Learning, Lifting, Leading

A brief introduction to the podcast facilitator and a glimpse into the gestation of the project itself. http://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/Introduction.mp3Download the Introduction Featuring Rev. Donna Vanhook, MDiv, MA.NPM Womanist Community Organizer A former certified law enforcement officer, child advocate and state-wide foster parent trainer, Rev. Donna Vanhook has dedicated her life to community building in various realms of society. She holds two associate degrees in Criminal Justice and a BA degree in Religious Studies with a minor in Human Services from Elon University in Elon, NC. Rev. Vanhook has earned two master’s degrees, an MDiv from Shaw University Divinity School in Raleigh, NC and an MA in Nonprofit Management from High Point University in High Point, NC. She is an ordained Baptist minister now seeking ministerial credentials through Union Chapel United Church of Christ in Burlington, NC, where she currently serves as associate pastor.   Jenn Grimmett Podcast Host & Social Justice Educator Jenn Grimmett received her MA in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and her BA in Team Training and Development from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Born in the South, called Boston home for nearly two decades, and is now back in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Professionally, she has spent a great deal of time within the world of Academia. Personally, she has spent even more time engaging in various types of justice work. Her background includes years of program design for teams and groups looking to advance skills and knowledge in areas of diversity, inclusion, leadership, and cultural intelligence. Jenn believes that every person is entitled to an equitable lived experience. Her commitment to moving us all towards this goal has guided her approach to community engagement, in providing direct support to folx seeking that resource, as well as challenging systems and philosophies perpetuating the status quo. Jenn is always looking for ways to connect with folx, particularly through partnerships to kick up systemic dust. We are stronger together. To learn more about her work, visit jenngrimmett.com.

This episode challenges the idea that intergenerational and historical traumas are separate experiences for Black and Brown Girls & Women, within the context of education, health, and psychology. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/01-Historical-Trauma_Defining-and-Understanding-the-Intergenerational-Impacts.mp3Download Episode 1 Featuring Buffie Longmire-Avital Associate Professor of Psychology and Coordinator of African and African American Studies at Elon University Dr. Buffie Longmire-Avital is an associate professor of psychology and coordinates the African and African-American Studies interdisciplinary minor at Elon University. She received her PhD in applied developmental psychology from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. For more than a decade, she has been involved in applied research and practice that examines how the intersection of psychosocial factors (e.g., racial identity, everyday discrimination, stress, and perceived opportunities) are related to the health risk behaviors and psychological well-being of minorities. Specifically, she investigates the patterns of HIV risk behavior for sexually active emerging adult Black Americans; and explores the relationships between stress (including race-related), depression, and eating pathology for Black collegiate women. As a health disparities researcher, Longmire-Avital’s work has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health as a 2010 recipient of their highly selective Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research. As a Center for Engaged Learning Scholar, she studies and writes about the need for a critical equity framework when attempting to sustain the engagement of historically underrepresented students in high impact educational practices. Longmire-Avital is the author of several peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

This episode highlights gendered and racial disparities as it relates to women and girls of color, within the context of law enforcement and the Black church. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/02-Violence-Against-Women-_-Girls_Interpersonal-Violence-and-Community-Structures.mp3Download Episode 2 Featuring Dr. Sharon Ellis Davis Affiliate Professor Dr. Sharon Ellis Davis is a Pastor of the United Church of Christ and a Retired Police Officer of the City of Chicago where she served several positions including patrol officer, criminalist in the Department’s Crime Laboratory examining hairs/fibers/blood stain analysis and testifying in court as an expert witness.  Sharon retired from the Department after 31 ½ years of service. Currently Dr. Ellis Davis serves as an Affiliate Professor at McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago and a Faculty Mentor at United Theological Seminary, Dayton Ohio where she leads Doctor of Ministry Students through obtaining their Doctor of Ministry Degree in the field of Pastoral Care and Counseling.  She is also a trainer with the Faith Trust Institute, based in Seattle Washington where she provides training in the area of Healthy Clergy Boundaries and Domestic Violence to faith institutions. Sharon teaches courses such as Sexual and Domestic Violence; Pastoral Care in Times of Crisis, Peace-Building in the Beloved Community and Mass Incarceration and the Criminal Justice System.  Academically, Dr. Sharon Ellis Davis has an earned M.Div., D.MIN in Pastoral Care and a PhD in the field of Theology and Ethics. Dr. Ellis Davis is a published author. Her latest book is titled, “African American Battered Women: A Study of Gender Entrapment.”

