About Courageous Girls

Courageous Girls encourages and equips moms of daughters within the context of small communities.

Our motivation is to see a generation of women who are navigating trusted relationships, are confident in who God says He is and who He made them to be and are resiliently moving through the peaks and valleys of life. A generation of women who are rooted in grace and free from the performance-based treadmill we are enticed with every day.

CG answers this goal by providing clear and trusted Biblical, clinical and relational wisdom for moms. With the long-term goal in mind, lessons are created as building blocks and encouraged to unfold within community. Not only does a CG community provide the perfect place to practice the art of relationship, but it also allows the moms to share the load which provides a diversity in leadership. All the while nurturing a trusted connection with the first model in a daughter’s life, her mom. Groups provide a safe place to focus on God’s word rather than the competing influences in the world. Instead of competition, comparison and judgment…groups strive to grow in gratitude, joy and acceptance. CG is an intentional choice to equip ourselves and our daughters to love others well and to live from a place of wholeness and grace.

Who Is a Courageous Girl?

We firmly believe each girl has a unique purpose, and is equipped for that purpose.

The root of this powerful truth is developed as we have relationship with God and with each other, learning ways to lean into God’s grace.

When we know we are loved, we can boldly offer that same love to those around us. We need one another to walk this journey called life.

We loudly proclaim that Courageous Girls come in all shapes and sizes, but the core of who she is being transformed into can be described in a special acronym: COURAGEOUS GIRL.

Our Leadership Team

You can reach out to our Courageous Girls Leadership Team by sending an email to: info@mycourageousgirls.com

Terra A. Mattson, MA, LMFT, LPC

Terra has been married to her college sweetheart, Jeff, for over 20 years. She is a mom to two teen girls, a licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed professional counselor, executive coach, social-entrepreneur, author, national speaker, podcaster, and spokesperson for Christian Parenting. Alongside Jeff, she is co-founder and CEO of Living Wholehearted, LLC and Courageous Girls. She has spent two decades working with couples, women, families, teens and children in both private practice and full-time pastoral ministries. She is the co-host of the weekly Living Wholehearted Podcast and the Dear Mattsons YouTube series. She was the visionary for Courageous 2020 and published Courageous: Being Daughters Rooted In Grace (David C. Cook, 2020) and co-authored Shrinking the Integrity Gap: Between What Leaders Preach and Live (David C. Cook, 2020). Terra has partnered with Christian Parenting to develop courses for moms who want a one-to-one mother-daughter resource called, “A Christian Parenting Guide: Helping Moms Raise Confident Daughters.” Though Terra is a life-time learner, she remains a Sunday napper and craves reading a good book by the pool on a hot day.

Learn more at terramattson.com.

Jeff Mattson, M.A. ORGL

As the Co-Founder of Living Wholehearted and Courageous Girls, Jeff is the dad to his own Courageous Girls, Addie and Nevie. Jeff has a history of working in pastoral ministry, higher education, family-business, and now as an organizational development consultant and leadership coach. As the Living Wholehearted President, Jeff leads the executive coaching and organizational development arm of Living Wholehearted, helping leaders live with integrity in their businesses and non-profit organizations. Passionate about helping dads pursue their wives and children in the home, he has worked to integrate every dad’s involvement in CG groups from the get-go. Though Jeff understands that not every CG daughter has an involved dad, he encourages CG mamas to find a male leader who can stand in the gap wherever possible (grandpa, uncle, youth leader). Jeff writes, records, and releases songs to encourage families in their faith along with teaching, speaking, and writing. He is the co-host of the Living Wholehearted Podcast, a Christian Parenting Spokeperson, and co-host of the Dear Mattsons YouTube series. Launching the first annual CG Father/Daughter Campout in 2015 for Addie’s group, he believes that dads need other models to spur one another on, regardless of their stories and journey along the way. You’ll find Jeff outside with his girls, with a fly rod or archery bow in hand. He loves God’s creation and the playground God provides throughout the PNW.

To learn more about where Jeff is speaking, books, or his professional services, go to www.livingwholehearted.com.

Aimee Eckley

Aimee is a wife, mom, teacher, writer, editor, and leader of two awesome Courageous Girls groups. She is also a champion of grassroots movements. After earning a BA in Rhetoric and a Masters in Teaching from Willamette University, she has spent over two decades working with youth in many capacities. Most recently, Aimee has joined the Stafford Farm School leadership team to help develop a new middle school program for the 2024/2025 school year. Aimee’s heart is motivated to help build strong and resilient individuals, as well as stable and healthy families. In 2017, she was called by the Holy Spirit to partner with Terra Mattson to launch a Courageous Girls website where, together, they developed free curriculum for moms and daughters to use within Courageous Girls groups (www.mycourageousgirls.com). Aimee is driven by her calling to share hope with others, lead boldly and develop authentic relationships.

Wendy Higgins

Wendy is seasoned in hospitality with over 30 years experience, currently serving as the General Manager at the Stephanie Inn. Juggling the roles of a proud mom to 3 grown children and a doting Nana to 8 grandkids. She’s had her share of community involvement, from serving on the City Council in Cannon Beach to being the past president of the Cannon Beach Chamber. She has also, had the privilege to serve on the board at WSU Hospitality. She is passionate about Jesus, hospitality, and making connections with people.

