MEET THE
FACILITATORS
Lucy and Molly’s story began 15 years ago in the vibrant Mission district of San Francisco where they happened upon the same birth class. Bonding swiftly over the shared experience of motherhood, their connection deepened as they discovered the unique journey of raising sons.
Fast forward through the joys and chaos of parenting four boys, a decade long friendship and a powerful SEL training program at Argonaut School, Lucy and Molly were inspired to create something life-altering for boys. They launched True North Teen - an innovative online advisory program.
Lucy Van Horne
Lucy brings over two decades of experience in working with adolescents in education. After obtaining a Bachelor's degree from Middlebury College and a California Teaching credential, her journey started in traditional classrooms, where she taught for numerous years as a public high school teacher. In addition, she pursued a position within the learning services department at The Urban School of San Francisco, gaining valuable insights into addressing diverse learning needs.
Inspired by the transformative impact of personalized attention, Lucy founded Vis-a-Vis a tutoring service tailored to individual learning styles. As a product of an all girls education, she has always felt strongly about bolstering girls and co-developed The Steady Hall, an organization dedicated to guiding teenage girls in achieving equilibrium. Now, as a mother to a tween and teen boy, and after numerous vulnerable conversations with boys about the overwhelming pressures and rigid expectations of masculinity, she has recognized the urgent and ever-present need to support this demographic. The lack of resources and emotional guidance for boys is striking, highlighting a significant gap in the support system.
Lucy is passionately committed to addressing this disparity and applying her expertise towards supporting the emotional health of tween and teen boys.
Molly Mekjavich
Molly is a seasoned healthcare professional with a Master of Science in Nursing from UC San Francisco and 20+ years of experience supporting birthing families as a Certified Nurse Midwife, postpartum nurse, and nurse coach. Her time as a clinical preceptor and college-level nursing instructor inspired her to pursue work with young people.
Molly’s healthcare career took an unexpected turn in 2020, when a COVID-mandated school hiatus became a nearly four-year journey into alternative home learning for her now 13 and 15 year old boys. During this time, she was fascinated by the non-linear learning patterns especially present in adolescents and marveled at the meaningful learning that happens when adults decenter their own agendas.
The self-directed learning chapter of her family’s life coincided with the birth of the #MeToo movement and while it stoked deeply held feminist fires in Molly, she wondered where her own male children fit into the feminist future.
Driven by her passion to support boys, Molly completed a holistic nurse coaching program and attained her SEL advisory facilitator certificate through the Argonaut School in 2023. With a fresh understanding about adolescent learning, a new set of group facilitation skills, and a mission to create a world in which boys have ample opportunities to develop their full humanhood, Molly is thrilled to co-lead True North Teen Advisory. Molly hopes that holding space for boys leads to a world where people across the gender spectrum can thrive.