This episode takes a closer look at how systems of oppression have a direct impact on not only incarcerated people, but also families and communities. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/03-Violence-against-Women-_-Girls_The-Prison-Industrial-Complex.mp3Download Episode 3 Featuring Dr. Leigh-Anne Royster Director of Inclusive Community Development at Elon University Dr. Royster is currently the Director of Inclusive Community Development at Elon University in NC. Much of her current work is focused on crafting policy and educational opportunities around issues of equity development, inclusion work, and violence/bias prevention. She coordinates and develops educational opportunities for faculty and staff focused on diversity and cultural consciousness. She also develops anti-bias and anti-oppression education for students. In addition to her educational development and training facilitation, she oversees the bias/harassment reporting and response system. Leigh-Anne has over 20 years experience working with violence response and prevention, and public health activities. Before heading up these efforts at Elon University, Leigh-Anne worked at the University of North Carolina’s Institute on Aging, the Injury Prevention Research Center and the North Carolina Institute of Public Health on several federal and state projects including PreVENT (a national training initiative engaging public health approaches to violence prevention). She has experience working in the criminal justice system and various non-profits. She also serves on institutional, local and state boards and is currently the board chair of Family Abuse Services of Alamance County. While energized and deeply committed to her professional engagements, Leigh-Anne remains most humbled, connected and sustained by her family.

This episode offers information about services being offered in Alamance County, NC to educate school administrators, teachers, and local law enforcement on effective and trauma-informed strategies for suicide prevention. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/04-Suicide-Prevention_Organizational-Strategies-at-the-Local-Level.mp3Download Episode 4 Featuring Meredith Peffley Community Engagement Specialist Meredith Peffley, Community Relations Specialist, came to Cardinal Innovations Healthcare after three years with the Women’s Resource Center in Alamance County as the Director of Development and Community Relations. Before joining the Women’s Resource Center and moving to North Carolina, Meredith was the Director of Research and Technology at Academic Search, Inc., a higher education search firm located in Washington, DC. Meredith obtained her bachelor’s degree in Finance and Management from Defiance College followed by a Masters of Public Administration degree from George Washington University. She is also a certified trainer for Mental Health First Aid (adult, youth, veteran and law enforcement), QPR, a suicide prevention training, and is a certified trainer for a GAINS Center’s curriculum “How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses.” She has trained more than 6,000 community members on Behavioral Health related topics. Meredith is very active in a variety of civic organizations and is currently on the boards of United Way of Alamance County, Healthy Alamance, and Caswell County Partnership for Children, and a 2012 member of the Alamance Chamber of Commerce Leadership Alamance class.

This episode covers two-generational strategies for improving child wellbeing and addresses the relationship between discrimination and the risk for attempted or completed suicide. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/05-Suicide-Prevention_Informed-Care-for-Women-and-Girls-of-Color.mp3Download Episode 5 Featuring Whitney Tucker Director of Research at NC Child Whitney Tucker is Research Director at NC Child, where she leads the organization’s data and research initiatives and provides actionable analysis of public policies impacting North Carolina’s children and families. Prior to joining NC Child, Whitney spent several years as Policy and Research Associate at Children’s Trust of South Carolina. In that role, she managed the South Carolina KIDS COUNT data program and coordinated the South Carolina Early Childhood Common Agenda, a statewide advocacy coalition promoting data- and equity-informed public policy changes on behalf of children ages 0-5. Preceding her work in South Carolina, she garnered experience within the Detroit Medical Center and as a Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholar in the United States House of Representatives. Whitney sits on the national steering committee of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT data program. She also serves on the data and evaluation workgroups of the North Carolina Pathways to Grade-Level Reading Initiative and the North Carolina Perinatal Health Strategic Plan. Whitney is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of South Carolina and a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Vanderbilt University.

