Penny Meadows never expected that a conversation early in her career would stay with her for decades. A young person she was working with was having a difficult time, and no one seemed quite sure how to reach her. That morning, Penny walked into a situation where the teenager had withdrawn from those around her and was keeping to herself.
Penny did not stop to create a plan or rehearse a response. She simply did what a mother, teacher, or trusted adult might do on instinct. She sat down beside her, leaving enough space to avoid crowding her but staying close enough to let her know she was not alone.
In the moments that followed, Penny asked a question that would shape much of her life and leadership.
"What is going on? How can I help you?"
The young person kept her head down and answered with little more than a shrug and a few words. Whatever hurt she was carrying remained difficult to reach, but something important happened in that moment. She did not walk away. She stayed.
And sometimes, staying is enough.
Years later, Penny still remembers the conversation, the uncertainty, and the decision to sit beside a young person who needed someone willing to stay. Looking back, she can trace much of her life and leadership back to moments like that one.
Roots in a Farm Kitchen
The first lessons Penny carried into leadership weren't learned in an office or classroom. They came from a small farm near Aberdeen, South Dakota. Fields stretching toward the horizon, garden rows pulled straight by practiced hands. The scent of canning and supper drifting through the house, the sound of prayer in the home she shared with her parents and siblings. Faith was not an idea. It was the ground they walked on.
Her grandparents helped plant the local church that shaped their community. Kindness wasn't something people talked about. It was simply part of how they lived.
Middle school brought challenges Penny hadn't expected. Some of her classmates were making choices she didn't want to be part of, and rather than risk heading down the same path, she began keeping to herself. What started as caution slowly became isolation. By high school, her grades were slipping, and so was her confidence. In a small school, you cannot disappear. Someone always sees.
During her sophomore year, a counselor called her in, looked her in the eye, and said, “I don’t know what is happening, but you need to turn this around. God has more for you.”
His words startled her, but they also reached her. It was the first time someone other than her immediate family looked beyond the person she appeared to be in that moment and spoke to the person she could become.
It was a small moment, spoken in a small room, but it stretched far into her future.
The Moment That Changed Her Faith Forever
During her senior year of college at Bartlesville Wesleyan, Penny moved home to complete her coursework. Her grandfather, nearing the end of his life, lived with her parents.
One morning she sat talking with him before class, then stepped into the next room to finish getting ready for class. When she heard a thump, she rushed back in only to see her grandfather slump in his chair. He was gone.
The room felt heavy, but not with fear. What Penny remembers most is an overwhelming sense of peace, as though God's presence had settled over the room.
“I felt God’s presence in a way I cannot forget,” she said. “It was as if He whispered, as close as you feel Me now, I will always be this close.”
She has carried that moment ever since. It taught her that God draws near in the hardest places, and that listening for His presence is a form of strength.
Responsibility Finds Her
Penny's work has never started with programs or positions. It has always started with people.
While still in college, she volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Her “little brother” was a boy without much structure at home, a child drifting. She didn’t try to fix him. Instead, she spent time with him, listened, and gradually earned his trust. The experience showed her how simply being present with someone can open the door to change.
After graduation, she worked at Dillard's and was placed in management within weeks. Responsibility came naturally.
Later she worked on adolescent psychiatric units at two Tulsa hospitals. These were places full of conflict, emotion, and young people carrying burdens far beyond their years. She worked with agencies, teaching character development in Tulsa's inner-city schools. Many employees felt overwhelmed by the intensity. Penny became the calm voice in the middle of it. She listened long enough for the real story to surface and helped people find a way forward.
Across every role, a similar pattern emerged. Young people opened up to her, colleagues trusted her, and leaders recognized her ability to bring calm and stability into difficult situations. Her influence rarely came from authority. It came from paying attention, listening carefully, and helping people feel seen.
Through it all, the same question continued to guide her work: How can I help you?
A Faith That Guides Her Through Hard Seasons
As Penny grew into roles with greater responsibility, she came to understand that influence is not only about decisions, programs, or outcomes. It is also about the heart behind those decisions.
She found that leadership, especially in work that touches young lives, requires a different kind of strength. It means paying attention, responding with care, and trusting that God is present even when answers are not immediately clear.
Over the years, Penny has learned to return to a simple practice: pause, pray, and ask God for the wisdom to respond rather than react.
Scripture reminds her to "be still and know," and that knowing has become less about understanding every circumstance and more about recognizing God's nearness.
This is the faith that has sustained Penny throughout her life. Not a life free of difficulty, but a life anchored by the belief that God is present, faithful, and at work in ways we do not always see.
The Woman He Saw
Years ago, a school counselor looked at a discouraged high school student and said something she never forgot.
Years later, Penny would spend much of her life offering that same gift to others. She sat beside teenagers who felt invisible, encouraged staff members who doubted themselves, and helped children recognize strengths they had not yet discovered. Former students, youth, and employees still stop to tell her how much those conversations mattered. Not because she had all the answers, but because she took the time to truly see them and remind them they mattered.
The encouragement she received as a teenager became the encouragement she spent a lifetime offering to others.
Perhaps that is Penny Meadows' greatest legacy. Not the positions she has held or the programs she has led, but the people who walk away believing there is more ahead for them than they can yet see, just as someone once believed it for her.
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About Penny Meadows
Penny Meadows has devoted her career to helping young people feel seen, supported, and encouraged. She has spent decades working with children, students, families, and staff through youth development, education, and community-serving organizations. Today, she serves as Executive Director of HeartMatters, a nonprofit that provides character development and digital media safety education for children, youth, and families. Penny is known for her thoughtful leadership, her ability to listen well, and her gift for helping others recognize strengths they may not yet see in themselves.
Learn more about HeartMatters at HeartMatters.
About the Writer
Angie Thompson is a fundraising strategist, consultant, and storyteller who helps nonprofits, organizations, and purpose-driven individuals shape messages that inspire action. Her work brings together message development, creative strategy, and community-rooted storytelling, informed by award-winning experience in film, television, music, and philanthropy.
Through Angie Thompson Consulting LLC and her Pivot Pulse™ framework, she partners with people doing meaningful work and helps them communicate it in ways that build trust, deepen engagement, and inspire participation.
Women Who Say Yes to the Spark is a storytelling series highlighting women whose lives, leadership, and work have created meaningful impact in their communities.
Member: Association of Fundraising Professionals · Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits · Society of Lyricists & Composers · ASCAP
Disclaimer & Copyright
The narrative presented in this story is based on a personal interview and reflection with Penny Meadows. The views, experiences, and memories shared are her own and are included with permission. This feature is part of the Women Who Say Yes to the Spark series and is intended to celebrate the subject’s leadership, service, creativity, and influence.
© 2026 Angie Thompson Consulting LLC. All rights reserved. If you wish to republish or excerpt this story, please contact Angie Thompson Consulting LLC for permission.