Justice Speaks Podcast Episode #49

(Click on the above arrow to listen to the audio.)

An Interview with Briana McCulloch, Executive Director of the Kailee Mills Foundation

In this episode of Justice Speak, JSI President David Wallace speaks with Briana McCulloch, Executive Director of the Kailee Mills Foundation.

Ms. McCulloch was born and raised in Texas. She went to college, majoring in finance and she started her career in accounting, but quickly realized that she wanted to do something more meaningful and make a difference for others.  She then took her degree and her skills, and went to work for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.  While working for this non-profit, she recognized her desire to continue her work serving others, and to make a difference in the world.  She realized that wherever she works, it would have to be more than a “job,” it would have to have meaning. She learned more about non-profits and established a social-media marketing company.

Then, after the Kailee Mills Foundation was established, Ms. McCulloch became the Executive Director.  As she stated, it was as if her life had transpired in a way to give her the needed skills to run the Foundation. 

About Kailee Mills 

Kailee Mills was Ms. McCulloch’s niece, who was killed on October 28, 2017, in a traffic crash. Kailee was in a car with three other friends going to a nearby Halloween party, approximately a mile away.  Kailee was sitting in the back seat of the car, and decided to take a picture of herself and her friend.  She unbuckled her seat belt and in that second, changed the lives of so many people.  At that moment, the driver, who was going too fast for a curve, lost control and went off the road.  The car hit a culvert, flipped, and ejected Kailee.  Kailee was killed on impact.  Her friends in the car were able to walk away from the crash with minor injuries.  Because of that, Kailee’s family knew that she would have been fine, except for her taking her seat belt off. 

A couple of days later, Kailee’s father was driving by the spot where Kailee died, which is only approximately 500 yards from their home, and he saw a large number of students there.  He stopped, got out, and spoke with them about Kailee and what happened, and the importance of wearing a seat belt.  

It was so well received that he began looking at the statistics for seat belt fatalities, seeing that it was a significant issue that he felt was not being talked about.  Kailee’s family believed that the issue needed to be discussed and awareness raised.  The family created the seat belt ribbon and started talking about the issues with the community and other students.  It was so well received, that they were asked by the Texas Department of Transportation to speak about seat belt safety during the “Click it or Ticket” campaign.  The message and Kailee’s story went viral, resulting in the most successful campaign for Texas in the 17 years of the campaign’s existence. 

About the Foundation

Initially, the work of the Foundation was accomplished by volunteers and their efforts, but it was soon recognized that to continue spreading the word and sharing the message, the Foundation needed to grow.  It was at that point that Ms. McCulloch became the Executive Director (right before the pandemic happened). But in a short time, the Foundation has grown exponentially with a small team to share the load, all working to save lives.

The Foundation has a number of different programs, with the main one being seat belt awareness.  The mission of the foundation is to prevent traffic fatalities and injuries by educating the public on seat belt safety through school programs, community outreach, and awareness campaigns. 

 A second program for the Foundation is “Kailee Cares Family Assistance.”  The Foundation understands what a family has to go through when experiencing loss and hardship from a fatal or non-fatal traffic crash.  Because of that, the Foundation helps with grief counseling, funeral costs, medical costs, meals, care packages, and more.  It is focused on responding to what the family needs, and to let that family know they are not alone and that there are people out there who understand and care.

A third program is a college scholarship.  But to get the scholarship, the student has to do a seat belt awareness campaign as part of the application. This requires the student to learn about what it means to wear a seat belt, and to raise awareness in the community. This year, the Foundation is able to give a student a full ride scholarship.

Seat Belts and the Importance of Wearing Them

Globally 750,000 people die in traffic crashes every year when they don’t wear their seat belts.  In the United States, approximately 46, 000 people die annually in traffic crashes and half of those died because they didn’t buckle up.  The public perception is that everyone is wearing their seat belts, however, Ms. McCulloch believes that most people are wearing their seat belts – most of the time.  Kailee was wearing her seat belt, until she took it off to take a picture of her and her friend. It is not uncommon for someone to make an excuse such as: I’m close to home, it’s just a short trip, I’m not going that fast, I’m just getting something from the back seat. But that is still a chance to be hurt or worse, such as Kailee.  Ms. McCulloch points out that 90% of the teen fatalities from traffic crashes happened when they were not wearing a seat belt. 

It was also noted that when sitting in the back seat, it is just as important to wear a seat belt.  A person can be ejected, or it is possible to become a “weapon” to everyone else in the vehicle.  When not wearing a seat belt, that person can fly in any number of directions within the vehicle, possibly hitting other passengers or the driver causing their injury or death. It is just as important when doing a ride share such as in an Uber ride.

 Foundation Activities

In school programs, the Foundation will do specific programs to raise awareness and educate the students.  This includes group discussions and seat belt checks in the school parking lot.  The Foundation will do pre and post evaluations and as a result of the program(s), they see a significant increase in awareness and understanding, with students saying they will start wearing their seat belts. At one school, they only did a seat belt check, while providing information to the students in the vehicles, and then saw a 17% increase in wearing seat belts.  The effort is to get the students to understand that they are not invincible. 

The Foundation also works with 1^st responders such as law enforcement, paramedics, medical personnel, fire department.  Ms. McCulloch noted that 1^st responders are seeing the injuries and fatalities first hand.  It can be very traumatic to those individuals as well as families – 1^st responders are seeing others on their worst day. Some law enforcement officers, instead of a ticket, are giving out information from the Foundation to also raise seat belt awareness.  As Ms. McCulloch notes, it is not about the ticket, it is about the person’s life. 

The Seat Belt Ribbon

The symbol representing the Foundation is a seat belt ribbon that was created by the Foundation.  It looks like a seat belt that is about to be clicked together. Initially, the color of the seat belt was pink to signify the loss of a daughter.  However, it was decided to change the color to mint green as there wasn’t another awareness campaign using that color, and it was Kailee’s favorite color. 

The seat belt ribbon has become extremely visible and recognized for what it represents.  Ms. McCulloch has heard of stories where people run into each other at a store or other location, see the ribbon and talk about the Foundation and wearing a seat belt – even individuals who don’t know each other.  The goal is to have this ribbon go nationally; to have people see the ribbon and automatically think, am I or my passengers wearing a seat belt. 

Making a Difference

When Ms. McCulloch was asked how it felt to do the work she was doing.  She noted that the job has been the most difficult and the most rewarding job she has ever had.  It is difficult because she has to share on a regular basis what happened to Kailee. The loss of her niece was one of the most painful things that has ever happened to her in her life.  However, it is the most rewarding because she is seeing the difference being made and the lives saved.  It happens on a frequent basis where someone says, ‘I didn’t wear my seat belt before, heard about Kailee’s story, and then I was in a crash and I am alive now because I was wearing my seat belt, because of you.’  

This lets Ms. McCulloch understand that Kailee’s legacy is alive.  Kailee’s life meant something and it still means something, and it always will.  Kailee’s story is making a difference in her community, her state and the world. 

For More Information

If you want to be able to share the message or learn more about seat belt safety or the Foundation, there is the YouTube channel that has a wide variety of video options, as well as the Foundation website.  

You can watch this interview by going to the Justice Speakers Institutes’ YouTube Channel or by clicking HERE.