This episode looks at the social, educational, and economic effects of early teen pregnancy on girls of color. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/06-Early-Teen-Pregnancy_Prevention-and-Support.mp3Download Episode 6 Featuring Lisa McBroom Program Manager and Lead IFPS specialist at the Exchange Club’s Family Center in Alamance County, NC Lisa R. McBroom, MBA is a Program Manager and Lead IFPS specialist at the Exchange Club’s Family Center in Alamance. She has been in the field for nearly two decades, twelve of those being with the Exchange Club’s Family Center in Alamance. She obtained her undergraduate degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and her Masters from the University of Phoenix. Lisa is certified in Triple P and as a Trainer for the National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds Bringing the Protective Factors Framework to Life in Your Work- a Resource for Action. Lisa also facilitates 12-week Parenting Classes in her community which addresses topics on Parenting Styles & Child Development; Stress & Anger Management; Family Communication; Family & Environmental Trauma; Child Development & Creative Discipline; and Problem-Solving & Relational Health.

This episode examines the interplay between the Child Welfare System, public policies, and the racial and gendered stereotyping of women and girls of color. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/07-Child-Welfare_The-Impact-of-Biased-Social-and-Public-Health-Policies.mp3Download Episode 7 Featuring Dr. Vanessa Drew-Branch Ed.D.,MSW Assistant Professor Human Services Dr. Vanessa Drew-Branch is an Assistant Professor at Elon University and the Owner of VLDrew Consulting Inc.  Dr. Drew-Branch earned a BS/BA, Social Work/ Psychology at California University of Pennsylvania in 2005. She earned an Ed.D in Higher Education Administration, an MSW and certificate in public health with a specialty in women’s health issues at West Virginia University. Before relocating to Charlotte, Dr. Drew-Branch was the Executive Director of Operations/ Mental Health Therapist at GrassRoutes Counseling Services, LLC. She co-founded GrassRoutes Counseling Services (GRCS) in 2011. Dr. Drew-Branch has begun a new business venture VLDrew Consulting Inc. The mission of VLDrew Consulting is to provide cultural and inclusion training and support for organizations, birthing and end of life doula and life coaching services. Her current academic scholarship focuses on advocacy and social justice through empowering marginalized communities.  Her teaching focus areas include mental health assessment, advocacy practice, and human diversity. She is interested in expanding her research and practice to include work around maternal mental health, grief, and loss. She is the proud mother for four kids Kye, Brennen, Elan, and Eliea.

This episode offers clarification on how the identities of migrant, immigrant, and refugee hold specific experiences and agency within our national and local landscapes. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/08-Immigrant-and-Refugee-Experiences_National-and-Local-Impacts.mp3Download Episode 8 Featuring Dr. Sharon D. Morrison Associate Professor of Public Health Education Dr. Sharon D. Morrison is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Education at University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG). She is also a Research Fellow with the Center for New North Carolinians at UNCG. She has worked with refugee and immigrant issues in North Carolina since 2001, through her roles as educator, mentor, community-engaged researcher and advocate.  Her interests are refugee and immigrant cultural adaptation, integration and health. Dr. Morrison has collaborated with colleagues and students across institutions and with Latino, S.E. Asian and African community groups on multiple research and outreach projects. She travelled to Malaysia, Rwanda, Thailand and Vienna to learn about refugee survival strategies, and the status determination, processing, cultural orientation, and departure procedures for U.S. resettlement. Dr. Morrison is a board member of the Association for Refugee Service Professionals (ARSP), an organization focused on members’ professional development and advocacy for displaced individuals. Her PhD is in Health Behavior/Health Education with a minor in Medical Anthropology from the University of Florida.  She has a MSPH from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.

This episode brings the Womanist identity and movement to the forefront to highlight some of the benefits that embracing womanist philosophies can have for girls and women of color. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/09-Womanism-and-Feminism_Historical-and-Current-Manifestations-on-Health-and-Wellbeing.mp3Download Episode 9 Featuring Rev. Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Ph.D. Professor of Religion at Shaw University Divinity School Rev. Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Ph.D., Professor of Religion at Shaw University Divinity School [SUDS], Raleigh, NC, is an Ordained Elder in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Recipient of the SUDS Outstanding Achievement Award as International Recognized Womanist Scholar, 2016, and author of over twenty books and numerous articles, her most recent publication is Baptized Rage, Transformed Grief: I Cot through, So Can You (Wipf & Stock, 2017).  Known as professor, poet, preacher, priest, prayer partner, prophet, performer, and polyhistor, Kirk-Duggan is an avid athlete who completed her first full marathon (2010), and is a hot yoga teacher.?

This episode examines the ways in which identities such as race, gender, and faith tradition intersect in multiple ways to produce individualized experiences for women and girls of color. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/10-Queerness-_-Social-Equity_-Intersectional-Identities.mp3Download Episode 10 Featuring Rabbi Sandra Lawson Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life at Elon University Rabbi Sandra Lawson received ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in June 2018. She was born in St. Louis, Mo. and grew up in a military family. She graduated from Saint Leo University magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Sociology from Clark Atlanta University. Rabbi Sandra has served in the United States Army, as a Military Police person with a specialty in Military Police Investigations, specializing in cases involving child abuse and domestic violence. Upon leaving the military she started a personal training business and later worked as an Adjunct Instructor of Sociology at local community colleges. She has also served as the Investigative Researcher for the Anti-Defamation League’s Southeast Region, becoming the go-to person when Law Enforcement in the South needed information on hate groups. Rabbi Sandra uses her rabbinic training to bring Judaism to where people already are in their lives. As a rabbinical student Rabbi Sandra received a prestigious grant to lead Shabbat services for unaffiliated Jews in a vegan cafe, she also received a grant to launch her podcast Minutes of Torah. Rabbi Sandra’s vision as a Rabbi is to help build a more inclusive Jewish community where all who want to come are welcomed, diversity is embraced and we can come together to learn and to pray. Rabbi Sandra is currently serving as the Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life at Elon University, in Elon North Carolina.

This episode looks at queerness and social equity through the lens of living at the margins within church and social communities. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/11-Queerness-_-Social-Equity_Living-at-the-Margins.mp3Download Episode 11 Featuring Nicole Williams Minister Minister Nicole Williams a rising third-year Master of Divinity student at Duke Divinity School. Minister Williams is a proud native of Durham, North Carolina and a graduate of Northern High School. She is the proud daughter of John and Cora Williams. Minister Williams is the middle child of five children: she has an older sister and brother and a younger sister and brother. Minister Williams completed her undergraduate education at North Carolina Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount, North Carolina in 2010, where she double majored in Accounting and Business Administration. Currently undergoing the ordination process in the United Church of Christ under the care of Zion Temple United Church of Christ, Minister Williams’ ministry is entrenched in teaching the gospel to those who have been marginalized by society. It is the intersectional nature of Jesus that drives Minister Williams’ passion to teach the gospel through embodying God’s call to “to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Minister Williams’ life quote is: “I was not made to fit into any box that humankind could ever make.” This personal philosophy is embedded in her commitment to a “theology from the margins” that is inclusive of all those who believe in the transformative power of the gospel. The message of the gospel is inherently liberative because the ministry of Jesus Christ is timeless, ever-reaching and open to everyone. Teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ is not just pedagogical for Minister Williams, but rather the very reality of faith in Christ and the grace in which we stand.

This episode offers a personal point of view about the challenges and successes of raising Black and Brown daughters while navigating educational and social systems, as well as media platforms. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/12-A-Mother_s-Perspective_Raising-Black-and-Brown-Girls.mp3Download Episode 12 Features Phyllis Portie-Ascott Parent Phyllis Portie-Ascott is a wife, mother of two children—one in Middle School and one in High School– in public schools in a rural county of North Carolina, a Residential Property Manager serving the Triangle and Triad areas and a community advocate. She received a Bachelor of Social Work from East Carolina University, a Master’s in Public Administration from North Carolina Central University, and she is a third year Divinity Student at Shaw University Divinity School who will be graduating in May. While she has many accomplishments in her personal and professional life, she acknowledges that her most fulfilling and most challenging job is parenting her two children with her husband during a time when civility and respect for uniqueness/humanness are severely diminished in our present culture. She finds hope in her relationship with God which helps her to know that when difficult times and situations come, she is surrounded by an unmatchable, incredible power that is too great to be named.

This episode covers the impact that early contact with justice systems can have on women and girls of color as they move through educational pathways. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/13-School-to-Prison-Pipeline_First-Touch-with-Justice-Systems.mp3Download Episode 13 Featuring P. Angelicia Simmons Founder and Executive Director of The Fannie Lou Hamer Institute of Advocacy & Social Action P. Angelicia Simmons is the only daughter and youngest child of the Reverend William E. Simmons, Sr. and Mrs. Bernice Gooding Simmons; the grand-daughter of the Reverend William Henry Simmons and Mrs. Gladys Cere Staten Simmons and Mr. Robert Lee Gooding, Sr. and Mrs. Paulene Williams Gooding; the great grand-daughter of the Reverend Charlie Frank Simmons and Mrs. Luvenia Brown Simmons and Mr. Forrest Williams and Mrs. Zephora Williams and Mr. Ira Gooding and Mrs. Pocahontas Vause Gooding. Angie is a product of the Moore County Schools in Carthage, NC where she is a 1988 graduate of Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines, NC. She is also a very proud 1992 graduate of North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC where she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Angie also holds a Juris Doctor from North Carolina Central School of Law in Durham, NC. Angie is a reader, classically-trained pianist, lover of all things “politics,” fitness buff, organizer and planner. Interrupt her at any time to discuss the plight and awesomeness of Black women and girls and she will punctuate her schedule, gladly obliging. She is the Founder and Executive Director of The Fannie Lou Hamer Institute of Advocacy & Social Action and a member of the Knightdale-Wake Forest Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

This episode offers juxtaposed perspectives on how systems perpetuate negative experiences for Black and Brown communities, as well as individualized strategies for changing the narrative. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/14-Police-Brutality_Engagement-with-Black-and-Brown-Women-_-Girls.mp3Download Episode 14 Featuring Prudence Layne, Ph.D. Associate Professor of English at Elon University Prudence Layne, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of English at Elon University, where she has taught ‘Prison Nation’: Deconstructing the Prison Industrial Complex since 2006. The course has enrolled members from Alamance County’s law enforcement community and teachers from the Alamance-Burlington school System (ABSS), learning alongside Elon students. Dr. Layne also teaches Black Studies courses focused on issues affecting African, African-American, and Caribbean peoples and cultures, with special focus on females of color. She presents annually on criminal justice issues at Elon’s Intersect Diversity and Leadership Conference, most recently with Chief Smythe of the Burlington Police Department, “Color Me Bad: Intersections of Race and Policing” and “Crazy Criminal: Intersections of Race, Policing and Mental Health: with Assistant Chief Brian Long (BPD) and mental health practitioner, Sara Huffman. She has also offered a “Partners in Crime” Workshop as part of the Alamance County Chamber of Commerce Lunch and Learn series and continues to advocate for and work to promote healthy and productive relationships between law enforcement and communities of color. She may be reached at playne@elon.edu.   Shante Harris-Stewart Burlington Police Officer My name Officer Harris Stewart, born and raised in Philadelphia where at the age of 23 I began my career as a  Philadelphia Police Officer and continued for 71/2 years. In 2015 I moved to Greensboro and started working for the Guilford County Sheriff’s office as a jailer. I worked for the Sheriff’s office for a year and 2 months. I resigned and started working for the Burlington Police Department January 2017. I still work for Burlington Police Department, and I’m currently in college working towards an Associate Degree. I’ve been married for four years and I have a 15 year old daughter. I really enjoyed doing the podcast; it included two things that  I love which is being African American and being a Police Officer. It was a pleasure to be in the presence of Jenn Grimmett and Professor Layne. I hope you guys enjoy.

This episode offers a first-person narrative of what it felt like to live with White privilege  in a community riddled with racism, and a historical chronicling of the political landscape leading to change processes. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/15-Segregation-of-Black-_-Brown-Girls-in-Schools_A-Case-Study.mp3Download Episode 15 Featuring Kristen Green Author Kristen Green is the author of Something Must be Done About Prince Edward County, published by Harper in 2015 to critical acclaim. The book made the Notable Nonfiction list at the Washington Post, which called it “a gift to a new generation of readers.” Something Must be Done was selected as an editors’ choice at the New York Times, which deemed it “essential reading.” It was the recipient of the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Nonfiction and the People’s Choice Award. Kristen has worked for two decades as a reporter for newspapers including the Boston Globe, the San Diego Union-Tribune, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch. She holds a master’s in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. Last year, she was a fellow with the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, and she is currently writer-in-residence at the Library of Virginia. She lives in Richmond, Va. with her husband and two daughters.

This episode takes a closer look at the wide-ranging effects that biased systems can have on Black and Brown mothers, including access to education, employment, and healthcare. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/16-Policies-Affecting-Black-and-Brown-Mothers.mp3Download Episode 16 Featuring Rev. Dr. Portia W. Rochelle Immediate Past President, Raleigh-Apex NAACP A native of Fuquay-Varina, NC, was educated in the public schools of Wake County.  She received an Associate Applied Science Degree in Legal Secretarial Science in 1972 (Wake Technical Institute); Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies in 1999 (Shaw University); and Master of Divinity Degree Shaw University Divinity School in 2002. She earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Drew University in 2012. Community service:  Dr. Rochelle has committed to serving others.  She has volunteered in various school, and community organizations as Cub Scout den leader; Mentor/Tutor in Enloe High and Conn Elementary Schools; and Board of Directors-Women In Ministry Support Group (WIMS) (2005). She is founding Pastor of Word For Transformation Church.  She avidly advocates for civil rights. She served as President of the Raleigh-Apex NAACP Branch for 10 years.

This episode takes a deeper look at the relationship between racial stereotyping and cyberbullying, particularly in how it differs from physical bullying and the challenges of recognizing the signs of it happening to girls of color. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/17-Black-and-Brown-Girls-in-the-Media_Stereotyping-and-Cyberbullying.mp3Download Episode 17 Featuring NaShonda  Bender-Cooke Public Education Advocate NaShonda Bender-Cooke is a 19 year veteran of North Carolina’s Public Schools. She has been in the classroom as a special education and general education teacher. Tracing her family history back to eight generations of teachers, education has always been a top priority. The oldest of 5 children in a single mother household encouraged her to do her best in school and follow her family’s tradition of becoming an educator. She received her Master’s from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and became a National Board Certified Teacher. Her proudest moments are when the students return to invite her to their high school graduations. Currently serving as Vice-Chair to NC’s Governor, Roy Cooper’s Teacher Advisory Council, Ms. Bender-Cooke lives in Raleigh with her two daughters, Victoria and Na’Via.

This episode brings us a perspective for hope and resilience for Black and Brown Girls & Women, as well as how policies and organizational structures shape the focus on resilience for Black and Brown girls & women. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/18-Looking-forward_Resilience-_-Next-Steps.mp3Download Episode 18 Featuring Lisheema Barr Project Coordinator, ACEs Resilience in Wake Initiative, Advocates for Health in Action Lisheema Barr is the Project Coordinator of the ACEs Resilience Initiative with Advocates for Health in Action, in Raleigh, NC. In this position, Lisheema coordinates, the community-driven movement around preventing future Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and building resilience for those who have experienced trauma. “My best life is one where the work I do ensures a better quality of life for others, and more children grow up happy and healthy,” Lisheema said. She is an experienced educator, having received awards for her work with at-risk populations during her time as a middle-school science teacher. Lisheema has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biology, and is currently a Master’s of Public Administration candidate at University of North Carolina—with concentrations in Public Health and International Relations. Lisheema is also a facilitator of the child sexual abuse prevention program, Darkness to Light.

A closing statement about the project and summary of emerging themes within the narratives. https://blogs.elon.edu/socialequity/files/2019/03/Conclusion.mp3Download the Conclusion Featuring Carmen Monico, PhD, MSW, MS Assistant Professor of Human Service Studies at Elon University Dr. Mónico teaches courses with a global perspective and in international settings. At Elon University, she has taught undergraduate courses on the Art and Science of Human Service, Working with Groups and Communities, International Human Services, Guatemala Practicum, Global Violence Against Women, Global Experience (Global Civil Society and Youth Engagement), and Human Trafficking. She incorporated global dimensions in core human service courses, such as Arts and Sciences of Human Services, and Working with Groups and Communities. She has mentored over 25 students to conduct research on sexual assault, migration, human trafficking, and selfcare. Her dissertation research, of which she just published a book in Spanish, is on child protection and child welfare systems in Guatemala. She has published on civic engagement, global migration, and human trafficking. Her scholarship involves serving as an international expert and conducting research and teaching in Guatemala with the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar. She taught a PhD-level course on advanced qualitative research methods. She has presented at national and international conferences and seminars, and in numerous educational events at Elon. Dr. Mónico has also conducted teaching and learning research on Elon community engagement and human service delivery in various settings.