Molly Boeder Harris was launched into the field of anti-sexual violence advocacy and trauma healing after surviving being raped in 2003. Exploring many diverse resources for recovery in the aftermath of the assault, she found that the approaches which integrated the physical, psychological, energetic, and spiritual impacts of trauma proved most effective and most empowering. Molly’s work in community-based rape crisis centers as a medical and legal advocate and crisis intervention and prevention education for students on two college campuses grounded her in anti-violence theory and practice which was coupled with grassroots, survivor-centered activism.
Recognizing the barriers to accessing whole-person healing resources, combined with her direct, personal experience of their profound ability to nourish resilience, led her to develop the vision for The Breathe Network. She believes that centering survivors’ healing in a way that attends to their bodies, minds, and souls is fundamental within the larger movement to end sexual violence. Molly considers healing a form of prevention - prevention of both future interpersonal harm along with prevention of the intrapersonal suffering survivors navigate when they do not have access to healing resources.
Molly holds a Master’s Degree in International Studies, a Master’s Certificate in Women’s & Gender Studies and is a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP). She served as the Training Coordinator for Somatic Experiencing International's (SEI) Portland, OR training program between 2019 - 2021. She continues to study somatic trauma healing practices and theory with Kathy Kain and has now completed Kain's Touch Skills for Trauma Therapists online and in-person training. In addition to her SE/touchwork practice, Molly has been teaching yoga for 16 years and offers public classes, private instruction, workshops focused on healing trauma through yoga, and trauma-informed care and yoga teacher trainings across the United States and Canada.
She is currently enrolled at California Institute of Integral Studies pursuing her PhD in Research Psychology with a concentration in Somatic Psychology. She intends to utilize her research to strengthen the case for ensuring sexual trauma survivors' access to sliding-scale, trauma-informed, holistic healthcare and healing support.
