empower and assist victims who want to find their voice to speak up on crime(s) committed against them of a sexual nature. Ultimately, And They Spoke’s main goal is to eradicate all crimes of a sexual nature via mandated national educational policy and advocacy.

History

And They Spoke was Co-Founded by Emma and John Paxton, a father and daughter team after going through the judicial process when Emma was sexually assaulted. It was Emma’s desire to help other young people that became the genesis of the organizational mission. John’s desire to support his daughter in her mission and other parents, especially other fathers, is why he took the role following his daughter.  

And They Spoke supports victims via network of coaches/sponsors/peers who will facilitate a supportive encouraging environment to sustain victims as they migrate through the judicial process. With a focus on young adults, And They Spoke aims to provide consent education curriculum with a strong focus on literature inclusion to middle and high school students that will become standard education on the national level.

By creating this supportive environment alongside educational advocacy, the hope is to increase the percentage of young women and men coming forward without fear  with a goal of not only decreasing the number of future offenses but eradicating them altogether.

“Emma’s spirit is remarkable and the world will be in good hands with her as she continues to emerge as a leader. This work that she wants to do is vital and important to change the landscape for young people. She has taken an unimaginative situation that happened to her and turned it on it’s head by tackling the issue head on, and seeking to help and empower others. It’s an awesome task and I am in awe of her as her father.” -John Paxton Jr. Co-Founder And They Spoke

“My father has always supported me through everything. He has supported, cared, and loved so many people that lacked it for as long as I can remember, and much longer before then. My father was the support I needed to move through every obstacle that faced me. Together we made it through the discouragement and frustration with each other’s hand intertwined in our own. He is one of the strongest people that I know and together I know we can make a difference in this world.” – Emma Paxton Co-Founder And They Spoke

Board of Directors

Emma Paxton

Co-Founder, Board Member: I was raised to be strong, and I was raised to have a voice. I was taught that no one should ever put their hands on me to any extent if not welcomed. I was sexually assaulted my sophomore year of high school. I excused it at first. I excused it because the person that assaulted me I considered my friend prior to the incident. Two days after the incident I told my parents what happened. That day was the worst day of my life. The anger my parents felt, and the other emotions that followed ultimately became my strength to move ahead and become even stronger than I was before. I decided to go the distance and hold my perpetrator accountable.  I went through the judicial process and came out the other side successful for what I set out to accomplish. As a result of my experiences, I decided to create an organization to help other young women and men who have also been assaulted. I believe that if we can work to free our voices and spirits our lives will be better, stronger, and greater than we can imagine.

John Paxton Jr.

Co-Founder, Board Member: Being a father is the most important job in the world to me and after my oldest daughter, Emma was sexually assaulted something broke inside of me. One never expects to be confronted with this situation. It shows up and reshapes everything you think about as it relates to how life works. Watching her incredible strength and passion throughout the process I committed to helping her launch this platform to help others who may be lacking the support, or simply need more support. I am focused on assisting individuals and their supporters on navigating the system and maintaining the stamina to see justice. I also am committed to growing a support base of male mentorship to demonstrate the much-needed change in this culture.

Elizabeth Weekes

Board Member that provides resources and assistance to survivors of sexual assault. She has personal experience with molestation and sexual assault.  Before joining And They Spoke, most of her experience was in the healthcare setting. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1996. During her eighteen-year career as a pharmacist, she developed a strong sense of devotion to underserved populations while working in Baltimore and Denver. She mentored pharmacy interns while they provided drug information to women in safe houses in downtown Denver. She provided drug information sessions “Bring it to the Table” to HIV/AIDs patients every week for three years. She also worked very closely with social workers in hospitals. Elizabeth participated in the AIDs Walk Colorado in 2007 in honor of her uncle who died from AIDs related complications. Elizabeth was also a member of the Lupus foundation of Colorado.

