We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ciera George. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ciera below.

Ciera, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

A risk I have taken is taking a year off work to follow my dreams by putting all of my effort into Peach Tree for a year. I spent the year making about 40,000 less (with the support of my husband) but it was hard and I questioned whether or not I was doing the right thing but I started working again part time this year somewhere that helps Peach Tree’s mission and Peach Tree is being more impactful than ever working with the youth.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am the CEO and Founder of Peach Tree Advocacy. We work to alleviate barriers for youth. I worked as a case manager with transitional aged youth but saw that their needs weren’t really being met, instead, the case managers job was simply to maintain and make sure that clients were getting their medication and making their doctors appointments. I love working with youth transitioning into adulthood because they’re still so moldable! They have a lot of the same issues that I had growing up and I wish I would have had someone like me to help!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I was laid off from my full time job, in addition I was asked not to return at one of my coaching jobs. This was devastating, I thought that coaching was my full purpose at the time and I really started to reconsider everything in my life. I was able to overcome by throwing myself into Peach Tree and figuring out what I want it to be. We were able to host 3 community events last year. This year, we double our impact by hosting community events, donation drives and programs for the youth.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Having a mom who didn’t go to college, a dad that was not present and a stepfather who didn’t understand my needs was difficult. I did not know anything about college- I was actually encouraged not to go to college since I grew up in a religion that did not believe in higher education. I did not have the skills to be successful in college, I was kicked out of my home at 19 and was excommunicated from the religion leaving me without my “village” and in a situation to navigate the world on my own.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://peachtreehelps.org
• Instagram: Peach Tree Advocacy
• Facebook: Peach Tree Advocacy
• Linkedin: Peach Tree Adovacy