Steph West

Stephanie, mama of three (two daughters and a son) and wife to her wonderful husband, Nick, was first drawn to Courageous Girls by her desire for community and guidance in parenting. Not only has CG helped equip her with biblical truths and clinical wisdom, but she has personally grown too. Having a committed community has been life changing. When Stephanie’s kids were young, she pushed pause on her professional career in Marketing, HR, and Employee Advocacy in the tech and nonprofit sectors to become a teacher - never guessing she would be a full time educator for her 3 kiddos. Homeschooling has been the greatest gift and the hardest calling she has faced. This shift in her professional focus, and the legacy of her beautiful sister, Christina, are what God used to fuel Stephanie’s heart to champion, coach, and mentor other women leaders (like YOU!). She has been honored to work with youth in foster care, teen moms, and adults and youth with developmental disabilities and/or in underserved communities. In her free time, Stephanie loves an intentional conversation with friends (new and old) over coffee, adventure seeking with her family, running a few miles and cheering on the Blazers!

Stephanie holds a Master’s degree in Counseling from Santa Clara University, and has completed the Certification in Transformational Coaching at Western Seminary. She has been a CG Leadership Coach since 2019. To find out more about coaching with Stephanie, reach out to her here or learn more about coaching here.

Lorna Borger

My daughter Camille and I started our first Courageous Girls group in Austin, Texas in 2019 when Camille was in 2nd grade. We were immediately hooked! We have loved the mama/daughter time together, the chance to get to know other moms and daughters on a deeper level, and the applicability of the curriculum.

In 2022, we moved from Austin to Colorado, where we started a new Courageous Girls group. As Camille navigated the move while entering middle school in a new state and currently faces the challenges of her 7th grade social scene, having both groups as a safe space for her has been an enormous gift.

We try to make it back to Austin at least once a year to meet with our original group, and they flew to Colorado and joined us for their retreat last year! Courageous Girls has been a wonderful, life-giving experience for us, and we have loved watching the Austin CG community grow as moms from our groups have started multiple groups for their younger daughters.

Hollie Perlmutter

Hollie and her husband of over 20 years are raising two girls of their own. She and her husband met during their undergraduate years at Stanford University. She comes to Courageous Girls with a background in teaching and coaching, and a long career working with adolescents in Young Life. With over two decades in youth ministry she has seen, and experienced in her own home, the many complex challenges facing kids today, especially our girls. She has a heart full of compassion for those who have searched for fulfillment in the world, either because they did not know, or did not believe, we have a good God who has good plans for us. God’s goodness and grace captured Hollie’s heart as a high school student, and she has been pursuing Him ever since. A recovering perfectionist and striver, she is drawn to communities of grace, like Courageous Girls, where honesty and authenticity are prized above perfection. Hollie is blessed to be able to contribute to the Courageous Girls movement by offering administrative support and bringing a unique perspective after many years of ministering to kids and families both inside and outside the Church.

Sarah Pickell

Sarah Pickell is a mama to three girls who daily inspire, challenge and encourage her. Sarah joins the CG Leadership team after moving to Oregon in 2021 and finding Courageous Girls as a place to grow in grace, alongside her girls, during a season of transition for her family. Sarah loves exploring the natural beauty of Oregon, reading good books, and going on family walks with their pup. Sarah spends her days managing population health and care management for a healthcare company committed to delivering excellent primary care. She is passionate about the flourishing of people as their full selves, and is excited about supporting the important work of Courageous Girls.

Stef Stern

Stefanie is a mama to two girls and two boys, wife to a preacher-man, and has had the privilege of leading a Courageous Girls group in recent years. A once-upon-a-time manager and executive style coach, Stefanie’s past decade has been all about embracing the slower pace of motherhood and God’s sweet presence in that beautiful, mundane space (and encouraging other mamas as they move into this stage of life!). Courageous Girls has gifted Stefanie and her daughter with a precious expanded “village” of other mothers and daughters to lean on, learn from, and grow with. She serves on the CG team in hopes that many other mamas find their way to this curriculum and a holy community to link arms with on the journey of raising daughters well. When she’s not chasing kiddos, you can find Stefanie baking, painting, putzing in the garden, or chasing down her latest hobby (this month it’s quilting)!

Meagan Brown

Meagan Brown lives in Austin, TX where she loves to get outdoors to walk on the trails or boat on the lake as much as possible. Meagan is married to Chase and they have three children (including two through adoption) ages 12, 13 and 19. Meagan and her girls joined a Courageous Girls group in 2019 and quickly found a wonderful community where they could walk through the challenges and joys of life together while growing close in their mother-daughter relationship. She’s passionate about seeing Courageous Girls reach a diverse range of communities in the US and beyond so that the bond between all moms and daughters can be a lifelong, healthy relationship. Meagan is a Spiritual Director and serves on pastoral staff at her church in Austin.

Our Story

You are a mom who wants to lead your daughter and create a trusted relationship with her. And like most moms, you might feel alone, ill-equipped and even confused about where to start.