Bret Eckhardt

Board member who comes with a long history as a digital media producer. He also has a long history in providing expertise in public relations, marketing and digital campaigns designed to affect social change. As a father of two young children and longtime friend of the Paxton family, he felt these issues hit close to home and have inspired his advocacy for creating supportive environments that encourage people to speak out. Bret joined the board, not only because he could provide needed support in his field, but also because remaining on the sidelines when you can do something to impact the frontlines, is what needs to change in order to make a true difference.

Sabas Osorio

Board member who has 10 plus years of experience working with youth in New Jersey with mental health, behavioral, academic, substance abuse, and developmental disability needs. Sabas has worked as a crisis intervention specialist, care manager/team lead, and specialized at risk mentor for youth within the state of New Jersey. Sabas is also the Co-Founder of Rise 2Gether, which assists at-risk children and young adults with goal attainment, service planning and self-realization. Sabas has attended trainings on trauma and “Nurtured Heart” approach. Sabas himself was an at-risk youth who with guidance/mentoring of John Paxton was able to turn his life around and use the lessons learned to advocate for others in need.

Kate Danser

Board member who is the Director of Human Resources (HR) for a Princeton based non-profit. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Teaching from The College of New Jersey and is a Certified Professional in HR by the Society for HR Management. For the past 5 years, she volunteers for the HR Management Association of Princeton by serving as Board Secretary. Kate has devoted her career to working for mission-based employers as she is deeply committed to making a positive and enriching impact on society. Her typical day is to help individuals navigate through difficult situations and provide counsel on a diversity of adversarial matters. With a focus on education and empowerment, Kate is passionate about helping people manage challenging situations. She enjoys handling logistics and coordination and gets fulfillment from researching, planning, and organizing whatever is thrown her way.  As a near-lifelong resident of Mercer County, and longtime friend of the Paxton family, Kate joined And They Spoke to lend her skills to help mitigate sexual violence at the local level.  

Kelly Drury

Board Member that provides over 20 years of experience working within the holistic health and wellness field.  After graduating from Rutgers College with a marketing and psychology degree, Kelly worked in a variety of corporate settings.  Simultaneously, she was always interested in holistic health and began practicing and studying yoga and attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where she became a Holistic Health Counselor.  In 2011, she attended the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland, Oregon to expand her abilities to help people.  She worked in the first and largest community acupuncture clinic in the country, which exposed her to a wide range of patients and prioritized a trauma-informed care on a sliding scale.  She had the ability to see thousands of patients and observed that most people suffered from anxiety, depression, insomnia or chronic pain and most experienced trauma.  When she saw how well eastern medicine could support these types of patients, she wanted to make acupuncture and Chinese Medicine available and accessible to everyone.  Upon moving back to NJ and after working in orthopedic and community acupuncture clinics, she opened a private practice in Caldwell, NJ, WellEssence.  She is also the co-founder of the podcast Ancient Wisdom in Modern Times with the Circle of Messengers where she shares about her Eastern Medicine experience and how being aligned with nature is one of the best supports for the body and our mental and emotional health. Kelly has also been friends with the Paxton family since her Rutgers days and felt compelled to join Emma in her crusade to shift the conversation and better support victims of sexual assault.  

Syreeta Primas

Rev Syreeta Primas is a Public School Educator in the Pleasantville Public School system. She has been working in her district for over 17 years. Prior to working in the public school system, she worked as a childcare counselor at Robin’s Nest INC. In her position, she worked with females 13-18 years of age who had experienced various forms of trauma. Rev Primas received her degree in education from Stockton University. She was recently ordained as a reverend through the Bethany Baptist Association. Throughout her professional career, she has been an advocate for youth and young adults supporting them in their process of healing and restoration. Through her own personal healing, Rev Primas has made it her life’s mission to provide aid and support to all those who have suffered in silence. She believes it’s her responsibility to help people realize they have a voice that deserves to be heard and they can heal from the inside out.