Today we’d like to introduce you to Molly Clayton.
Hi Molly, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Fort Worth and came to Austin in the mid-90’s to attend the University of Texas. With a degree in Spanish, I pursued a career in international exchange programs to feed my travel bug and also had a stint as an office manager where I picked up some handy accounting knowledge and bookkeeping skills.
My first job in the nonprofit sector was with United Ways of Texas working to explore a community-based approach to college and career readiness. It was my first time working on behalf of youth and families, and I was hooked! It was there that I gained an appreciation of the diversity of communities across my home state and gained some exposure to the Texas policy landscape, learning about issues like early childhood education and family financial security.
Also during that time, I stretched way outside my comfort zone when I joined the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls (Hell Yeah, Hellcats!!). My derby girl alter ego, Sindra Dee, allowed me to feel unapologetically competitive, smart, and sexy all at the same time – and on roller skates. It was every bit as fun and challenging as you might expect.
With that confidence boost, I decided to pursue my MBA at the University of Manchester in the UK. It was a highly diverse and international program, so my classmates were from all over the world. It was an incredible and life-changing experience.
When I came home, I took a job as the first Executive Director of the Texas Partnership for Out of School Time, which is a statewide nonprofit working on expanding afterschool and summer learning opportunities for youth. It was a very small organization, so like so many folks in the nonprofit sector, I wore a lot of hats. I was doing everything from taking out the recycling to managing the website to lobbying at the Capitol. I learned so much about nonprofit governance and management in that role and worked with some fantastic folks in the youth development field.
After a few years, I decided to move on and tried my hand at nonprofit management consulting with clients across the U.S., which was amazing – but by then, I had started a family and the travel demands were too much. So, I went looking for my next adventure and found the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
I joined the organization five years ago in a development role but quickly applied my experience in different capacities, including project management, finance, and operations. I was pregnant with my second child when my predecessor left and I became interim CEO. A couple of months later in April 2018, the board trusted me with the permanent Executive Director role and two weeks after that, I went into early labor. I was very lucky to have a board room full of ob/gyns and reproductive health experts to support me during my maternity leave and the sleep-deprived months to follow.
During my time as Executive Director, I’ve had the chance to dig into some incredibly challenging issues, including increasing access to contraception and improving the minimum standards for sexual health education in public schools. As you can imagine, doing this kind of work in the highly-charged political and cultural environment of the Lone Star State is… dynamic. It definitely keeps me on my toes and I feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to work with and learn from the tremendously talented and passionate folks in our organization and in the field of adolescent sexual health.
I would not have become the person I am now without the network of family and friends who support me in countless ways. My family – both growing up and now – have always been my biggest cheerleaders, although I did keep the roller derby thing under wraps from my parents for the first year because I didn’t want them to worry! I have a loving and devoted husband of 8 years who is a fantastic father to our two rambunctious boys. His family is now my family and they are simply amazing. I also have the most amazing group of girlfriends, many of whom I have been close with since grade school. We have ridden the waves of life and loss together – school, work, relationships, kids, parents, siblings, all of it. Many of our partners are also good friends, and we’re just raising the next generation of our extended family in a sweet little interwoven web of loving chaos.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Coming from a white, middle-class background, I had many privileges I didn’t really notice until much later in life. My parents paid for my first college degree, so I got through undergrad without accruing any student loan debt. I later took on debt for graduate school – and may have to work into my 90s to pay that off, depending on the federal policy winds that prevail in the coming years.
The nonprofit sector is incredibly rewarding in many ways, but overall the financial compensation doesn’t compete with what folks in the private sector earn. I feel fortunate to earn enough to support my family and am very grateful to have sustained employment throughout the pandemic and economic crisis – so many families haven’t been nearly that lucky. One day, I hope our society will value folks taking care of people and communities – like teachers and caregivers – as much as we value folks taking care of shareholders and the bottom line.
Overall, I think the biggest challenge for me has been becoming a full-time working, breadwinning (and at times breastfeeding) mom. Growing up, I was encouraged by parents and teachers to go for it – pursue any and every opportunity that came my way. I believed I could have it all, and I worked hard in school (most of the time) to achieve all I could.
But I didn’t have a clue about the challenges I would take on in getting married and having kids. Becoming a parent involves working 14-hour days, seven days a week. Birth parents sacrifice mental capacity (pregnancy brain sometimes lasts years) and physical independence (no more than 4 hours away from a baby or a breast pump) to become completely consumed with this beautiful, sweet new creature whose every need is now your top priority. I love my kiddos as much as the next mama, but it’s a BIG shift that I definitely wasn’t prepared for – and I started in my late 30’s!
