When Bearing Witness®: Becoming a Trauma-Informed Storyteller

Send us Fan Mail Storytelling in the anti-trafficking space carries a particular weight, where the urgency to communicate impact can pull against the responsibility to protect the very people whose stories are being told. Many nonprofit communicators working in this space are asking how to tell stories that move people to action without exploiting pain or compromising survivor safety. In this conv...

Send us Fan Mail In This Episode Nonprofit storytelling is changing. Organizations are being asked to think more carefully about how stories are gathered, who holds power in the storytelling process, and what it means to share stories with dignity, transparency, and ongoing consent. As more nonprofits move away from transactional testimonials and toward community-centered storytelling, many teams...

Send us Fan Mail By this point in the year, storytelling can start to feel different. You’re still showing up to the interviews, the deadlines, the back and forth. But something begins to shift. A story lingers longer than you expect. A decision stays with you after it’s made. You start to notice the weight of the work in a way that’s harder to ignore. In this episode, I’ll explore with you what i...

Send us Fan Mail Diana, CEO of Habrá Marketing and creator of the Equastory framework, joins us for a conversation about what it takes for trauma-informed storytelling to become more than an individual practice. It becomes a movement when people begin challenging harmful norms, building new practices together, and treating consent, privacy, and agency as shared responsibilities. We explore how the...

Send us Fan Mail What if storytelling returned back toward its oldest purpose: connection? In this episode, I’m joined by Michael Kass, founder of Story & Spirit, to imagine what it would look like to flip the way we tell nonprofit stories, not as content, not as a tool, not as a mechanism, but as something living. Something that restores connection, belonging, and shared humanity. And to do t...

Send us Fan Mail Content warning: This episode includes discussion of trauma, systemic harm, and experiences of marginalization, shared with care and intention. This conversation begins with a truth many of us feel but don’t always name, that while trauma-informed storytelling often centers pain and loss, there is another force that has sustained communities for generations: joy. In today’s episod...

Send us Fan Mail As we step into a new year of storytelling, this episode invites you to slow down, take a breath, and ground your practice in deeper care. Trauma-informed storytelling is not just about avoiding harm. It’s about building systems, rhythms, and habits that protect the people at the center of your work — including you. In this conversation, Maria shares five practical ways to strengt...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode of When Bearing Witness , we step into a conversation that sits at the heart of trauma-informed storytelling: what happens when a story intended to inspire instead causes harm, and how we move toward repair. Storytelling is powerful, but it is never neutral. When nonprofits share personal experiences without care, consent, or curiosity, those choices can leave d...

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofit storytellers are tasked with sharing stories that move people to act, yet we also carry the responsibility of protecting the dignity and agency of those whose stories we tell. And when we are working on the outside of an organization, as contractors or consultants, the power to ensure ethical and trauma-informed practices can feel limited.  So, how do we uphold care and...

Send us Fan Mail Content Warning: Michelle briefly talks about the death of a loved one. Be mindful of your emotional capacity as you listen in.  Storytelling in the nonprofit world is a powerful act of witness, but it can also take a quiet toll. When we listen to story after story of grief, injustice, or survival, our bodies absorb more than we realize.  This is vicarious trauma, the invisible we...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of When Bearing Witness, Maria sits down with Angela Soliz, a resilience coach, artist, and founder of Gela Road, a creative resilience agency helping people uncover their identity and build purpose-driven brands from the inside out. Angela’s journey weaves together artistry, trauma-informed coaching, and the wisdom gained from scaling both real and metaphorical mo...

Send us Fan Mail For many nonprofits, earned media is a powerful way to raise awareness, build credibility, and connect with new supporters. But when stories involve lived experiences of trauma, the stakes are high.  On this episode of When Bearing Witness, I’m joined by Amanda Clelland, Director of Communications and Advocacy at Thistle Farms in Nashville. Amanda has spent nearly 15 years in nonp...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when storytelling isn’t just about raising awareness or driving donations, but about creating a space where survivors can be truly seen, heard, and supported? On today’s episode of When Bearing Witness, I sit down with Anne Ream, founder of The Center for Story & Witness. Anne has spent two decades alongside survivors of gender-based violence, facilitating writing...

