Episode 23: Our Wave

In August 2021, the Charity Matters Podcast re-released host Heidi Johnson's conversation with Our Wave's Kyle Linton and Laura Sinko as students headed back to college. Kyle, who spoke as the organization's executive director, and Laura, a nurse and researcher focused on healing after sexual violence, talked about why they built Our Wave. They also shared the challenges of running a volunteer-powered nonprofit and what keeps them going.

Building a Place to Be Heard

Kyle explains that Our Wave started in 2018 to give survivors a way to share their stories anonymously. Movements like #MeToo opened the door for many people, but sharing on social media is very public. Many survivors wanted to read others' stories and tell their own without being seen. As technology and design people, Kyle's team set out to build a platform rooted in research, hope, and healing rather than a cold place to post content.

Laura met the team at a sexual violence conference. Her research with survivors had revealed a deep longing for community and a place to speak and process their truth. She joined just before launch, bringing a clinician's eye to the platform's content. Kyle credits his longtime collaborator Brendan Michaelsen and a small core team of volunteers with shaping everything Our Wave became.

Stretching Small Resources for Big Impact

Kyle describes the biggest challenge as stretching limited resources to reach survivors who are disproportionately affected, such as migrant workers. That work can mean translating the platform, partnering with groups that serve those communities, and creating materials for the people who support them. Laura, the team's grant writer, names funding as her greatest challenge, since she hopes to one day pay the volunteers who give so much.

Both point to moments that made the work feel real. Laura and a fellow specialist presented to USA Gymnastics on recognizing the quiet signs of abuse. Our Wave also partnered with the Instagram community Unapologetically Surviving on FAQ Fridays, answering survivors' questions about topics like coercion and disclosing to loved ones. Laura says the flood of people asking the same questions showed how much survivors share in common.

Why Being Seen Matters

When the conversation turns to impact, Laura reminds listeners that numbers only tell part of the story. Messages from survivors who feel less alone are what sustain her, and she describes "being seen when you feel so alone" as what keeps her going. Her dream is a virtual healing space that opens access for people who can't easily reach therapy or other costly care. Kyle hopes for a full-time staff that can grow Our Wave into a global community that meets survivors wherever they are in healing.

Reflecting on the journey, Kyle says the work has deepened his empathy and shown him how much people want to help, even without pay. Laura encourages anyone who sees a gap to take a chance on themselves and build a team that shares their mission.

Key Moments

• 1:46 – Kyle shares how Our Wave began and why anonymity matters to survivors.

• 3:33 – Laura describes meeting the team at a conference and the gap her research uncovered.

• 5:27 – Kyle credits Brendan Michaelsen and the volunteer team as co-creators of Our Wave.

• 15:16 – The biggest challenges: reaching underserved survivors and finding funding.

• 18:27 – What fuels Kyle and Laura through the hardest days of nonprofit work.

• 23:18 – Moments that mattered, from USA Gymnastics to FAQ Fridays.

• 28:17 – Measuring impact through both reach and survivors' own words.

• 33:06 – Their dreams for the future of Our Wave.

• 35:51 – Life lessons from building something with almost no resources.

• 44:37 – How listeners can explore stories, follow along, donate, and volunteer.

Listen to the full episode on Charity Matters Podcast.