Five Years: Reflections from Three Leaders

More than 50% of small businesses fail before their fifth consecutive year of operating. 2023 marks the 5th year anniversary of Soteria Solutions. We spoke with three leaders to capture their reflections on how Soteria Solutions has leveraged their strengths and their partners’ strengths to thrive in their first five years; being a catalyst for achieving meaningful change in high schools, colleges and universities and in workplaces.

Peggy O’Neill is the Chair of the Board at Soteria Solutions and Executive Director at WISE. Jennifer Scrafford is Vice President of Operations at Soteria Solutions and Jane Stapleton is Co-Founder and President.

1. Five years – share what comes to mind when you think about Soteria Solutions reaching this milestone?
   Peggy O’Neill: I think of Sharyn (Co-Founder Sharyn Potter) and Jane talking about setting up a non-profit to be the ‘container’ for their research. It occurs to me that when these women put their minds to something, it is always well-planned and thought through. I didn’t expect they would have the typical start-up challenges as they have a track record with PIRC (Prevention Innovations Research Center at UNH) so I expected success and they have delivered.

   Jennifer Scrafford: #Metoo was just beginning when we started Soteria Solutions. We worked through seismic changes in culture and in presidential administrations as we developed training with federal agency partners. Not to mention, we started a new business and all that comes with that including hiring staff, securing new office space and surviving a pandemic. It was a team effort, an ability to pivot and the chance to use our strong base of knowledge to create stronger solutions to reach organizations where they are.

   Jane Stapleton: We were fortunate to launch Soteria Solutions with two defined, solid solutions, existing college clients and a strong reputation. Unlike other businesses we did not start from scratch. So, while I am not surprised to have reached this milestone, I reflect on how unusual three of these five years have been with the pandemic. Just months before the pandemic started, we committed to a lease for our new office. Then the world changed and our largest client base, colleges and universities, were shutting down and going to remote learning. Additionally, I did not anticipate how quickly we would be partnering with workplaces and developing solutions for the workplace. It’s been a tremendous team effort to have achieved what we have during these five years.

2. Soteria Solutions’ mission statement is: To create a better world where people are safe and respected in their learning, living and working environments; where incivility, harassment, violence and discrimination are eradicated.

   What strikes you five years into this effort as you reflect on the mission statement and the changes that Soteria Solutions has enabled?

   Peggy O’Neill: The mission statement is bold and noble and is much needed in our world. I reflect on this mission, and I think of how experienced the team is to bring expertise to an organization (e.g., high school, college or workplace) and be a model for how to be in a trusting, impactful and respectful relationship. Led by Jane, the team models how to work effectively with their partners. It is a vulnerability that is hard to create, and it comes alive by meeting the organization where it is to then unfold the solution, so it best serves the client and fits with its culture.

   Jennifer Scrafford: Although the focus of our college and high school training is sexual violence, our workplace programming has needed to branch out to include general communication and identity awareness. I’m proud of the way our organization is innovative and offers solutions, products and training that highlights an organization’s strengths to make that mission statement a reality.

   Jane Stapleton: I review our mission statement regularly and while aspirational, I feel very fortunate that we have clients who are willing to partner with us and do the hard work required to make lasting change. We offer a unique approach and solutions to help our clients realize their goals, but it takes a lot of work that is well beyond the purchase of a product. It takes a lot of time, work and commitment and I am grateful for the opportunity to work with community partners, high schools, colleges and workplace partners; we work together to make lasting change. It is very rewarding.

3. We describe our role as a catalyst for sustainable change – how has that role of being a catalyst evolved over these five years?

   Peggy O’Neill: It is creating a partnership that is the basis for Soteria Solutions being a catalyst. Fundamentally, there is trust that enables that partnership to flourish. The Soteria Solutions team has a deep trust and belief in its customized solutions and the power of the seeds being planted. They are committed to each client; working alongside them to enable change, supporting them in building and maintaining the support structures and achieving the alignment needed to achieve lasting change.

   Jennifer Scrafford: In 2023, we are really focused on sustainability and implementation support. How do we create relationships, solutions, and supports that allow our partners to create meaningful and sustainable change? For example, we now have training included in our licensing packages for not one but two people from each organization for Bringing in the Bystander®. Allowing an organization to train two people gives that organization additional flexibility in terms of staff changes, fidelity checks and partnership. The two trainers can support each other in their implementation. We also created office hours for our high school partners and an improved outreach program, offering tips and tricks for making sure your audience absorbs the message and can communicate it effectively. All the training in the world doesn’t help if your organization cannot maintain the programming for new staff and refreshers for all staff. Sustainable change is hard work, and we want to be doing the hard work with our partners.

   Jane Stapleton: Our role as catalysts for change is situational as we meet our clients where they are; meaning we do not have a predefined starting place. We bring our expertise to the client, and we meld our expertise with the expertise of the client, leveraging their organizational strengths and protective factors. This flexibility and partnering in the truest sense of the word are essential to our approach to help our clients reinforce and build the components that enable them to ultimately own and institutionalize the changes they seek. We act as a catalyst, but the specific role as catalyst is unique to each client.

4. What are you most proud of?
   Peggy O’Neill: I am proud of several things: first, proud of how the staff has operationalized the work to scale solutions, to develop systems and to pivot during the pandemic. They are lean in terms of people, but rich in terms of talent and skill, functioning as a well-run organization. They are a joy to work with. I am also proud of the talent on the board and their willingness to be active and committed board members.

   Jennifer Scrafford: Several things come to mind. From an operational standpoint, we have created an organization that thrives and is sustainable. We have created a diverse and highly qualified staff who we support with benefits and flexibility. Our staff lives all over the country and speaks with many different voices and our partners can see themselves in our trainers. From a partner perspective, we have partnered with organizations facing unique challenges and we’ve developed unique solutions.

   Jane Stapleton: I am most proud of the strong team we have built: our staff, contractors, the board and our clients and partners. It is amazing.

5. Looking ahead, where is the biggest opportunity to help make meaningful change?
   Peggy O’Neill: I see great opportunity to continue to partner with workplace clients, including both government agencies and corporations. I would love to secure a corporate thought-partner to work together.

   Jennifer Scrafford: Leading with data will continue to be an essential element of our work and a great opportunity for our partners. Climate studies and employee surveys highlight employee concerns, and that data can inform our curriculum and technical assistance. Case studies, scenarios and practice sessions can then be designed and informed by data collected from the very staff who is taking the training.

   Sharing the data can help an organization be transparent with their staff, building trust and loyalty. Finally, evaluation data shows curriculum is working and helps support continued funding for those programs.

   Jane Stapleton: I see so much opportunity to make meaningful change. When I think of our college partners, we are working with college age students whose brains are still developing as we work to help them be an effective bystander. I see opportunity to further help these students prepare to enter the workplace through effective communication skills and learning how to respectfully disagree and compliment others. I continue to see great opportunity in the workplace. As research highlighted, incivility and harassment in the workplace did not decline during the pandemic; we have great opportunity to partner with organizations who are committed to effecting real and lasting change. We are so fortunate to have wonderful workplace clients and see a great opportunity to partner with others.

In closing, Jane shared her final thoughts, “I look forward to the next five years, investing in our team, being open to our partners’ needs and continuing to change and grow as we build our capacities and keep doing our important work.”

While Soteria Solutions is happy to celebrate its 5th year anniversary, the team looks ahead with passion and excitement, determined to continue working hard, partnering with its clients to make the world a better place, one organization at a time. To learn more about us, click here.

To download an overview of Soteria Solutions to share with others, click here.