Middle school is a terrible time for teenage girls.

Their bodies are changing. Acne is developing. Boys are starting to look at them. And for whatever reason, girls start being really mean to each other.

They often feel like no one understands them, like they have to pretend to be someone else, like they're supposed to mold themselves into what society expects them to be.

Carrie Penna remembers these feelings.

Now she's on a mission to make sure no Seacoast girl ever has to feel them again.

In today's conversation from my makeshift studio in Portsmouth, the Executive Director of Soul Models and I discuss:

• Why I care about women's issues (00:00 )


• Carrie's middle school experience (02:45 )


• Living in San Diego (07:04 )


• Working at Lululemon in NH (12:50 )


• Why Carrie joined Soul Models (26:05 )


• What Soul Models does (28:02 )


• How to participate in Soul Models (38:18 )


• Boys' struggles vs. girls' struggles (42:55 )


• Soul Powerful event (47:10 )


• Why Carrie froze her eggs (48:58 )


• What's your mission? (58:13 )

Carrie Penna is the Executive Director of Soul Models, a Seacoast nonprofit that gives middle school girls the tools they need to become confident young women. With the help of facilitators like Amy Tilton or Bridget Jenkins, Carrie creates a curriculum featuring local leaders in art, mindfulness, cooking, and more. Formerly a leader at Portsmouth's (extinct) Lululemon showroom downtown, Penna grew up in Durham, N.H., attended Stonehill College, and also lived in San Diego for five years following a stint working at Dana Farber in Boston.

--To get Soul Models into your daughter's school district, visit SoulModels.org. For information on next month's Soul Powerful event in Kittery, visit here.

--To support the telling of more ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Seacoast Stories ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠like this one, please FOLLOW this podcast on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ feeds. It helps more than you know.

This podcast is hosted, written, researched, and produced by Spotify's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Troy Farkas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, who lives in downtown Portsmouth.