Emma stood in the foundation's conference room, looking at the anniversary display Maya had arranged. Ten years since the Sterling Foundation opened its doors. A decade of serving survivors, changing policy, building a movement that had grown far beyond anything Emma imagined that first day.
The walls were covered with photos, shelter openings, advocacy campaigns, survivors who'd rebuilt their lives. Emma saw herself in many of the early photos, younger, more intense, carrying trauma she hadn't yet learned to process. Then fewer photos as the years progressed, as Emma stepped back, as other faces became the foundation's public image.
Maya appeared beside her, now the foundation's executive director while Emma served as board chair, present but not operational. "Hard to believe it's been ten years."
