Meet Debbie Cwalina | Founder and Executive Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Debbie Cwalina and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Debbie, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I was born in Buffalo NY then my family moved to Knoxville TN when I was 12, which is where I spent my formative years. I graduated from college, moved to South Bend IN for my first job, then transferred to Atlanta GA. Since then, I got married, started a business in marketing & advertising, raised 2 awesome daughters and have lived in Roswell for 30 years. While all of that is not extraordinary, the experience I had growing up with a sibling who is developmentally delayed is what left an indelible stain on my soul, resulting in my life’s work today!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

In the Fall of 2014 I was looking for a way to get more involved in my community and joined the Roswell Rotary Club. Shortly afterwards, I read a disturbing article on the sharp rise in adolescent suicide due to cyberbullying.  Having grown up with a sibling who struggled socially, I knew how hard kids could be on someone who was a little “different”.  To think that kids were taking their lives due to this new form of bullying angered me to my core.  I just knew there had to be a way to teach our kids how to support their peers when witnessing this new form of bullying.  After nine months of research and development, my co-founder and I presented our concept to our Rotary club’s Board, and with their enthusiastic support we launched Be THE Voice (BTV) in a few Roswell schools in the fall of 2015.  BTV began as a simple 12-week video series that (literally) showed students a variety of non-confrontational ways to defuse bullying. Designed around research that showed the efficacy of bystander intervention, we tested the 2015 launch of BTV by surveying a 2,200-student high school in Roswell with a pre vs. post campaign survey. The data revealed an astonishing 56% decrease in bullying (!), confirming our belief that – with a little guidance – students are the true agents of change within their peer group.

As the need for kindness, compassion, and inclusion has grown over the years, so has BTV’s depth of message. In addition to learning important communication skills to support their peers, BTV students are experiencing the joy of serving others. Something very important to both Mike and I as we both embrace the Rotary International motto of “Service above Self” in our daily lives.

Today, Be THE Voice has morphed into a 6-month student-driven “movement” for kindness, compassion and inclusion in schools throughout Georgia. While the need for the program has grown steadily year after year, school enrollment doubled in the 2021/22 to help counter the damaging effects of the pandemic on our kids.

Weeks after the 2021 school year started, signs of conflict and struggle were prevalent in school systems nationwide as students returned to the classroom and were overwhelmed by an accelerated academic schedule, on top of learning HOW to interact socially. Sadly, one in five teens has symptoms of a mental health disorder such as depression or anxiety, and suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death. In Georgia, 62% of students report stress “always” or “sometimes”, and 16% feel threatened by other students at least once or twice a month (2021 Student Health Survey).

To compound things, staffing shortages leave teachers exhausted as they manage multiple classrooms, extended workdays, and after-hour student needs. Many have left a profession they love due to stress and burn-out, further crippling an already fragile school structure. “An estimated 800,000 public school teachers quit their jobs between January and November 2021 across the nation. A recent poll conducted by the National Education Association indicates that 55% of current teachers are considering doing the same.”

Luckily, BTV was there to bring some happiness back into the hallways!  Neuroscience research has proven that strong peer relationships and supportive programs can help buffer the effects of stress. Meaning, students who feel safe and happy in their school will be able to focus their attention on learning and will perform better academically.  A Win-Win for both students and staff.

BTV encourages everyone to see the common humanity in each other.  Our video series feature diverse peer-influencers from all-walks-of-life sharing stories that inspire the student viewer to re-engage. Our monthly peer-to-peer activities allow students to see past their differences as they work together to achieve a common goal. The partnership of both visual and hands-on messaging challenge the reactive instincts that can lead to conflict, and instead promote empathy and inclusion.

Clearly, there is a need for character-building programs such as ours and even though demand for our program is off the charts, funding is harder to source than in pre-pandemic years. School budgets have been slashed, so we are working diligently to find ways to help schools pay for our program. We now have a full-time employee (yay!) who does nothing but corporate outreach and grant-writing. We are hoping this article will help us spread our message to a wider audience so we can source funding for the 150+ school wait-list for the 2022-23 program year.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I have lived in Roswell for 30 years, and prior that we lived in Club Tower off of 14th Street. Both inside and outside the Perimeter offer a wonderful variety of experiences. First, I would recommend experiencing something at The Fox theater where you can feel the old Atlanta vibe throughout the venue. Second, go and see our National Champion Braves play a series in the wonderful new stadium, or Atlanta United in the amazing Mercedes Benz stadium! (Yes, I like sports!) For the culinary pleasures, I really love my local haunts like 1920, Little Alley Steakhouse (but bring your wallet!), and Monkey 68. If looking for a unique local music scene, The Velvet Note offers a personal setting where you can enjoy emerging talent.

I love hiking, so I highly recommend visiting one of the many incredible state parks like Amicalola Falls, Stone Mountain, and the Indian Seats Trail. However, our main outdoor activity is biking, of which we’ve done in Croatia, Italy and recently, Wyoming. There are many wonderful places to do the same all over Georgia, but we spend a lot of time debarking from different sections of the Silver Comet Trail (where if you were so inspired, could take you all the way to Alabama.)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So, is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Both my business and personal success are attributed to people who believed in me, with my first shout-out going to my husband of 30 years. He encouraged me to start my business in 1993 with his father financing my first year. He helped raise two daughters who believe in themselves, allowing them to do big things. And then when I approached him with a crazy idea to help kids who struggled to “fit in” (like my sweet brother), he not only supported the long hours I spent in developing the concept, but he also came up with the name of the organization on a bar napkin at Taco Mac within minutes (something my co-founder and I were unable to do!)

The second shout-out is to both my co-Founder Michael Schoppenhorst and the Rotary Club of Roswell. Both were instrumental in the development – and financing – of my mission of teaching students how to support each other when witnessing bullying, exclusion and other difficult situations involving their peers. The end result is an 8-year-old non-profit called Be THE Voice that provides schools with a truly innovative student-driven campaign for kindness, compassion & inclusion in schools throughout Georgia, impacting hundreds of thousands of students state-wide.

The third shout-out goes to all the Rotarians, friends, sponsors and administrators who not only believed in this mission, but spent their time, energy, wisdom – and dollars – to make it happen.

As the saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child”, the same applies for creating a 501c3! I am eternally grateful for everyone who has been there for me along this wonderful ride.

Website: debbie@be-the-voice.org

Instagram: btv_of_change

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-cwalina-8484697/

Twitter: @BTV_of_change

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/btvofchange/

Youtube: Be THE Voice

Image Credits
Be THE Voice