GETTING TO KNOW JULIE ANN RIVERS-COCHRAN

Our organization is excited to have Julie Ann Rivers-Cochran, MSW, as our new Executive Director. We caught up with Julie Ann in her first few weeks to learn more about her.

TAOS: Welcome to the team! We are so blessed to have you here, and thank you for taking the time for this quick interview. As a national leader in the field of prevention and intervention of partner violence, with over 20 years of experience, what led you to this work? What makes you passionate about it?

Julie Ann: Thank you, I’m grateful to be here! When I think back at what led me to the work, I am reminded of a time when I had no idea what I wanted to do for a living. After graduating with a Journalism degree in the mid-90’s, I quickly realized that my heart wasn’t in it as I had initially hoped it would be, so I began soul searching to decide what I was going to do with my life. Also at that time, I was trying to figure out how to get my mother access to a new drug that was being touted as a “miracle drug” for people living with schizophrenia. She was living with her parents in a rural community that had little to no mental health services, let alone access to cutting edge medications. Through weeks of advocacy and relationship building and a dose of perfect timing, the next time she was hospitalized I was able to get approval to have her transferred to a psychiatric facility that had the drug and was willing to take her on as a patient. The level of treatment and support she received was above and beyond what she had had the past 30 years of her life. My mother’s courage in moving to a large facility where she knew no one and had no guarantee that she’d actually get better was inspiring. And my ability to successfully advocate on her behalf with psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, social workers, etc. as a young woman without means or a medical background was humbling as well as energizing. I vividly remember leaving the facility after helping my mother move in. In that moment, I recognized the seemingly insurmountable challenge we had overcome by getting her access to this drug and a stellar psychiatric team. I wondered if my ability to advocate for my mother and her needs could help others that otherwise didn’t have a voice. In order to be sure, I decided to try volunteering for an advocacy organization before making the leap to a new profession. I chose to volunteer for a local nonprofit that focused on supporting survivors of gender-based violence. My mother was not only living with the diagnosis of a serious mental illness, she also survived intimate partner violence, so I knew I wanted to volunteer for an organization that supported survivors. After taking my first crisis hotline call, I made the swift decision to apply for the next available full-time position. I had discovered my inherent purpose.

Those are the experiences that led me to the work. What keeps me in it are the many passionate advocates and courageous survivors I’ve had the privilege to learn from over years. Advocates’ persistent drive to create violence-free communities and survivors’ strength in sharing their stories no matter the consequence…they are the reasons I remain steadfast in my determination to continue doing this work.

TAOS: What drew you to our organization? Why work with us? 

Julie Ann: While growing up, athletics and team sports were a positive distraction for me.  They helped me survive several traumatic experiences and I found safety, support and self-confidence through my teammates and coaches. They helped me build resiliency as well as a lifelong commitment to physical movement to help counter the negative mental health impacts of childhood trauma. Unfortunately, for many children and youth this is not the case. Instead, they are betrayed by coaches and other adults affiliated with their sport of choice. Frankly, when I learned about 7% of student athletes are victims of sexual assault through their participation in sport, with elite athletes having higher rates of sexual assault than lower-level athletes, I felt moved to apply for the position. Then, once I began researching the issue and learning more about TAOS’s roots, I was motivated to be part of the solution to end sexual assault against child and youth athletes.  For example, on TAOS’s website there is a quote by our Founder, Grace French. She says, “We will continue as survivors to fund advocacy across the nation, to make sure these bills get passed, to make sure we have a voice that we are empowering survivors and changing the conversation around sexual assault.” With leadership like that, mixed with my newfound knowledge of the issue, I was inspired to become involved.

TAOS: You started your career in the movement to end domestic violence and sexual violence by providing direct services and advocacy for survivors. How does that work help you to more deeply understand the Army of Survivor’s mission?

Julie Ann: I’m not only at advocate, I’m a survivor myself, as well as the daughter of a survivor. That does not mean that I have a clear idea of every survivor’s experience. My survivor story is different from my mother’s and is different from anyone else’s. Every survivor’s experience with violence and its impact are unique. Therefore, it’s critical to listen to all survivors. I think that’s the most important thing I learned from working with survivors directly…the significance of listening, over and over again. When we don’t continue to seek out survivor voices and survivor needs, we have the potential to create programs and policies that don’t actually serve the very people we created them for!

That’s not to say that there aren’t similar threads that have the potential to bind us all together. Those threads do exist and have the power to help heal from abuse and to create positive social change.

All to say, that my fierce commitment to listening while amplifying survivor voices helps me carry out TAOS’s mission to bring awareness, accountability, & transparency to sexual violence against athletes at all levels by ensuring that it’s a part of all that we do to achieve our mission!

TAOS: What is the most exciting part of working with the Army of Survivors so far?

Julie Ann: This is an easy question to answer. The most exciting part of working with the Army of Survivors so far has most definitely been the people. I mentioned that fellow advocates and survivors have kept me in the work, well I am grateful to have found the same dedication, courage, strength, care and concern in TAOS’s Founders, Board members, funders and partners.

TAOS: What do you see in the future for our organization? 

Julie Ann: The future is indeed bright for TAOS! I see tremendous potential for growth and for our ability to make an impact.

I imagine TAOS as the premiere organization supporting athletes internationally through training, technical assistance, and expanded advocacy-oriented and awareness activities. I imagine us building upon current TAOS initiatives such as the Shades of Racism in Rape project that explores disproportionately higher rates of violence against women of color. I also imagine offering evidence-based and trauma-informed educational programming as well as expanding the ambassador program.

 Lastly, I imagine a continuation of the partnerships TAOS has already built while seeking additional collaborations to create policy that holds perpetrators accountable.

Ultimately, I see a future where TAOS has helped to create a culture in which athletes do not fear retaliation when reporting abuse. Instead, they are supported for their bravery and courage.

TAOS: Thank you so much for your time, Julie Ann! We’re looking forward to creating positive change with you.