Whitney Austin responded to the darkest day of her life by becoming an upstander. In 2018, the wife and mother was shot 12 times as she entered a building in downtown Cincinnati. By some miracle, each bullet hit parts of her body in a way that was not fatal. She knew instantly she was the victim of a mass shooting, and vowed if she lived, she would spend her life fighting gun violence. She has followed through on that promise, and leads her foundation, Whitney/Strong, from a place of deep gratitude just to be alive.
“I don’t do any of this alone. I get to this place because of all the love people have poured into me.”
– 2024 Upstander award winner Whitney Austin
Whitney/Strong is focused on the slow, difficult work of seeking middle ground between people on opposite sides of a very polarizing issue, zeroing in on “responsible gun ownership and ending gun violence.” For her work in this area, we awarded Whitney the Non-Profit Upstander of the Year in June, 2024. Reflecting on the group of people given an upstander award, Whitney said, “Every single person that was honored is doing something very important.” You can read about all the winners here.
Host Jackie Congedo, CEO of the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center said Whitney approaches the work of lasting change, “from a place of possibility, hope, and gratitude.” We’re grateful to Whitney for joining us for this episode of Hear My Story, and inspired by her spirit, drive, and strength.
This episode is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling. Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode https://www.youtube.com/@holocaustandhumanity
Our gratitude to Margaret & Michael Valentine for their ongoing support of this series.
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Episode Resources
Learn more about the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center
Learn more about being an upstander, find out what your character strengths are, and nominate someone to be honored as an upstander
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