Jessica Miller is the executive director at the Gingerbread House, a safe haven where children who have been sexually or physically abused are interviewed to obtain the details to conduct an effective and complete investigation. Miller has a tough job, but she has learned to balance it through her faith. She recently won the top honor in her field with the recent Geaux Blue for Kids 2014 Leadership Award. Miller tells CityLife about her passion for her job, what the award means to her and her life as a mom.
Q: What do you like most about your position as the executive director at the Gingerbread House? Miller: For the past 12 years, I’ve had the privilege of leading the Gingerbread House as executive director. What I love most is the team of people I am surrounded by on a daily basis. Our staff is top-notch. Our board of directors is composed of incredibly dedicated individuals. Our extended multidisciplinary team – detectives, social workers, prosecutors, medical and mental health professionals – pour their hearts and souls into fighting this tough battle called child abuse. Working these cases is tough. Remembering why we are doing what we are doing is key. It’s all about the children. So long as there are children being victimized, we will continue to join hands and press forward to help in any way that we can.
Q: Working at the Gingerbread House has to be extremely rewarding, but i can also imagine that it has to be incredibly difficult to see what you see on a daily basis. How do you handle this? How do you balance your work and home life? Miller: I try to remember this Scripture: ‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.’ 1 Peter 4:10 Faith, courage, perseverance and hope are the guiding principles that inspire me as we continue to fight on behalf of innocent children that have been abused. We all have bad days, and in this field, those days tug at your heart strings like no other, but choosing joy is the key for me. Happiness is a form of courage. The children we serve at the Gingerbread House have taught me that. I try to find balance by keeping an optimistic outlook, and faith plays a huge role in that.
Q: You recently won the Geaux Blue for Kids 2014 leadership Award – congrats! What does it mean to you to receive that award? How do you hope this award will help promote the Gingerbread House? Miller: It was such an honor to receive the award! My fellow executive directors across the state are hard-working, inspiring and well-deserving of many accolades, so to be chosen as the executive director of the year by my peers was one of the biggest professional honors I’ve ever received. Thank you, George, Waynette and Jane, for nominating me. I hope the recognition shines bright not on me but on our child advocacy center – the Gingerbread House – and all other child advocacy centers in our state. I hope it will help people learn a little bit more about what CACs are all about [there are 777 in the United States] – child-friendly facilities staffed by caring professionals where children who have been abused can tell about their abuse through a forensic interview, where they can receive counseling, medical help and other services, and where families can be helped on how to navigate the court system should their case proceed in that direction. CACs work hard to help victims become survivors, while at the same time promoting education to help prevent child abuse in the first place. We do all of this at no cost to the victim’s family so that no child is ever turned away due to the family’s inability to pay for services.
Q: What are some interesting facts about you? Miller: I was born in Puerto Rico, and my mom and I moved to Louisiana when I was 12. She was a pediatrician and neonatologist (since retired) and took a huge chance by uprooting her family and moving here. She taught me all about trusting God, taking chances, perseverance and hard-work. I have the sweetest family! My husband, Lance, and I are blessed with two beautiful children who keep us on our toes and show us what life is all about. I really believe it takes a village, and two of the biggest blessings in our village are my mom and my mother-in-law, who both help with after-school care for our children. They make it possible for me to follow this passion of mine to help children who have been hurt. Lance and I are both very involved in our children’s school. We love to volunteer there. We love our church family at St. Joseph Catholic Church, and I love helping with the first grade PSR (Sunday School) class. I love to travel, decorate and shop for thrifted treasures. I may go overboard with some of my crazy party themes, but why not? Life is a gift meant to be celebrated.
