When Bearing Witness®: Becoming a Trauma-Informed Storyteller

Send us Fan Mail Fundraising events are often where nonprofit storytelling faces its highest stakes. The room is full, the energy is high, and there is real pressure to move people toward giving. In this episode, Maria sits down with Jenna Watanabe, Creative Director at The Fundraising Event Company, to talk about what it takes to build events that are moving without becoming extractive. Jenna shares the personal experience that shaped her approach to this work, and the two dig into what happens when consent gets lost in the momentum of a live event, why emotion does not have to mean sadness, and how joy and hope can carry as much weight as hardship. They also talk through practical protections for story owners, from video review to backup plans, and what it means to build a program that centers dignity at every stage. This conversation is a reminder that the most powerful moment on a fundraising stage is not the one that extracts the most emotion. It is the one that honors the person whose story made the room possible. About Jenna Watanabe Jenna Watanabe is the Creative Director at The Fundraising Event Co., where she helps nonprofits create meaningful, inclusive, and successful fundraising events. With a background in fundraising, marketing, project management, writing, and storytelling, she develops event scripts, speeches, video treatments, and marketing materials that bring each organization’s mission and impact to life. Connect with Jenna Watanabe The Fundraising Event Company | Instagram About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 conversation, Preston Goff, Vice President of Global Communications at The Exodus Road, helps us explore what that balance looks like in practice. We discuss the organization's red lines around consent, why some of their most powerful stories involve months or years of waiting, and how holding firm boundaries with media partners can actually build deeper trust rather than cost opportunities. Preston shares real examples from this work, including a survivor's story that took shape only after she chose, unprompted, to share it herself. This episode is a grounded and honest look at what it means to communicate urgency without sensationalism, and what nonprofit storytellers can learn from an organization that has chosen protection over exposure, again and again. About Preston Goff As the Vice President of Global Communications at The Exodus Road, Preston Goff is an expert storyteller in the anti-trafficking space. During his five-year tenure at the organization, The Exodus Road's media efforts have expanded substantially, most recently with the launch of Influenced — a cutting-edge digital safety curriculum for youth and their caregivers. Preston Goff resides in Colorado Springs with his wife and two young children. Connect with Exodus Road and Preston Goff Exodus Road Website | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | YouTube Preston Goff Website | Instagram | Linkedin About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 are still navigating how to do this work ethically while continuing to communicate impact. In this conversation, Natalie Monroe from MemoryFox helps us explore what this shift looks like in practice. We discuss the growing importance of story banks, strengths-based messaging, and giving story owners more agency over how and where their stories are shared. Natalie shares insights from her work supporting nonprofit teams through real-world storytelling challenges, including navigating sensitive stories and creating systems that help organizations gather stories with greater care. This episode is an honest and hopeful conversation about the future of ethical and trauma-informed storytelling in the nonprofit sector. About Natalie Monroe Natalie Monroe is the Community Engagement Manager at MemoryFox. After a career in the wine industry learning the nuances of Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, she landed in a nonprofit with the military-to-agriculture movement. Natalie told the stories of veterans turned farmers feeding our country. Here she embraced content creation and the power of video messaging. Natalie is grateful to engage in mission-driven work every day. A friend of Natalie once dubbed her the “people broker” because she thrives on introducing friends to each other and engaging in meaningful conversation. When she’s not immersed in storytelling, you might find her volunteering with the local library friends in her community of Davis, California or pondering her next themed gathering. Connect with Natalie Monroe LinkedIn | Learn More About MemoryFox About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 it means to arrive at that moment, not as something to fix, but as something to pay attention to. Together, we name the parts of storytelling that often go unspoken. The emotional load that builds over time. The tension between urgency and care. The quiet ways decision fatigue can shape how stories are gathered and shared. If your work has been feeling heavier lately, this conversation is an invitation to pause, reflect, and consider what a more supported, sustainable storytelling practice might look like