Ann L. Colley is a psychotherapist and consultant with an extensive record of clinical, leadership and organizational development and training. Ann has developed a successful group practice and consulting firm that provides transformational therapy; DEIB and Culturally Responsive organization workshops, coaching and training; Keynote Speaking; Leadership and staff development. Her goal is the development of internal resources to maximize external productivity for the benefit of self and others. Ann’s passion and broad experiences help to develop kinship with diverse clients. She brings a contagious energy, warmth and optimism which stimulate learning through raising delicate issues in a way that is infused with humor and perspective that increases an environment for trying new ideas/behaviors. Her message of upliftment has been shared in corporate organizations, the pulpit of churches, stages of retreats, academia and non-profits. Over the past thirty years Ann has developed counseling programs, leadership training programs and mental behavioral health trainings. Additionally, she has more than 20 years’ experience in marketing, sales, management, teaching, training and consulting, communications, strategic partnership and community building. Ann has also served as an adjunct professor for twenty years teaching classes in undergraduate and graduate business, sociology and Christian ministry programs. She is currently teaching a communication course at Union Theological Seminary. Lastly, she worked as a Chaplain at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for four years. She currently serves on two boards and the Philadelphia Community Stakeholders group. Ann L. Colley earned her Bachelor of Science degree from DePaul University, her Master of Business Administration from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Additionally, she earned her Master of Divinity from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, and she completed her clinical training in marriage and family therapy at the Council for Relationships (an AAMFT certified program).

Bea Hollander-Goldfein is a senior staff therapist at the Council for Relationships, an AAMFT approved supervisor and an instructor in the Post Graduate Certificate Program in Marriage and Family Therapy. She is also credentialed as a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. She is the Director of the Transcending Trauma Project which is a large scale research program investigating coping and adaptation after extreme trauma. Bea is licensed as a Clinical Psychologist and as a Marriage and Family Therapist. She is also a member of the American Family Therapy Association. Bea received her doctorate in psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University and subsequently expanded her training to include certification in Marriage and Family Therapy. Systemic theory has guided her clinical practice and research activities for over 30 years. She has presented broadly on the topic of trauma and the importance of an integrated model of coping and adaptation. She has published in the fields of Marriage and Family Therapy and Trauma studies.

Nancy Isserman is the Co-Director of the Transcending Trauma Project, the Director of Operation Home and Healing: Services for Veterans and Families, and a Faculty member of the Post Graduate Certificate Program in Marriage and Family Therapy at Council for Relationships. She is also a Faculty member of the PhD/MA program for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Gratz College. Nancy, formerly served as an officer on the executive board of Delaware Valley Veterans Consortium.

Jennifer Goldenberg is a clinical social worker in private practice in Orono, Maine, specializing in the treatment of adult survivors of complex trauma and the dissociative disorders. She has taught courses in trauma theory and treatment, human behavior, research, and ethics at the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Maine. She has been with the Transcending Trauma Project as a research associate since 1993, interviewing many survivors of the Holocaust and their family members. She has published articles and book chapters on the coping strategies of Holocaust survivors after the war, their faith and search for meaning, and is currently researching the impact of Holocaust survivor narratives on the third generation.

Saida M. Abdi is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. She is a trained clinician and an expert in refugee trauma and resilience. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology and Social Work from Boston University. Dr. Abdi has worked for more than 20 years with refugee and immigrant youth and families. Her area of focus is building individual, family, and community resilience and improving mental health access and engagement among trauma-impacted refugee children and families. Dr. Abdi is a leader in the adaptation and implementation of Trauma Systems Therapy for Refugees (TST-R). Dr. Abdi is the clinical lead for multiple projects in North America and East Africa that support psychological healing for conflict-impacted youth. Dr. Abdi is the lead author of the recently published consensus statement by the Society for Research on Adolescents titled “Promoting positive development among refugee adolescents”(2023) and the co-author of a recently published book, Mental Health Practice with Immigrant and Refugee Youth: A Socioecological Framework (American Psychological Association, 2020). Dr. Abdi is a National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) member. She serves on the NCTSN Steering Committee.

Gwen Soffer has worked at Nationalities Service Center since 2016 and is the Associate Director of Wellness and Trauma-Informed Care managing onsite clinical and holistic trauma- informed wellness programming as well as staff self-care and professional development. She holds a master's degree in Social Work with Trauma Specialty from Widener University. She is TCTSY-F certified through the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at the Justice Resource Institute and has been working in the trauma-informed wellness field for over fifteen years. Gwen is a Certified Trauma Service Specialist and has certifications in Stress Management through the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and the Harvard Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery Certification through Harvard Global Mental Health. She is a member of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, is an Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists Diplomate, and a member of the National and Pa. Association of Social Work. She presents regularly on the topic of trauma and wellness including the Pathways for Victims Services Conference, Jefferson University Trauma Training Conference, North American Refugee Health Conference, the Beau Biden Institute/SOAR Trauma Institute, USCRI, Philadelphia School District, is a Switchboard Subject Matter Expert, and has published multiple articles and chapters on trauma-informed wellness practices. Her belief in the power of connection and the potential of healing drives her passion for trauma-informed practice.