Send us Fan Mail What does it look like to practice trauma-informed storytelling behind the camera?  In this episode of When Bearing Witness , filmmaker Heidi Burkey shares how she approaches documentary work with care and a deep respect for those she films. With projects featured on Netflix, Hulu, PBS, and Disney+, Heidi brings powerful insights into ethical storytelling practices that nonprofit...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of When Bearing Witness, Dr. Desmond Upton Patton invites us into a conversation about humility, listening, and the ethics of digital storytelling. He shares what he has learned from years of research at the intersection of social work, technology, and racial justice.  And he doesn’t stop at analysis, he challenges us to examine our own assumptions and shows how de...

Send us Fan Mail Ensuring your digital marketing is accessible for all audiences may seem like a daunting task, but today’s guest, Dominique Dunlop, makes it feel not only doable but meaningful.  Dominique is the founder of A11y Impact and a champion for digital inclusion in the nonprofit world. With her background in inclusive education and lived experience with ADHD, she brings both heart and st...

Send us Fan Mail In nonprofit storytelling, there’s often a disconnect between the trauma-informed and ethical practices we aspire to and the systems we’re working within. Many of us feel the urgency to do less harm and tell stories with greater care, but when trauma-informed storytelling meets organizational resistance, it can be hard to know where to begin.  Today’s guest, Dallase Scott, brings...

Send us Fan Mail What does it really mean to create a work culture we don’t need to heal from?  In this episode of When Bearing Witness , I’m joined by Lindsey Fuller, an educator, coach, and Executive Director of The Teaching Well, for a deep and necessary conversation on trauma-informed storytelling, nonprofit communication ethics, and collective care. We talk about how nonprofit storytelling im...

Send us Fan Mail How do we communicate with care when marketing and fundraising often rely on urgency and pressure?  Today’s guest brings a thoughtful lens to one of the most overlooked areas in nonprofit storytelling: the words we choose and how they land. Stephanie Bilinsky is a trauma-informed copywriter who helps ethical entrepreneurs and organizations connect with their audiences through inte...

Send us Fan Mail What does it mean to lead with care when everything feels like it’s on fire?  Today’s guest brings clarity to one of the most important tools we have in times of crisis: storytelling. Catherine Alonzo is a strategist, storyteller, and CEO of Javelina, a branding and marketing agency helping purpose-driven organizations deepen their social impact. From minimum wage to marriage equa...

Send us Fan Mail In This Episode What if ethical transformation in the nonprofit sector doesn't start with policy, but with people?  In this episode, Maria Bryan is joined by Diana Farias Heinrich, founder of the Ethical Nonprofit Summit , to explore how courage, connection, and accountability can reshape the way we fundraise, communicate, and lead. This conversation isn't a checklist of...

Send us Fan Mail Content warnings have long been treated as mere disclaimers—brief nods to potential triggers without much thought to their real impact.  But what if they could do more? Rachel Edwards believes they can.  As a senior content designer at Content Design London and the creator of the book Designed with Care: Creating Trauma-Informed Content , Rachel brings together voices from health,...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we explore how purpose, clarity, and sustainability can shape the way we show up as nonprofit storytellers and marketers. Our guest, Quinn Tempest, is a business and brand strategist and the founder of Create Your Purpose® , a movement that empowers women entrepreneurs to build meaningful, sustainable businesses without sacrificing what matters most. Through Quinn...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we navigate how nonprofit leaders can speak up with courage during politically divided times. Our guest today, Vu Le, a bold voice in the nonprofit sector, combines humor with unflinching honesty to challenge systemic issues.  In this candid and vulnerable conversation, we'll explore the real costs and consequences of speaking truth to power, the responsibili...

Send us Fan Mail In this eye-opening episode, Maria talks with Dr. Neeru Bakshi, a psychiatrist who's shaking things up in mental healthcare. Neeru, a South Asian woman, works in a field dominated by Western viewpoints. She offers insights on why diverse voices in leadership roles matter for mental health care. Neeru shares stories of questioning the system, from asking why certain patients w...