We must not forget that the greatness of America has been shaped by the immigrants who have come for that hopeful opportunity of a better future.

People have immigrated to the United States from many places around the globe. They have often escaped the horrors of war and oppression to come to a country hoping for a future where their families could thrive in a Democratic Republic.

The host of Resiliency Within will share aspects of her first-generation view with her colleague, Martha Parra, LCSW, who came to the United States as a child with her family. The identities of Latinas and Latinos are shaped by geography, heritage, race, and gender. Latinas and Latinos embrace their heritage and contribute to the culture of the United States.

Martha's family came to California from Mexico, and Elaine's mother and grandmother came from El Salvador. They will share how their families taught them compassion, courage, strength, service, and hard work. They will share the values they learned from their families and how their rich heritage has inspired their personal and professional journeys as community leaders.

Essential funds are being cut for important programs helping youth.

Where common sense laws are lacking to protect children, violence prevention professionals and credible messengers are working on the frontlines to mediate conflict, interrupt violence, and restore peace.

Jordan R. Murphy, PhD, RN, is a nurse scientist who specializes in behavioral health and trauma and resiliency-informed care.

In this encore episode, Dr. Murphy will share her work in Gun Violence Prevention, supporting professionals and survivors.

Gun violence is a major public health and social justice issue, and yet it is preventable. For the last three years, gun violence was the #1 cause of death for children and adolescents 1-17 years of age, surpassing motor vehicle accidents and cancer.

A greater understanding of the issues involved and the development of innovative programs are critical to the well-being of our Nation.

On this episode of Resiliency Within, host Elaine Miller-Karas welcomes Heather Lilly,
co-founder and past Executive Director of Yoga Village in Wilmington, North Carolina,
for a thoughtful conversation about the integration of the Community Resiliency Model
(CRM) with Trauma-Informed Yoga. Together, Elaine and Heather explore how these
complementary, body-based approaches can help individuals and communities
strengthen resilience, regulate the nervous system, and support healing in the face of
stress, adversity, and trauma.
Drawing from years of experience serving diverse populations, Heather shares the vision
behind Yoga Village and its commitment to making trauma-informed practices
accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. Elaine and Heather discuss how CRM
skills naturally align with trauma-informed yoga practices that cultivate mindful
awareness, self-compassion, and a deeper connection to the body.
Their dialogue highlights the growing recognition that healing is not simply a cognitive
process but one that involves the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. Through stories,
insights, and practical wisdom, they explore how integrating CRM and trauma-informed
yoga can help create safer, more compassionate communities where individuals can
rediscover their strengths and capacity for well-being.
Join Elaine and Heather for an inspiring conversation about resilience, healing, and the
transformative power of bringing together evidence-informed practices that help people
reconnect with themselves and with one another.

On this special episode of Resiliency Within, host Elaine Miller-Karas sits down with Michael Sapp, Executive Director of the Trauma Resource Institute, for a heartfelt conversation reflecting on the remarkable global journey of the Trauma Resource Institute. What began as a small idea rooted in compassion and neuroscience has grown into an international movement of healing, hope, and human connection, reaching communities across cultures, languages, and lived experiences worldwide.

They will share reflections on the profound lessons learned from decades of working alongside educators, therapists, healthcare workers, parents, community leaders, and young people who have brought the Community and Trauma Resiliency Models into their daily lives. Together, Elaine and Mike discuss the importance of understanding that reactions to stress and trauma are not signs of weakness, but part of our shared human biology—and how practical wellness skills, compassionate relationships, and community connection can restore dignity, resilience, and hope. This dialogue also explores the realities of building an international nonprofit organization: the vision, perseverance, partnerships, and deep trust required to sustain a mission dedicated to human resilience.

The Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® contains powerful skills for nervous system regulation that can be used anywhere and anytime.

CRM in Schools is a strengths-based, compassionate approach that is helping school staff and students re-connect to their bodies and understand new ways to support their well-being through nervous system regulation.

Since 2019, the Community Resiliency Model has been shared with thousands of educators and students, world-wide. Pro-active and preventative skills like resourcing, grounding, and the Help Now! strategies can be practiced daily as classroom routines, during class meetings and brain breaks, or at crucial moments like before a test or during conflict resolution.

Feedback from educators and students suggests that the CRM skills can improve students body literacy, self-compassion and sense of empathy towards others. Educators report feeling more resourced to manage the physical and emotional demands of their profession.

