Meet the Team

Sam Richardson
Founder, Speaker & Podcast Host
Sam Richardson is a writer, storyteller, and content creator best known for her work building an online community rooted in honesty, connection, and lived experience. As the founder of The Silent Mother Project, she creates space for conversations around trauma, loss, mental health, and identity—topics often left unspoken, particularly within motherhood.
Sam became a mother at eighteen and experienced the loss of her first daughter, Kaydance, who was born with a congenital heart defect. This experience profoundly shaped her perspective and the voice she brings to her work today.
Over the past decade, Sam has grown a platform of hundreds of thousands by sharing her life with authenticity and humor, speaking openly about grief, healing, marriage, and raising children while navigating her own personal growth. Her work has evolved into a storytelling-driven community and podcast that challenges the expectation of silence and encourages honest dialogue.
Through The Silent Mother Project and her broader platform, Living Richardson, Sam continues to use her voice to foster connection, advocate for transparency around mental health and trauma, and create space for others to share their stories.

Lauren De Matteis
Community Support & Mental Health Advisor
Hi, I’m Lauren. My pronouns are she/her.
By the time you’re reading this, I will have graduated with my Master’s in Social Work. That’s something I’m really proud of, because there was a time in my life where I didn’t think that would ever happen.
I’m a mom to a teenage son, and being his mom has been the most meaningful and hardest experience of my life. It’s the kind of love that changes you instantly, but also the kind that keeps you up at night. It’s watching your heart walk around outside of your body every day and just hoping it makes it back okay.
I’ve navigated motherhood while managing ADHD, anxiety, depression, and chronic migraines. I’ve felt the guilt of not being present enough, of missing things during my son’s early years because I was working and going to school, and making decisions like daycare because I had to.
I came out when I was 17 and had to figure a lot of life out on my own from that point forward. That experience shaped how I show up in the world today. I care deeply about people who feel misunderstood, overlooked, or like they don’t quite fit anywhere.
Some people get adrenaline rushes from rollercoasters. I get that same feeling from speaking out, challenging systems, and pushing back against things like inequality, racism, homophobia, and transphobia. That’s where I feel the most like myself.
At the same time, I’m always learning. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, and I genuinely value hearing other people’s perspectives and experiences. That’s how we grow, and that’s how real change happens— stepping outside of own comfort zones and being open to educating ourselves.
I’m ridiculously passionate about advocacy, especially domestic violence, sexual assault, LGBTQ+ rights, and women’s issues.
I keep my Ohio EBT card on the wall by my desk. Not because I need it anymore, but because I don’t ever want to forget where I came from. I was a 21-year-old mom trying to figure things out, doing the best I could with what I had. It keeps me grounded. It reminds me that life can change quickly, and that none of us are as far removed from struggle as we might think. We are all one bad day away from a completely different life.
Outside of all of that, I’m a plant lover with way too many houseplants, a thrift store regular, and someone who still wants to get back into tap dancing. I am always down for Mexican food. I’m an extroverted introvert. I love connecting with people, but I also need time to recharge.
I’m loud. I’ve been told that my whole life. I won’t always remember names, but I will remember conversations and how people made me feel. I’m the kind of person who will ask hard questions, challenge perspectives, and also sit with you in the heavy stuff without judgment.
At the end of the day, I’m just someone who cares deeply about people and is always trying to figure out how to show up a little better, do a little more, and make things a little easier for someone else.
I hope you can find through SMP what I found in Addy and Sam— mothers who show up and cheer for your success, mothers who are authentic, and women who give a shit without expecting anything in return.
Welcome. We have been waiting for you!

Addison Gaeckle
Community Outreach & Initiatives Lead
Hi, I’m Addy! I’m a stay at home mom, soon to be a student at Urusline this fall 2026, I’ll be going for my bachelors in nutrition.
I can’t tell you just how much the Silent Mother Project has changed my life. Rewind to 2024, I bought my first house with my partner by ourselves with little to no help from either of our families.
Nearing the end of my pregnancy I was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy, and rushed to hospital where I later stayed for 2 weeks. During those two weeks, I didn’t have someone consistently watching our animals. I was so alone, it was just me and my partner, as my family lived far away.
When my partner eventually had to go back to work, I felt even more alone and had to push myself to my limits to make sure I could provide and nurture my daughter. I slowly worked on healing but felt I could be doing more for moms like me. And then I met Sam, the rest is history.
What I want to get out of SMP is to create the community I was missing during the first year of my child's life. The time I have spent with the members of SMP has changed my daughter and my life forever. She will grow up in a world surrounded by the strongest women I have ever met. I believe everyone should have access to a community that is nonjudgemental and supportive like I've come to have with SMP.
I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us!