From Trauma Awareness to DEI Trauma Informed: Understanding the Impact of Trauma in other Marginalized Communities

Understanding the Impact of Trauma in Other Marginalized Communities

In this final webinar of the four-part curriculum series that explores DEI through the Lens of Trauma: Understanding the Diverse Impact of Trauma: What Trauma looks like in different communities, we will expand our exploration of its impact on racially sensitive groups, to identify and discuss other communities i.e., LGBTQIA, Senior Citizens, differently abled populations, etc. who experience the trauma of “marginalization”.

Marginalized people exist in all facets of our collective society - including locale, i.e., urban, rural and suburban spaces; across all socio-economic, racial, religious, lifestyle and cultural groups, as well as in our generic conceptualization of beauty standards; gender identify or roles; and societal status, i.e.  homeless, immigrant, refugee, to name a few.  Given this understanding, what is “equitable” in terms of diversity, inclusion and justice can look very similar or very different, depending on what

In this webinar you will explore:

• And identify what constitutes a “Marginalized Community”
• What traumatic experiences members of marginalized communities endure
• How these experiences affect their mental, emotional, physical health and coping skills
• Strategies to help social and human service nonprofit organizations better connect and serve clients in these communities
• How understanding individual and collective implicit bias, can better inform your approach to achieving sustainable DEI outcomes

Dr. Amy E. Alexander, PhD

Born in Pittsburgh, PA., Dr. Alexander attended California University of Pennsylvania where she earned her B.S. in Education and a 7-12 Social Science certification. She earned her master’s degree in education (MS. Ed.) and a K-12  School Counseling certification from Duquesne University and returned to her alma mater to earn her PhD in Counseling and Supervision. Dr. Alexander’s research interest’s and areas of expertise focus on counseling diverse populations, trauma and trauma-informed interventions, Transgenerational Trauma, Historical Trauma, and Cultural Trauma in the African American community in particular.

Dr. Alexander has presented at national conferences, such as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), state counseling associations, local universities, and high schools and for community organizations such as local branches of the NAACP on diversity, transferred trauma, and the importance of mental health treatment in minority communities. As a classroom teacher, Dr. Alexander garnered student nominated awards such as Who’s Who Among American Teachers (2000 and 2002), and National Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teachers (2005-2006). She continues in her full-time position as a School Counselor at Penn Hills Senior High School and as a clinician part-time at a walk-in crisis center in the city. Dr. Alexander’s career spans the fields of both mental health and education as those worlds coalesce and over-lap in myriad ways to affect our personal and work lives and our ability to function as leaders in those realms.

DANA DEI Learning Series is generously underwritten by: