The Founders and Filmmakers

The founders and Filmmakers

Lauren Paul

Co-Founder, Kind Campaign
Director, Writer & Producer,
Finding Kind

Lauren grew up in Southern California and currently resides in Los Angeles. Finding a way to start a conversation about girl-against-girl bullying has been in Lauren’s heart since her own middle school experience. After a series of unfortunate events that took place with a group of girls, middle school became a source of stress, depression, and eventually left Lauren in a suicidal place. Ever since that life changing experience, Lauren had a dream to one day foster deeper awareness about the emotional, verbal, and physical abuse within female relationships.

While studying film at Pepperdine University, Lauren had the opportunity to work on Tom Shadyac’s acclaimed documentary, I Am. That experience inspired Lauren and soon after, she knew that she wanted share this story through a documentary. She sat down with her friend, Molly Thompson, to discuss the idea. What started as a conversation in a cafe about the possibility of making a film together, turned into their award-winning documentary Finding Kind and their internationally recognized nonprofit, Kind Campaign. Since 2009, Lauren, along with her partner Molly have been on the forefront of the conversation surrounding bullying, implementing their school programming into thousands of communities across the globe.

Lauren feels thankful for her life-threatening middle school experience with bullying because it allows her to openly and vulnerably share that chapter of her life with students across North America as a public speaker with their Kind Campaign Founders Assembly program.

Molly Thompson

Co-Founder, Kind Campaign
Producer, Finding Kind

Instagram / Twitter / SnapChat

Molly wants to live in a world where people are kind, dinner parties are frequent and jet lag is non-existent. She grew up in Dallas, cultivating her passion for helping others and creating positive change in the world. Her entire life changed during her junior year of high school when she endured a devastating, hurtful and lonely experience as she was ostracized by a group of girls. Ultimately, the year ended with reconciliation, forgiveness and healing, where she was able to gain perspective and realize that the negative event she went through was just one chapter of her life. Meeting Lauren at Pepperdine and ultimately starting Kind Campaign, made living through that traumatic time in high school all worth it.

Since 2009, Molly, along with her partner Lauren, has been on the forefront of the conversation surrounding bullying. She feels blessed to be able to use her own experiences with bullying to build deep connections with girls and women nationwide. When they’re not speaking in schools, creating new curriculum or managing their influential social media platforms, you can find her in Santa Monica packing for an adventure with friends, planning an upcoming bash or cozied on the couch unapologetically binge-watching her and her husband’s favorite new show.

Molly was awarded the Courage Award from Delta Gamma Fraternity.