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Women of Distinction

Dr. Marie Brown-Mercadel

GETTING TO MY ENOUGH

By Judith A. Habert

After 14 years of meeting and in- which was completed at North Carolina
terviewing some of the most dynamic Central University, a Historically Black
women in San Diego, I have gotten to the College in Durham, North Carolina. “It was
point where in the first five minutes of a rough period in my life, but I knew if I
my interview I can tell when a featured wanted to provide my daughter with the
woman is someone worth listening to same opportunities that I had growing
very closely. This is someone that will ac- up, this was what I had to do. I was deter-
complish something huge and laughs at mined to do so independently; I wanted
the concept of a glass ceiling because no to be my daughter’s hero and teach her
mere piece of glass will contain their aspi- that you can accomplish your goals with
rations. She has a compelling story to tell dedication and hard work. To this day my
about her background as a public servant, daughter recalls attending classes with
mentor, leader, motivational speaker, and me when I did not have a babysitter.
a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Dr. Brown-Mercadel had a vision for
Dr. Marie Brown-Mercadel was born her studies in psychology. Although her
and raised in Jacksonville, North Carolina family has a background in nursing, she
by her father, a single parent of seven chil- wanted to study psychology to work in
dren and a retired United States Marine. the field of human services. Both of her
When she was in high school, she moved parents were always helping others, be it Photos by Portrait Creations, Charlotte, NC
to Rialto, California to live with her Mom, a a child in need of a temporary home or a
registered nurse. friend that was going through hard times.
Soon after high school she got mar- She always had a strong desire to give In 2016 Dr. Brown-Mercadel started
ried and had a daughter. Unfortunately, back to the community and work with thinking of ways to meld her love of
the marriage did not work out and she vulnerable populations of people. “Aside mentoring with identifying the barriers to
returned to North Carolina as a divorcing from my family influence, I think my women of color promoting to executive
single parent determined to provide the experience with childhood trauma drove level positions. She recognized that she
best possible life for her daughter. She me to go into the field of health and was often in the minority when it came
began taking classes at Coastal Carolina human services. Childhood sexual abuse to women of color serving in executive
Community College with the goal of pur- is a topic that isn’t often mentioned and level leadership positions. She brought
suing a degree in psychology. “I quickly is instead hidden in many families and together small groups of women, many
recognized that my Mom and Dad were communities. If you haven’t experienced that she had spent time mentoring over
right for pushing me to go on to college. it yourself, it is difficult to understand how the past few years and introduced her first
Although my parents were separated, it truly affects every aspect of your life.” motivational speech titled “Getting to My
they co-parented my siblings and I. All of We hear about the sexual abuse that Enough”. This speech detailed her journey
those things they were telling me sud- occurred in the gymnastics world, in the to survive childhood sexual abuse and
denly came back to me as a single parent, Baptist and Catholic church, and the “Me to push past her own self-doubts and
and I knew if I was going to provide the Too” movement has been a prominent esteem issues and develop the ability to
kind of life I desperately wanted for my discussion in the media. We have seen perform well in human services leader-
daughter, then I had to find a way to a multitude of high-profile resignations ship positions in North Carolina, Texas,
obtain my college degree.” and charges against individuals accused Louisiana, and California.
Dr. Brown-Mercadel received tremen- of sexual harassment and sexual abuse. When she started sharing her story,
dous support from her family during this Unfortunately, the same level of attention she learned that several of her closest
time, however, as a single mother her is not given to having open discussions friends were impacted by sexual abuse.
time was extremely limited because she about sexual abuse. Although current She was astounded and very encouraged
was working full-time, going to school statistics indicate that family members to give others a platform for discussing an
full-time, and caring for a young child. It and friends abuse 60% of childhood sex- “undiscussable” topic. It was then that she
took her about ten years to take enough ual abuse victims, the silence around the decided to “stop being silent, and share
classes to earn her undergraduate degree topic is palpable. her experience with others in a way that

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