I am Terra Mattson, a mom of two daughters and this is why I started Courageous Girls. I am you. And I wanted something different for my own two girls in a world of confusing messages.

As a professional counselor and licensed marriage and family therapist for close to two decades, as well as serving in pastoral ministries for close to ten of those years, I became keenly attuned to the needs of moms and daughters today. From treating sexual betrayal and addiction, sexual abuse, trafficking, anxiety, depression, suicide, eating disorders, gender dysphoria, primarily with Christian leaders and their families, I have seen an enormous gap between what we all preach and how we are actually living. And yet, sometimes we over complicate things and if God has taught me anything over the years, it's that a safe and trusted relationship can change everything!

I wanted something that allowed every mom and daughter to know the kind of love that allows her to use her unique voice, grow in confidence, build resiliency, and experience grace. Honestly, I also wanted accountability in my own life to walk the talk with my own daughters and I couldn’t find anything that would help me integrate what I understood as a trauma-informed clinician and as a follower of Jesus.

So...I created something and started with my people, never imagining a movement.

Wanting moms and daughters to experience something counter to the performance-based mantras of today, to have relevant conversations our daughters desperately need, and to create a safe and trusted community where all of us can practice living LOVED - the first Courageous Girls group was birthed with a few friends and their daughters outside Portland, Oregon in 2012.

With the help of other passionate mothers who have spent decades in the fields of teaching, counseling, leadership and ministry, Courageous Girls has become something far beyond what Jeff and I could have imagined. And … we are still watching the story unfold!

The Organization

Courageous Girls is a “daughter” of Living Wholehearted, a professional counseling and organizational & leadership development firm outside Portland, Oregon, co-founded by Jeff and Terra Mattson in 2011. As a social entrepreneurship, Courageous Girls is led by a volunteer team of female leaders who are passionate about the CG movement. The Mattsons are committed to keeping the Courageous Girls curriculum and group training available to all moms and daughters around the globe. This is why the curriculum remains free.

There are many behind-the-scenes costs of running Courageous Girls, from the time Terra Mattson has given to on-going curriculum development, professional editing to website design, videography, social media, and more. In order to cover costs, we charge for additional resources like swag, e-courses for CG leaders, individual coaching sessions for moms and CG leaders, special events, etc. All fees go directly to covering the overhead of Courageous Girls. We have been intentional to partner with other like-minded ministries who are passionate about what we are doing, such as the National Association for Family Ministries and Denison Ministries/Christian Parenting. If you are interested in partnering with us in this incredible and unique movement, here are ways you can support:

Start your own Courageous Girls group with your daughter.
Lead a Courageous: Being Daughters Rooted in Grace book study with other moms and purchase your books. (Book is sold anywhere you buy books.)
Purchase CG merch & share the message of CG through hats, shirts, stickers, etc.
Make a tax-deductible donation and pay it forward.
Sign up for coaching, or attend an event.
Be a committed prayer partner, praying for moms and daughters around the world who are intentionally pursuing their daughters and helping them grow in courage to trust God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Branding for Courageous Girls

The Courageous Girls name and logo symbolizes many things.

The “Girls” in Courageous Girls is intentionally plural because we don’t navigate this journey alone. As mom and daughter group members, we need each other! Learning how to love and be loved within the context of community is one of the greatest gifts Courageous Girls has to offer.

Color variations throughout the graphic logo represent the different stages of a daughter’s life; we help moms walk with their daughters at every stage of their growing years.

The many contrasting and complimentary colors represent the beautiful diversity of women, which provide various role models and mentors for our girls, enhancing our understanding of what it means to be female: from wiring, to culture, to body type and skin color, to gifts, talents, experiences and passions!

The mountain represents the reality that every mom and daughter will experience peaks and valleys in their life. We are less about preparing the road for our girls, and more about preparing our girls for the road that lies ahead. We can help our daughters trust who God says He is and who He says they are, which allows them to face every leg of their journey with courage.

Our tagline, “rooted in grace” comes from the heart stance that living a Christian and human life is not about following rules, performing, or meeting expectations of our culture, churches, and communities. Rather, it is about trusting a process of transformation that is messy and downright hard at times. It’s about knowing and trusting that by God’s grace alone, He is at work in us, our daughters, and within our groups. We do not want to raise performanced-based Christians, but rather young women who know they are loved and know how to love others well, learned through authentic relationships and consistent participation in community.

Living Wholehearted Podcast

Whether you’re a full-time mom or a full-time CEO, you have followers.

And if you have followers, you’re a leader—and how you lead matters.

The Living Wholehearted Podcast with Jeff and Terra Mattson helps leaders of all kinds live with integrity.

As a married couple, Jeff and Terra candidly share relational wisdom from the home to the workplace. Pulling from their years of expertise as clinicians and consultants, as well as interviews with other experts, they connect the dots between biblical truth, neuroscience, clinical research, play therapy, trauma, spiritual formation, and leadership development.

Join the movement to shrink the gap between the values we espouse and the way we actually live them out in practice!

Subscribe to the Living Wholehearted Podcast