Guest speaker for the University Forum Lecture Series, which provides opportunities for university students, faculty, and staff and for people in the surrounding region to hear some of the most stimulating speakers in the country.
The Better Food Policy Fund was co-developed with food policy councils nationwide. I designed trauma-aware, participatory processes that built trust, celebration, and shared ownership across the field.
The Better Food Policy Fund launched as a participatory grantmaking fund, with inclusive governance at its core. This case study shows how I designed board development and facilitated the Independent Advisory Committee, building trust, shared leadership, and decision-making practices that reflected the fund’s values.
The Wave Effect was a seven-month collaborative leadership development program. With reflective practice, trauma-aware facilitation, and emergent design, participants shifted from cautious leadership to collaborative, adaptive approaches, building resilience, confronting power, and embracing systems thinking to shape healthier community patterns.
Presence is the ground upon which other aspects of group facilitation depend. In this piece, I reflect on how attention, listening, and pace bring life to collaboration and make change possible.
In this lunch & learn conversation with podcast host Karen Summey, I shared simple, science-based tools for emotional regulation, clearer communication, and more resilient relationships with your aging parents, your family, and yourself.
As an informant in this article, I called for trauma-informed disaster response and recovery, providing real examples from my lived experience as a helper during response and recovery from Hurricanes Florence, Michael, Dorian, and Helene.
As a guest speaker at the University of Minnesota, I shared how participatory methods shape my work - from the design of the Better Food Policy Fund to the creative use of visuals as tools for facilitation and storytelling. We explored equity and justice, lessons learned from missteps, and practical advice for those beginning their journey with participatory approaches.
I co-presented "Embodied Leadership: Navigating Trauma for Greater Belonging" with renowned transformative lawyer J Kim Wright at the Leading With and Through: Fostering a Sense of Belonging Conference. We shared practical insights into the embodied practices that help leaders navigate and recognize trauma - working from the inside-out - to build trust and increase performance in their teams.
As a guest speaker for students, faculty, and staff, I spoke to the role of the nervous system as we commemorated the legacy of Dr. M L King, Jr., whose teachings emphasize the need for belongingness and social connection across diverse groups.