I think the expectations we put on parents, and women especially, are completely unrealistic and contribute a lot to the mental health strain for working moms. Also, people tell you to save for college but no one mentions that child care costs as much as (or more than) a monthly mortgage payment and you don’t have the luxury of years of compound interest. So here’s my public service announcement: Do your homework before becoming a parent. Don’t get wrapped up in the romanticism of having kids because that sweet idea will be laughable at 3am when your nipples are cracked and bleeding and your kid hasn’t slept more than 2 hours at a stretch in a week. And unless you plan to make a significant financial contribution and time commitment in raising someone’s kid, you really shouldn’t weigh in on whether/when they plan to have them. Period. (Steps off soapbox.)
My experience is from a heterosexual perspective, but it seems like in the 80s, western culture started raising girls to believe they can do anything but failed to mention that it’s impossible to do everything. We haven’t prepared them for the compromises they’ll have to make if they try to ‘have it all’. Meanwhile, we still aren’t raising boys to be the caregivers and domestic managers they will need to be for their partners to live happy, healthy and productive work lives in challenging careers. I truly cannot wrap my mind around how single parents do it. They are absolute superheroes.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is a statewide, nonpartisan, 501c3 nonprofit headquartered here in Austin. About half of our team members are based in other parts of the state. Our mission is to reduce unintended teen pregnancy through research, advocacy, collaboration and training. Our vision is that every young Texan has the information and resources needed to avoid unintended pregnancy. We work to increase access to medically-accurate, age-appropriate sexual health education and services, including contraception.
The past couple of years have been particularly challenging as our political environment – both nationally and here in Texas – has gotten more polarized. Our polling data and advocacy experiences tell us that when folks sit down to really talk about the importance of equipping young people for a lifetime of sexual health, there is actually more agreement than you’d expect based on the headlines across the political spectrum. But converting that back-room agreement to actual policy change is almost impossible in the current climate.
At the Texas Campaign, we pride ourselves on data-driven approaches to policy and practice, finding compromise and building bridges to work toward a positive future for our youth. We are working really hard to focus on what young Texans are telling us loud and clear that they need – sexual health information that is honest and accurately delivered by trusted adults who are well-informed and non-judgmental.
Unfortunately, the voices of the youth we ultimately serve are ignored a lot of the time. Rational, common-sense health policy and practices designed with the end-user in mind are not nearly as compelling as political theater and provocative headlines, and we often see radical ideologies guiding the public narrative.
I think it’s important for Texas youth, parents, families and community leaders to keep in mind that if we want our young people to be successful, we need to equip them for the challenges and opportunities they will face. At some point in their lives, almost every single person will become sexually active. Right now, data show that the average age of the first sexual experience is 17. That means that a LOT of Texas teens are having sex before that! We are hoping to help young folks make that decision with as much information as possible and all the resources they need to ensure that their experiences are consensual and that they stay safe and healthy.
Sounds simple, but we have a long way to go. Overall birth rates for younger folks have been declining in Texas and nationally over the past two decades, but we still have the highest count of teen births in the U.S., the highest rate of repeat teen births nationwide, and the 9th highest teen birth rate in the U.S. About 1 in 5 babies born to teen parents in Texas are to a person with at least one other baby. Also there are significant disparities in the rates for several populations. Youth with higher teen birth rates than some of their peers include rural teens, LGBTQ youth, Hispanic and black teens, and youth in the child welfare system.
We have simply got to do a better job of ensuring equitable access to sexual health information and contraception, especially for these young folks.
What does success mean to you?
Oof, that’s a tough one. I think every person on the planet would have a different answer. For me, I want to look back on my life one day when I’m an old lady feeling like I’ve made a positive impact in my work, my family, and my community. Like my life was worth living and left the world a little better than it was before. That’s a pretty big aspiration, though. I would settle for becoming an old lady sipping a refreshing adult beverage in a rocking chair on a wraparound porch someplace in the Texas Hill Country, in a broad-brimmed hat and well-worn overalls, feeling like I worked hard enough in my earlier years to earn that respite. So yeah, success for me is basically becoming Ouiser from Steel Magnolias. Naturally, my girlfriends will make up the rest of the cast and have their rocking chairs lined up next to mine.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@txcampaign.org
- Website: www.txcampaign.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/txcampaign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/txcampaign
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/txcampaign
Image Credits
TriD Photography, Kelly Zhu Photo, Sarahi Novela Photography, Brent Lavelle, Jonny Stranger
