Meet Peyton McCoy, CUSA Board Member

We are thrilled to welcome Circles USA’s new board member, Peyton McCoy. Our extraordinary board is the governance team that oversees CUSA operations, advises on strategic directions, and contributes to specific projects that enhance what CUSA has to offer to our community of practice.

Get to know Peyton in this Q&A, where she makes an elegant case for the power of moral clarity, reclaiming narratives, and Girl Scout cookies to transform America’s collective future.

Welcome, Peyton! What brings you to Circles USA?

The vicissitudes and variegations of poverty must bow in submission to the synergistic efficacy and agency of collective calling, character, competence, and community. We are at a compelling crossroad. On the one hand, we walk the streets of the wealthiest nation on the planet every day. On the other hand, people go to bed hungry every night. Circles USA offers a glimmer of hope, and a glimpse of possibility, that signifies an awakening. The sobering reality most historians affirm is that there have been relatively few periods of cultural awakening and revitalization in America. Historians allude to just four: The first three led to the American Revolution, the Civil War, and American entry into World War I, respectively. The civil rights movement and the Vietnam War were central catalysts to a fourth. Each period was marked by “jarring disjunctions” in norms, behaviors, and attitudes, resulting in societal restructurings. We need a conscientiously conscious restructuring predicated on eradicating the existence of poverty. Circles USA has built a marvelous concept to do just that. We should all want to be a part of its execution.

How does the Circles model of poverty alleviation speak to you, your values, and your experiences with “surviving” & “thriving” in the U.S.?

Circles does not circumvent the truth. How refreshing and reassuring. Facts matter, and we must consistently seek them to the best of our ability. If we do not, we engage in what Du Bois called “lies agreed upon.” Still, facts alone aren’t enough. It is also the interpretation of the facts that matters. It matters what we do with the facts, the kinds of questions we ask about them, and for what ends, because truth activates new possibilities. Telling the truth affords us a chance to excavate the past, examine its ruins, ponder what made us who we are, and experience the resilience that is manifested through new mercies. This calls for the discipline to be vigilant. The discipline to avoid confusing sentimental yearning with truth, and the refusal to recycle recrimination. The discipline to recognize and confront a deceptive nostalgia born out of frustration and powerlessness, perpetrating as genuine memory, predicated on the creation of a nonexistent past, to soothe our sanctimonious souls and justify self-serving agendas. Circles USA understands the significance of telling the story, portraying the intrinsic truth, and striving to rewrite the narrative. In our emergent story, everyone has the opportunity to survive and thrive.

What are you most looking forward to in your board member role?

Historian Vincent Harding poses a question: How are people nurtured to act with self-respect and self-responsibility? How are they encouraged to move through the world with a spirit which un-self-righteously challenges everything that threatens to crush the human spirit, the human ability to love ourselves and others? Can we explore [together] such fundamental questions [and think] aloud about the fascinating possible spiritual connections between the capacity to love ourselves and the willingness to love and serve others? It is the personified pursuit of answers to these questions that I look forward to as a board member.

Will you share some fun facts about where you come from, who is in your community, and what you love to do?

Professionally, I serve as Executive Director of 31st Cares, Inc. I am an author, speaker, workshop facilitator, and conference presenter. Academically, I hold a bachelor’s degree in mass communications/public relations; a master’s degree in counseling psychology; a doctor of education degree in educational administration, and a Ph.D. degree in leadership and culture; and. I am a 2019 graduate of the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. Currently, I am a doctor of ministry student in the ministerial leadership cognate at Liberty University. I am a ministerial associate at Thirty-first Street Baptist Church, a member of the Pearls of Wisdom Book Club, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. I am an avid runner whose life revolves around faith, hope, and the transforming power of love. I believe that faith will get you to first base; hope will carry you to second; but grace will see you home, and ensure a safe landing.

Footnote: I am approaching a world record for greatest number of Girl Scout Cookies ever eaten (Samoas please!).