The Person She Was Waiting For: Abbey Clements on Turning Survival Into a Movement

What happens when the organization you need does not exist…and you realize you may have to build it yourself?

This week on Carry As You Climb, Nan Whaley sits down with Abbey Clements, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence.

After surviving the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting with her second-grade students, Abbey spent years searching for her place in the gun violence prevention movement. Eventually, she stopped waiting for someone else to build an educator-led organization…and built one herself.

Nan and Abbey talk about grief, purpose, learning to lead without a roadmap, and what it takes to turn lived experience into sustained action.

Their conversation covers:

• The house party she nearly skipped, and how walking through the door helped her find her community and a path forward.
• Why she stopped waiting for someone else to organize educators, and launched Teachers Unify
• What she has learned about leading adults, staying focused, and avoiding mission creep
• Why educators, including retired teachers, can be powerful voices for gun violence prevention

Resources Mentioned:

• Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence — educators can get involved through the "Join Us" tab, and community meetings are held on Zoom the last Wednesday of every month
• Moms Demand Action
• Everytown Survivor Network
• Sandy Hook Promise
• Newtown Action Alliance
• Guns Down America — founded by Igor Volsky, who advised Abbey on launching Teachers Unify
• Congresswoman Jahana Hayes — 2016 National Teacher of the Year and Abbey's own representative, whose keynote at the Connecticut Teacher of the Year symposium Abbey references

About Our Guest: Abbey Clements, MSEd, is Executive Director and Co-Founder of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence and a former elementary school teacher for 32 years. She previously served as a strategic consultant on gun violence issues for the American Federation of Teachers and is a member of the National Advisory Council for ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence.

About the Host: Nan Whaley is a longtime community leader and public servant. She's currently the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio. She served as Mayor of Dayton, Ohio, from 2014 - 2022. Nan has also presided over the United Conference of Mayors. She's a feminist, daughter, aunt, sister, and friend.

About the Show: Carry As You Climb focuses on elevating the voices of women in leadership from Ohio and across the United States. The podcast features guests who give special attention to not only busting through doors to lead but also hold the door open for more women behind them. In other words, they carry as they climb. We focus on leadership development and leadership lessons. Plus, we share personal experiences to inspire the inclusion of more diverse leaders in business, government and the nonprofit sector.

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Produced by: Collective Change Communications - Kelly Sakalas & Jeni Keeler

Note: The opinions expressed by host Nan Whaley on this podcast are hers alone, and not those of any organization with which she is affiliated.