Waves of Voice - Avenues of Change

The Creation of a Leadership Center
and Women's Museum

by Paige Riley

What moves you past fear and vulnerability?

For me, passion overrides my vulnerability, my self-doubt, my greatest fears and sometimes my better judgment - and I am certainly glad for that! Passion is my greatest source of inspiration. It leads me into that magical place of owning personal power, pushing common advice and "better judgment" aside, and confronting my greatest fears.

In those moments, passion has shown me the path, or maybe the path I need to build. It is in this place that my creativity soars. Leaving external noise to the wayside, I am freed from judgment - I can move mountains.

My passion has always been stirred in the areas of supporting and protecting people, particularly women. I'm passionate about issues that affect women and their families, as well as youth, community, education and environment.

I've worked with women and girls for over 20 years. Women whose lives were violated by substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse and all the rippling effects; eating disorders, suicide and self-harm, homelessness, and inequality on all levels.

Several years ago, I had my own battles with most of the same experiences. I'd been helping women for so many years and now I was in need of help and support. The universe gave me the gift of personal experience in domestic violence, sexual assault, monetary inequity, and homelessness.

I learned what a difference support can make – what a difference being heard can make. I have known the honor of being celebrated for my voice, for my pain. Yes, CELEBRATED! I want to help others experience that.

My passion comes in great waves. Sure, there's always the constant flow, a steadfast current that keeps me going, but then there are those moments where great waves come.

Such a moment led me to create a non-profit called WAVE ~ The Women's Avenue for Voicing Empowerment to celebrate how we uniquely step into our own personal power and lead forward.

WAVE brings women together through music and workshops. For over two years, many women musicians were supported through concerts that drew people regionally from Cape Cod, Providence, Boston and beyond. The "Wooden Room" concert series was well supported and musicians and agents had to book many months in advance due to its popularity.

Workshops, educational series and lectures, as well as spiritual events were also well supported.

WAVE created a bi-weekly women's discussion group that is now in its third year. A wide range of topical discussion has included activism, politics, personal histories, poetry, The Vagina Monologues, Sex and Sensuality Series, movie nights, speakers and more.

WAVE has also been documenting personal stories and creating exhibits of women's experiences for public display. Storytelling through art is a unique language that cuts through all boundaries: social, cultural, economic, racial, and educational. It is a powerful and wide avenue for communication, clearing a path for understanding and unifying our human commonalities. It helps us find meaning in the senseless…order and reality in what may seem unreal, and connects us on an emotional level of appreciation to what may otherwise escape our comprehension.

WAVE recently brought Cape Women together in celebration of One Billion Rising, in solidarity for ending violence against women.

For the past two years, WAVE has produced successful exhibits, workshops and events, but the work with WAVE has only just begun. WAVE needs a physical space to continue this work on a larger scale – a place to celebrate our collective experiences and share our stories.

Funding is necessary to secure such a space. WAVE is seeking people who believe in this vision of celebrating story and leadership, and is calling for collaborators with courage who can help move this vision forward.

Web and social media support will also help WAVE become more visible on a local, national and global level. Board and committee members will help to support all of this process.

At the heart of serious social change is the honoring of girls and women. Together, we can decide what type of transformation we wish to see and the avenues of creating that into being.

We can create change that deeply affects all of us, and the ways in which we honor each other, our communities and ourselves. I am extremely passionate about creating this space, and I am so very pleased to support women making waves on Cape Cod and beyond.

It is our stories that can move the mountains of oppression so our hearts can become the canvases of peace. Through the creation of a leadership center and a women's museum for exhibits, our voices will be heard!

If you wish to help WAVE move forward with greater collaborative power to create opportunities, instill respect, confidence and leadership, please contact me at peacefullypaige@gmail.com

Pamet Reflections Courtesy of Heather Blume

Photographs courtesy of Paige Riley

WAVE is in need of a permanent
physical space to:

• be a catalyst for innovative ideas, and a vibrant space where these ideas can be shared, heard, and supported
• become a place where personal stories are shared, documented, honored, and celebrated
• engage the local community in the formation of exhibits that will be shown in the area, and also travel the around the world
• become a place where outside exhibits are showcased that Cape Codders may not have a chance to see otherwise
• host workshops that support the contributions of local women who are doing powerful work in the community
• be a place of strong collaboration as powerful artists and leaders that can inspire local and global activism - weaving the global perspective into local work
• be a place that facilitates avenues of leadership development programs in politics, education and businesses, with a focus on younger women

The Women's Avenue for Voicing Empowerment (WAVE) is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating space where women are honored and celebrated locally, regionally, and globally. Also on Facebook

Paige Riley is an artist, energy worker, activist, and mentor whose passion is to create and support community. She has been mentoring for over twenty years with particular focus on honoring the sacred feminine.

Paige is also the Founder and Director of WAVE ~ The Women's Avenue for Voicing Empowerment because she believes that creating social change will come through the honoring of women's voices.

Contact Paige at peacefullypaige@gmail.com