Dr. Shawn Jones is a licensed clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Counseling Program in the Psychology Department at Virginia Commonwealth University. Prior to relocating to Richmond, Dr. Jones was a National Science Foundation SBE Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. He received his doctorate in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis on Children and Families from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As director of the AYA Research Team, Dr. Jones seeks to support the wellbeing of Black youth and their families by better understanding culturally-relevant protective and promotive factors; translating basic research into interventions that harness the unique strengths of the Black experience; and disseminating this research to be consumed, critiqued and enhanced by the communities the work intends to serve.

Tasnim Sulaiman is the Founder/CEO of Black Men Heal and
is a licensed psychotherapist who also owns a private practice in Philadelphia. With almost 20 years of experience as a clinician, Tasnim, (warmly known as Taz), is on a mission to dismantle broken systems that uphold the lack of equity and access to quality mental health care for communities of color. Black Men Heal has become one of the leading and most notable Black Mental Health organizations in the country, for its unique premise of offering free therapy for men of color by clinicians of color and eliminating barriers that prevent access to quality and culturally attending treatment. Since inception Black Men Heal has raised over 1.5 million dollars and has serviced nearly 5000 men of color through free mental health programming.

An engaging speaker and media contributor, Taz’s expertise has been featured on notable platforms such as Netflix, The Breakfast Club, NBC Universal, The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, PBS Nightly News, NBC 10 Philadelphia, KYW 3, The New York Times, New York Magazine, and The Psychotherapy Networker. Taz has been a keynote speaker at national conferences and has been featured as a presenter or featured panelist offering expertise for major companies such as Major League Baseball, Ralph Lauren, New York Life, and MassMutual.

She leads the BMH team in offering innovative program solutions to communities of color and offering DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) consulting and training to companies and organizations. Presently, Tasnim is driven to goals of scaling Black Men Heal nationally, mental health advocacy and creating actionable steps towards alleviating disproportionate health outcomes.

Courtney Ragin is an Office Director and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist at Council for Relationships (CFR) in Philadelphia, PA. She has worked with individuals, couples, and families for the past five years to address concerns related to anxiety, depression, trauma, substance abuse, relationship challenges, and life transitions. She provides trauma-informed therapy services and helps clients envision and create a value-filled life. Courtney also sees clients through Operation Home and Healing at the Council for Relationships and is the co-instructor of the Post Graduate Program course on Understanding Military Culture and Mental Health for Veteran families.

Dr. Cerdeña received her MD-PhD in Medical Anthropology from Yale University where she began using scholarship and activism as tools for health justice. Dr. Cerdeña co-coined the term “race-conscious medicine” to emphasize how racism, rather than race, determines illness and health. She recently published the book Pressing Onward: The Imperative Resilience of Latina Migrant Mothers, which narrates how women who migrated from Latin America overcome structural oppression to build futures for themselves and their children. Dr. Cerdeña is currently completing her family medicine residency and will continue working at the intersection of research, community-oriented primary care, and health policy.

Dr. Cecilia Cardesa was born and raised in Argentina. She spearheads trauma-informed and resilience-centered programs at Esperanza, a leading Latino organization based in Philadelphia's Hunting Park neighborhood. Prior to her joining Esperanza in August 2023, Dr. Cardesa worked at The Center for Victims of Torture as a member of its Rapid Response Management Team. Dr. Cardesa has been an Adjunct Professor at Esperanza College since August 2022.

In 2016, Dr. Cardesa founded TraumaVenture to shift mental health and trauma narratives, and in 2020, she launched MappingOnward; a digital journal at the intersection of everyday sidewalks, dinner conversations and academic classrooms. From 2017 to 2019, Dr. Cardesa led the design, implementation and growth of the delivery of trauma-informed pro bono legal services to US Service Members, Veterans and Reserve Component. In this role, she served as guest lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law on trauma-informed lawyering and at St. Joseph’s University Haub School of Business Veterans Jumpstart Program.

Cecilia is a 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange Awardee (Malawi). Dr. Cardesa uniquely bridges her international experience into the strategic alignment and direction of local organizations. She served as executive director with Dress for Success and Voices without Borders as well as served as member of the senior leadership team for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America spearheading its national Latino community engagement. Dr. Cardesa began her career in 1997 working in refugee resettlement with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS). She has received numerous awards and recognition for her work and has served on local and international boards.