The Wildling

Listen Up, World!

We're changing the way kids share.

The Wildling, a nonprofit organization, empowers youth to share bravely from their lived stories in a safe and meaningful way. We help kids and teens generate and express out loud, encouraging them to speak their minds, learn from each other, and feel the power of being heard.

The Wildling Founders: Mekea Duffy and Megan Kaplan

"Storytelling is as elemental as our own breath; it fills us up and makes us feel seen, but it takes guidance and practice to get there. That is why The Wildling exists – to set young voices free.”

- Wildling Founders

Testimonials

"The Wildling means stepping into your power. It’s exploring your authentic self and your truth without judgment. The Wildling means community support, and recognizing that what makes us different also makes us beautiful in every way. It’s sharing stories, tears, laughter while building confidence when we know we’re not alone"

- Story Coach (Kjirsten Fogelson, Founder of Colorful Movement, Instructor at Modo)

"In the Black community most kids don’t feel heard or don’t think their story matters. Wilding and their staff came and set the stage for our young people to be heard and empowered by their voices and stories. This not only brought our group of kids together but it showed that most of us go through the same stuff in life. Not one story that was told was overlooked, it was embraced and we all learned from each other that will have an impact on us for the rest of our lives.

We appreciate you guys seriously. Especially in a mobile device era , these kids actually sat down and listened and engaged. That’s hard these days, y’all helped with that!"

– Teacher (Sherome Milon, Beacons Summer Teacher)

"We need to separate:

Storytelling from spelling, Poetry from punctuation, Lyrics from lined paper

Preserve the creative act of putting words together by removing the known obstacle of handwriting. This is why I got so excited about The Wildling. Because it’s a place where kids learn to stand up and speak, when most of their school life is about sit down and listen."

- Pediatric Neuropsychologist (Dr. Elizabeth Adams, Owner of Minnesota Neuropsychology, LLC )

Photos by Bethany Meister: Photographer, and Martin Rittenberry