How can CRM be brought into schools in a way that supports teachers and students, rather than burdening them with "one more thing" to do.

How can CRM be integrated systemically so that the climate of school becomes a place that is welcoming to the educators and students "whole selves"?

Can schools truly become places where trauma-and-resiliency informed practices are understood and applied by everyone from the support staff, to the principal?

This episode with Lindy Settevendemie and Christa Tinari explores the use of CRM in school contexts and their insights about how CRM can support individuals and transform the learning environment.

In this episode of Resiliency Within, Elaine Miller-Karas interviews Cathy Salser about a deceptively simple proposition: that time and connection — not paint or canvas — can be one of the most powerful art supplies we have.

Cathy is the founder of A Window Between Worlds (AWBW), a non-profit dedicated to nurturing art-based journeys of transforming trauma. Since 1991, AWBW has grown into a national circle of co-creation reaching nearly 150,000 participants annually across 44 states and 8 countries.

She shares the orgins of how she came to this work, and what it looks like when art becomes a circle of co-creation where every person is welcomed as an innovator and a founder of their own path forward. She draws on stories from across her 35 years of practice — from the personal level to the relational, organizational, and national.

She is also honest about what art is not: it doesn't replace therapists, hotlines, or economic justice. But it does something that nothing else does — it can help people create quick, but lasting, tangible tools to hold onto their strength, vision, and one another across time.

Cathy shares from a very personal place. Her home burned in the Palisades fire, along with her studio and 35 years of AWBW archives. The spirit of that work is not defeated — it is sprouting back up, even through this conversation.

This conversation welcomes us to rethink what art is and what it can do — not as a luxury or a talent, but as an accessible scaffold for change that anyone can build a life around.

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About Our Guest:

Cathy Salser is a social practice artist and the founder of A Window Between Worlds (AWBW), a non-profit dedicated to nurturing art-based journeys of transforming trauma. She holds time and connection as her primary art media — co-creating and mentoring site-specific works that welcome people to crystallize leadership in the face of challenge, sustain action over time, and replace isolation with community.

In this too-busy world, she loves the magic of art practices that are super quick yet super lasting — practices that disrupt and divest from legacies of trauma, and invite space for something new.

Since founding AWBW in 1991, Cathy has nurtured a circle of co-creators that today includes 600+ active community sites, reaching nearly 150,000 participants annually across 44 states and countries including Australia, Canada, Cameroon, Guam, Malawi, Mexico, South Korea, and Venezuela — engaging hundreds of thousands of adults and children who've experienced domestic violence, homelessness, incarceration, sexual assault, and intergenerational trauma.

She's been nationally recognized with the Women's Caucus for Art President's Award, the Bank of America Local Heroes Award, the LA Domestic Violence Council's Betty Fisher Award, and the CA Partnership to End Domestic Violence's Karen Cooper Lifetime Achievement Award.

Cathy is dedicated to living art as a brave and vulnerable practice — a catalyst for interactive journeys transforming trauma that lives in our bodies, relationships, communities, and systems.

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Resiliency Within is honored to spotlight the extraordinary work of Melissa Boley, who reflects on her remarkable career as a psychotherapist and leader in the field of trauma healing.

Melissa was recently awarded the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Idaho Counseling Association, in recognition of 36 years of dedicated service as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Idaho.

In this episode, she shares the wisdom and insights she has gained through decades of clinical work, as well as her international experiences and deep connection to the healing power of nature.

Her journey began in social services in 1978 while still an undergraduate, followed by earningher Master's in Counseling Psychology in 1986. Over the years, Melissa has worked across a wide range of mental health settings—including wilderness therapy programs with incarcerated youth, domestic violence shelters, group homes, crisis residential centers, and community mental health clinics throughout the United States. Since 1990, she has maintained a private practice in Ketchum, Idaho.

Specializing in trauma, Melissa brings an integrative, body-based approach to her work. She holds advanced postgraduate certifications in Somatic Experiencing, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, and the Trauma Resiliency Model.

She also serves as a Teaching Assistant with the Somatic Experiencing Institute and as a Consultant, Facilitator, and Trainer with the Trauma Resource Institute, teaching both the Community Resiliency Model and the Trauma Resiliency Model, sharing trauma-informed resilience skills both nationally and internationally—including in Nepal, the Philippines, and Serbia.

Join us as Melissa reflects on a lifetime of service, the evolution of trauma-informed care, and the vital role of somatic awareness in supporting healing and resilience.