about speak your silence
Our mission is to help those affected by sexual abuse and assault move forward to live great lives.
We were founded in 2012 by a guy named Matt Pipkin. When Matt was 6, he was sexually abused by a trusted family friend. For the next 20 years, he carried the heavy burden of keeping his experience secret because he thought he was somehow at fault and it would devastate his family. In his mid-twenties, he finally shared his story with his family (who responded with nothing but love and support) and went to counseling. Matt's counselor changed his life by helping him recognize the lie he'd always believed about himself - that he was "bad" - and replace it with the truth: that he possessed innate, unchangeable value and worth.
It's really simple. At Speak Your Silence, we’re focused on helping others realize their innate value and worth so that they can take the necessary steps to move forward and live the great lives they were created to live.
You can help those you love by simply wearing our iconic orange zigzag - called "The Stitch" - which symbolizes your voice. It's typically the most subtle of gestures like this that make all the difference in helping people finally get their stories off their chest.
We're based in Boise, Idaho, and have a VW outreach bus that you might see our gal Bridget driving around town (really slowly) - we don't take ourselves very seriously. What fun would that be?
Meet the crew
Bridget Wiefels
Executive Director
Bridget is the executive director at Speak Your Silence. She creates partnerships, gets to know donors, and creates space in the community for Speak Your Silence to make new friends!
She jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the Speak Your Silence team, but jokes she was originally only hired because she can drive stick (which is rare nowadays!)!
One of her biggest strengths? Bridget champions people. She is super passionate about empowering people to share their stories!
In her spare time, she’s grabbing coffee at her favorite local spots with her golden retriever, Mac, and a good book! When she’s not reading, there is a good chance that you can find her snowboarding, hiking, camping, playing volleyball, or shopping for new succulents!
Matt Pipkin
Founder
Matt Pipkin is the founder of Speak Your Silence. He also founded WeVow, which helps businesses and events elevate expectations against sexual harassment.
Matt loves flying airplanes with his dad; reading business books that most people would find quite boring; playing cards with his awesome wife, Ashley; begging for attention from their two snobby kitties, named Winnie Cooper and “the kitty”. And now… he and Ashley are new parents to a little guy named Bo Chester.
I mean, really, Matt’s just the best ever*. (*Matt wrote this bio.)
You have a role to play.
Share your voice.
Get involved.
Currently, we’re elbows deeps in an awesome project geared toward helping people move forward with their lives in a self-guided way, allowing us to help people in more ways than strictly through our (awesome) counseling program. More to come on this soon!
