NOTE FROM TED: This talk contains a discussion of child sexual abuse. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/t...

It was 2016, after Boston Globe’s Spotlight team published an article about their research into educator abuse in the independent schools around Boston, that Jamie Forbes decided to reveal his own experience to his family and friends in a FB post. The outpour was striking, both the love and support, as well as the degree of shared experience. It was more than healing, it shifted his life and career trajectory. As it would happen, his TEDx talk would take place the week before he would face his abuser in court, 40 years post experience, finally, for sentencing.

For the inaugural year of TEDxHartlandHill in Woodstock, VT, we compiled an amazing group of speakers to dive into the question, "What is Community?" Each speaker, taking on aspects of being our best-self to help foster a truly healthy environment.

In this talk, Jamie takes on the formidable task of speaking the shame that comes with being a victim of this crime coupled with the clarify of how to bring forth personal healing and how to create greater protection within our school systems. Jamie is the founder and leader of Learning Courage. His experience includes nearly two decades in the private sector in both finance and marketing roles, where he honed his business acumen, strategic thinking and creative approach. Jamie has also consulted with, helped start, and been involved in board leadership of other nonprofit organizations.

His work with schools began when he shared the story of his own abuse as a student at Milton Academy. During the resulting investigation, he observed first-hand how important and yet challenging it can be for both survivors and school leaders to support healing.

Learning Courage came out of his observation that schools needed guidance keeping survivors at the center of incidents of sexual abuse and misconduct. Central to his findings in this work is that being survivor-centered is in the best interests of not just survivors but also the institutions where the abuse occurred. The best way to improve the sector's response to sexual abuse, he reasoned, was to create an organization that collected and shared what they learned. The Learning Courage name speaks to the K-12 school audience which focuses on education and learning and also the necessity to always learn about how we can do this work better.

Jamie graduated from Connecticut College and lives in Portsmouth, NH with his wife, two daughters and a dog that thinks he’s actually human. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx