Essential Conversations

Animal lovers, activists, and all humans, don’t miss this episode! Our guests are Mark Churchill, Director, and Emily Harris, Case Manager, from Pawsperity: Pet Care That Unleashes Human Potential. In this engaging conversation, we discuss how TIC culture seeks to avoid re-traumatizing people and what to do when re-traumatization happens, key practices for helping staff and leaders manage secondar...

  This time, our guests are Neal Long, Director of Learning at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Anne Manning, Deputy Director for Learning and Engagement at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. In this captivating conversation, we explore the role of art in healing and resilience, ways to be more innovative in providing support for groups of people, the importance of practicing humility when you kn...

Join us for a fascinating conversation with our guests, Leslie Carto, External Media Communications Manager at University Health, and Eryn Realmuto, Internal Communications Manager at University Health, about the challenges of being trauma-sensitive in an industry designed to thrive by activating fear, opportunities to provide care for those who communicate stressful information as part of their j...

Episode 2, with Chief Judge of the 31st Judicial District in Kansas, Honorable Daniel D. Creitz, and Director of Community Corrections & Kansas Department of Corrections Juvenile Services, Troy Smith   If you’ve ever wondered what works better than punishment to reduce criminal activity, you will want to listen to this episode! Our guests, Chief Judge of the 31st Judicial District in Kansas, t...

In this episode, we talk with Lisa Charlson, Human Resources Organizational Development Educator, and Jackie Griffin, Senior Director of Guest Services, both with University Health, a Level-One Trauma Center located in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri and serving as both the urban-core, safety-net hospital and the teaching hospital for the University of Missouri-Kansas City. This conversation is...

Join us for Trauma Informed Care in Unexpected Places (TICUP) our next topic on the Trauma Informed Caring Podcast, brought to you by the Mid-America Addiction Technology Transfer Center and funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In this introductory episode, Andrea and Roxanne discuss themes from the upcoming season as well as how they each came to work in the fi...

Each person who enters recovery is as unique as their story. And this month, in honor of recovery month, we are bringing you recovery stories from people in diverse populations. Hear what people in these communities want providers to know. Lisa got sober at fifteen, and now, at 34 people often discount her experience.  Lisa has many labels: a person in recovery, a queer lesbian, multi-religious, a...

Each person who enters recovery is as unique as their story. And this month, in honor of recovery month, we are bringing you recovery stories from people in diverse populations. Hear what people in these communities want providers to know. Norma is an 88-year-old woman who entered recovery in her 50’s. As an older lady friends and family have a hard time believing she ever had a drinking problem....

Each person who enters recovery is as unique as their story. And this month, in honor of recovery month, we are bringing you recovery stories from people in diverse populations. Hear what people in these communities want providers to know. Jazie is a non-binary person who is coming up on their 2nd sober anniversary.  Jazie recognizes the older version of themselves taught them many things and ackn...

Each person who enters recovery is as unique as their story. And this month, in honor of recovery month, we are bringing you recovery stories from people in diverse populations. Hear what people in these communities want providers to know. Casey explained that recovery does not have to be abstinence only.  She discusses her thoughts on why she practices abstinence only now, but she may not always...

Each person who enters recovery is as unique as their story. And this month, in honor of recovery month, we are bringing you recovery stories from people in diverse populations. Hear what people in these communities want providers to know. Hector looked at his family and chose not to repeat those patterns.  Hector practiced abstinence into his young adulthood.  When he did start using, he practice...

Each person who enters recovery is as unique as their story. And this month, in honor of recovery month, we are bringing you recovery stories from people in diverse populations. Hear what people in these communities want providers to know. This series is a special edition of the Essential Conversations podcast. Stream new episodes every Friday in September! Episode 1: Laura celebrates her recovery...

In this episode, we connected with two women uniquely supporting health and well-being in their communities. Raquel Garcia is University Health’s Community Health Education Nurse working in Kansas City, Missouri, and Stacy Jones is a Body Image Coach and Weight Stigma Educator working in California. Both grounded firmly in the principles of trauma informed caring and passionately advocating for eq...

Episode 8, with Russell Anderson and Jake Pitts Russell Anderson and Jake Pitts lead the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts at University Health in Kansas City, MO. In this deeply self-reflective conversation, they talked with us about their experiences in weaving in the practices of trauma informed caring with educating others on counteracting bias, having difficult conversations, and impro...

In this episode, our guests Dr. Alli Morton and Dr. Hanna Grandgenett, both from the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute share a variety of insights they have gained, and are still gaining, as they work to integrate Trauma Informed Caring in flexible, individualized ways that honor the inherent dignity, strengths, and life experiences of those they serve. Filled with pra...

In this episode, we speak with two women who both have used their own experiences to forge new paths and address inequities for people in their respective communities. Dr. Anitra Warrior, Ph. D., LP, is an American Indian Psychologist from the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, who has dedicated her career to underserved populations throughout the state of Nebraska. Doty Shepard is the Executive Director of...

Chandra Green, Director of Alive and Thrive in Wyandotte County, KS, and Clara Sainte, Kansas City social worker, therapist, and adjunct faculty at the University of Kansas joined us for an inspiring and thought-provoking conversation that centered on community, relationships, and allyship. Our guests grounded us in the questions we need to first ask of ourselves as we work to counteract bias and...

Episode 4, with Erika Holliday and Lauren Ragan Wilkerson  This episode features Erika Holliday, Substance Use Coordinator for the Unified Government (Kansas City, KS) Public Health Department, and Lauren Ragan Wilkerson, Board-Certified Music Therapist at the University of California-San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. In this conversation, we challenged ourselves with questions th...

Our guests for this episode are Jesse Kohler, Executive Director of the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) in Washington, DC, and Whitney Marris, CTIPP’s Director for Trauma-Informed Practice and System Transformation. Whitney and Jesse remind us that belonging is not automatically experienced, no matter how lofty our goals or mission, and that creating true inclusion for eve...

Episode 2, with Eva Santiago and Bernadette Spooner Thompson You won’t want to miss a minute of this bold, broad, bravely-honest, bias-busting conversation. Eva Santiago is a former police officer turned certified Bikram Yoga Instructor, community activist, personal nutritionist, and self-described “healthy life fanatic” who currently serves as Program Coordinator for Plaza Comunitaria in Kansas C...

In this episode, we share an inspiring discussion with Akeem Curns, Vice President of Camp Fire Heartland, and Dr. Marvia Jones, Director of the Kansas City Missouri Health Department, that highlights the far-reaching impact of seeing and responding to everyone with a trauma-informed lens (no exceptions), communicating with understanding, consistently offering grace, and the transformative power o...

Join us for Culturally Responsive Trauma Informed Care (CRTIC), our next topic on the Trauma Informed Caring Podcast, a member of the family of “Essential Conversations” podcasts brought to you by the Mid-America Addiction Technology Transfer Center and funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In this introductory episode, Roxanne and Andrea highlight several themes...

Open your mind and your heart for this candid discussion with our guest, Mindy Davidson, as we explore the power of one caring adult to mitigate the impact of adverse childhood experiences, trauma-sensitive ways foster parents can empower biological parents and support family reunification, the magic that can happen when you simply do the next right thing, how to fuel your giving with gratitude, a...

Join us for a heart-felt, wide-ranging discussion with our guest, Kim Shaw-Ellis, and get inspired by the power of being seen, valued, and connected, the power of intentional focus on goodness and ways we get that which we seek, and the power of collaborating to solve problems that impact our communities and each other in ways that transform pain into joy and healing.

In this engaging conversation with our guest, Imam Jamal Shakur, we discuss the importance of knowing and understanding what is happening to you in order to find paths for healing, being relational and intentional about supporting resilience in the face of vicarious trauma, and the power of providing positive childhood and community experiences to sustain hope and well-being both now and for futur...