How to Live an Epic Life

Leaning into Fear and Service with Claire Louge

Hello H.tties! Our pod-a-versery is coming up next week. We’re finishing our second full year of podcasting!

In recognition of that achievement AND all the support you gorgeous h.tties have given us, we’re re-releasing this early (kind of major) episode with Claire Louge, that we recorded back in February 2020 before the world changed.
This episode is our most downloaded ever… and for good reason. Claire is brilliant, inspiring, and tells important stories about her personal growth and what drives her to be such an advocate for youth and community.

Like the other special re-releases we’ve done recently … this interview with Claire is another part of the meta story of how the HERE.together podcast came to be what it is today.

You see, at the time of this original interview, Claire had just been promoted to Executive Director of a state-wide non-profit and I thought we’d be talking about kinda standard podcast interview fare about how she’d been so successful at such a young age. She’d pitch her programs, encourage people to get involved and we’d have a decent episode.

Instead, the conversation veered quickly into much more important, more fraught territory that included stories about self-image, eating disorders, fear, courage, and choosing to live large. Yes, we also talked about preventing child abuse and live action role-playing.
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This kind of radical honesty, fierce connection, and general badassery became the touchstone for us in producing this podcast. We knew we couldn’t make a regular, rah-rah business or thin-veneered community podcast… we knew we were in this for the vulnerability, the deep humanity, the learning, and, frankly, the big love that we’ve experienced over and over with the parade of incredible guests we’ve been so fortunate to share conversations with.
And that’s the knowing we’ve followed ever since. Thank you for following along.

Guest Bio:
Claire Louge is the Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse Arizona, a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to preventing child maltreatment before it happens, and helping those who have experienced childhood trauma build resilience to its effects.

​Claire obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Cornell University and her Masters of Education in Human Relations from Northern Arizona University. Claire is also a Certified Trauma Support Specialist through the Arizona Trauma Institute, certified by the National Alliance of Children's Trust and Prevention Funds to teach the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework, and an authorized Stewards of Children® facilitator. She is a graduate of the American Express Leadership Academy at the ASU Lodestar Center and is also an AmeriCorps VISTA alumnus. Claire also volunteers her time to create and produce live action role playing adventure events for teens.


Show Notes: 
Organizations & Events

• ​Prevent Child Abuse Arizona
• Statewide Child Abuse PREVENTION Conference - July 21 & 22
• Wayfinder Camp

Books & Articles

• Things My French Mother Taught Me - Claire Louge
• SoulCraft - David Plotkin
• Choice Theory - William Glasser
• Positive Childhood Experiences
• So You Want to Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo