Meet the Team - Brave Girls Club

My name is Melody Ross. My sister Kathy Wilkins and I founded Brave Girls Club in 2009.

Brave Girls Club was what we wanted to do more than anything else in the world, and even though 2009 seemed like impossible timing, we knew we could do it if we just buckled down and did it……so we did.

This is me, Melody Ross:

I am married to a man who I am madly in love with and we are parents to 5 phenomenally funky and creative kids, and 3 beautiful grandbabies and counting….I am a full-time artist and a writer and a forever seeker of all things beautiful and true. I am a horrible housekeeper although an unkempt house makes me crazy, and I have a weakness for creme brulee. I love artsy cowboy boots when I am not in my bare feet and I know for sure that I belong in the mountains, it is my element……I am a 4th generation Idahoan.

This is my sister Kathy:

Kathy is my partner in Brave Girls Club and a woman who I can only dream of growing up to emulate….If you get the opportunity to ever meet her, talk to her, or spend any time with her…it will be an experience that you will never forget and you will be better for it.

Kathy is happily 58….and no, this photo is not photo-shopped, she really is this beautiful. Kathy is married to Kurt and together they have 8 children and 16 grandchildren (and counting!) Kathy is a phenomenal musician and has a brilliant analytical mind. Her artfully crafted food will blow your mind (at many of our retreats) and her skill of unconditional love and acceptance is a gift to the world. She brings peace and reason everywhere she goes. I feel so fortunate to have her in my life, let-alone having her as my big sister….she has been a critical part of my world since the day I was born.

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Meet Our Team

When we started…we thought it was just going to be us…and to tell the truth, we are a pretty dynamic duo….but our goal was to do our best to change the world in little ways with kindness and good news and ideas and life-changing fun. Soon…our family members and friends joined in, wanting to be a part of what we are doing….and now, there are many many of us involved in the behind-the-scenes adventures of Brave Girls Club.

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This is Jeff:

Jeff is Kathy’s phenomenal son-in-law…he is married to Kallie (we’ll introduce you to her in a minute). Before he came to work for us, he worked for a mortgage company and was a high school wresting coach….the last high school team he coached won their region tournament, and he even won the coach of the year award! He is wonderful to work with, is a great husband and is father of 6 of the cutest kids around. Jeff works for us full time managing the business side of Brave Girls Club and keeping things running smoothly. We would never make it without him – he is amazing! He even drives the Brave Bus during camp.

This is Brock:

Brock is my oldest son… here he is with his beautiful wife, Sabrina, and their two little boys. They live here in Boise too!

Brock helped out with our retreats from the beginning, and officially joined the Brave Living team in 2011 as our videographer when we made our first online course, Soul Restoration. Since then, he and I have worked together to make hundreds more videos for Brave Girl University and our YouTube channel… I love getting to work together with him, and we are a stellar team. He is incredibly talented and takes great care in everything he does. Brock is a joy to have around and I feel so lucky that he chose to work with Brave Girls Club!

This is Hilarie:

Everyone needs a Hilarie in their lives, and we don’t know what we’d do without her! Hilarie is an endless fountain of energy, laughter, and hugs. If there’s a question that needs to be answered or a task that needs to be done, you know Hilarie will be on top of it. We always joke that Hilarie came to us through the Boy Scouts of America. Her husband and my husband are HUGE scouters….they live, breathe, eat and sleep Boy Scouts, and since we both live in the same area, we were destined to cross paths. Hilarie is married to Carl, who has also been an enormous help to Brave Girls Club. Together they have 3 sons and 2 daughters, Scarlett and Eden, who are also wonderful helpers at our events.

This is Jennifer:

Jennifer is our youngest sister! She has been happily married to Matt for 20 years, with a common goal of doing all they can to make the world a better place for their 5 children and all humans… so she was excited to be able to join the Brave Living team full time in 2016, and loves being part of the company and mission. You’ll find Jen working behind the scenes to plan Brave Girl Symposium and other Brave Living events, supporting current and prospective Soul Restoration Certified Instructors, running our online shoppe, and helping with customer service. Jennifer loves music! She is an accomplished pianist who taught scores of students for a lot of years. More than likely she’ll have a bad joke or two for you, and she’s always armed with words of support and a lot of love.

This is Kristen:

Kristen came to help us with Brave Box production in 2017 and we haven’t let her go! Every beautiful product you purchase in our online Shoppe has been produced and/or packaged by Kristen, and her care and meticulous attention to detail shows. Kristen came to Idaho several years ago from Livermore, California. She is devoted mother to 2 wonderful boys. (She also happens to be married to Tracey’s son, Ben!) She loves her family and the outdoors. She is a bookworm: our resident Harry Potter freak. Kristen is often on staff at our events… you will know her by her bright smile and incredible gift for empathy. She brings sunshine and compassion everywhere she goes. Kristen often leaves sweet little notes for everyone around the office, helps us stay organized, and she is an incredibly hard worker with the biggest heart and most contagious laugh. We are so happy she’s part of our team!

This is Tracey:

We had this eclectic and wonderful wish list for the perfect person to join our team- Tracey mercifully showed up from Saratoga Springs, Utah and checked each and every box on that list! She came on to do our bookkeeping, and she keeps Customer Service running smoothly… but we’ve also made her official dancemeister (she has moves!). She is always first to help when needed. She seems to be able to do just about anything! Tracey has been married to Greg for about 35 years and is fun and involved mom to 5 and grandma to 4 more! She loves to decorate, especially for Christmas and Halloween (and you may or may not hear Christmas music from her office any time of year)! She has the most beautiful garden; her flowers are legendary. She is thoughtful and wise and a fantastic problem solver, and her level head and generosity make her completely irreplaceable. She makes everything around her more beautiful and more fun. We just love Tracey and know you will, too!

This is Kallie:

Kallie is Kathy’s oldest daughter. She has already led a big and amazing life and traveled many parts of the world, spent a few years doing humanitarian service and missionary work in South America….and is now married to the fabulous Jeff Maughan, whom we all love and adore. She is mother to 6 – two boys and four girls…all born within 9 years of each other. Kallie is a true blue Brave Girl.

Kallie does all sorts of things for Brave Girls Club that you will surely see as you return to our blog. She is a gifted writer and constantly amazes us with her creativity and her wisdom.

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Then there’s our Brave Girl Camp Staff

These girls caught our vision and RUN with us to make it happen! They are amazing and we couldn’t do what we do without them. They are the truest of friends and we are so thankful for all they do to make Brave Girls Club what it is.

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This is Nancy:

Nancy joined our team this year as Executive Chef for Brave Girl Camp. She is a phenomenal cook with a great sense of humor and we can’t imagine WHAT we ever did without her! Nancy lives in Boise and raises a huge garden and chickens and goats and such, and she is an amazing quilter and creator of all things beautiful and love-filled. She does more than 3 women could ever accomplish in a day. Seriously. She does.

This is Maria:

If you’ve been around Brave Girls Club for a while, then you’ve probably heard of Maria’s beautiful jewelry and seen the bracelets she made for Brave Girls Club (find them here). Maria is a big part of everything we do and has been with us since the very beginning. She is married to Jed and they have 1 brave boy and 4 soulful little girls, and they love the outdoors and having awesome adventures together. Maria is true in every way. She LOVES to have fun and works hard at everything. She is a certified CrossFit trainer in high-demand in our area. She is awesome, and you’ll love every minute you spend with her at camp……we sure do!!

This is Carl:

Carl is married to our dear Hilarie. Carl is a wildly-creative artist, a great dad to his 5 kids, and a man who knows how to get things done. Over the years he has been a huge presence at Brave Girls Club and has always just shown up when he knew we needed his helping hands. He’s a guy you can count on to show up when you him. We are so thankful to have Carl on our team!

This is our sister, Lynda, and our niece, Stephanie…

who have been known to travel all the way up the mountain with their full-size harp and guitars to give our retreat attendees a world-class live music concert (did I tell you that most of my siblings are professional musicians?). Now they come to Brave Girl Camp at the River Ranch to sing for our campers there.

And more!

Over the years we have friends diligently show up for each and every retreat and the meetings beforehand to sew special gifts for the attendees, to handcraft nametags and to cook soulfood………they are truly angels to the Brave Girls Club Revolution…..an army of do-gooders and funky artsy ladies who want to connect with others of the same mindset…..we wouldn’t be where we are today without them. We are so thankful for them and love when we get to introduce you to them at Brave Girl Camp!!

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So that’s who we are….We hope you will join us! Brave Girls of EVERY age, shape, color, country and walk of life are welcome here!!