from here. About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 stories we share can shape not only audience understanding, but a story owner’s sense of safety long after something is published. We reflect on what it means to tell stories with people, not about them, and why lasting change requires community, accountability, and ongoing practice. About Diana Farias Heinrich Diana Farias Heinrich (she/her) is the CEO of Habrá Marketing and a champion of ethical nonprofit storytelling. Through her Equastory™ framework and The Ethical Nonprofit Summit, she actively safeguards equality, respect, and dignity in nonprofit communications while helping organizations raise funds with integrity. She's a certified Advocate for Survivors of Domestic Violence and for DEI in the Workplace. Diana's proud to be a mom and wife and has supported women in Ghana in starting a sustainable clean water business. Get Your Ethical Nonprofit Tix! Register for the Ethical Nonprofit Summit at ethicalnonprofitsummit.com , and use the code MARIABRYAN15 to save $15 on your ticket. About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 that, we must first explore the historical roots of nonprofit storytelling and how many of our inherited fundraising practices were shaped by systems of inequality. Together, we unpack how traditional deficit-based narratives can unintentionally strip agency from communities and reinforce an “us and them” dynamic. We discuss anchoring asset framing as a practical shift, the difference between cultivating saviorism and cultivating connection, and the rise of artificial intelligence in storytelling and the opportunity it presents to return to something more relational and embodied. If you have ever felt tension between urgency and integrity in your work, this conversation invites you to widen the frame and imagine storytelling that restores wholeness rather than extracting from it. About Michael Kass Michael Kass is the Founder of Story & Spirit where he specializes in facilitation and convening design that fosters transformation through bridging human connection and spiritual practice. Over the past 15 years, he has facilitated convenings and trainings for clients ranging from grassroots nonprofits to Fortune 100 companies, weaving together strategic frameworks with practices that honor the whole human and complex systems. Michael serves on the Advisory Council of the International Dignified Storytelling Project, facilitates breathwork and meditation on InsightTimer, and probably likes chocolate more than you do. Connect with Michael Kass Mini Nonprofit Storytelling Mini-Course | Nonprofit Storytelling: Fundraising & Beyond Course | Ethical Storytelling Resources About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 episode of When Bearing Witness, we sit down with the Founder of 4 Da Hood, Frank Velásquez Jr., to explore joy not as an escape from hard work, but as a form of resistance and a pathway back to our full humanity. Frank reflects on what it has meant to reclaim joy personally – as a leader, storyteller, and entrepreneur – and how collective joy shows up in spaces where people of color gather together. This conversation examines how joy lives alongside grief, how laughter can coexist with difficult conversations, and how choosing to lead with aspiration rather than deficit can fundamentally shift the way stories are told and received. From nonprofit storytelling to leadership culture, this episode invites us to imagine what becomes possible when joy is not an afterthought, but a deliberate, liberatory practice. About Frank Velásquez Jr. Storyteller Extraordinaire, Social Justice Warrior and Architect of Relations, Frank Velásquez Jr., relentlessly pursues racial and gender equity, while creatively connecting our stories, preserving the unique flavor of each one like in a yummy bowl of gumbo. As Founder of 4 Da Hood and the mastermind behind the Ascending Leaders in Color leadership program, he’s forging paths for peeps of color to lead with more authenticity, courage, and joy! Because for Frank, advancing equity isn’t just a job – it’s a movement towards building generational wealth for communities of color to thrive! And he's doing it one connection, one story, one courageous conversation at a time. Connect with Frank Velásquez Jr. 4DaHood Website | LinkedIn About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 strengthen your trauma-informed storytelling practice in 2026. These approaches don’t require new software or a bigger team. It’s a gentle, practical invitation for anyone who wants to begin this year with intention. About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 deep emotional and relational wounds. This episode honors the truth that repair is possible, but only when we slow down enough to acknowledge harm and choose a different path forward. Joining me for this vulnerable and necessary conversation is Rachel D’Souza, the founder of Gladiator Consulting and a proud member of the Community-Centric Fundraising Global Council. Rachel’s work centers on radical collaboration, racial equity, social justice, and decolonization, and her advocacy is deeply informed by her own lived experience of having her story misused for fundraising. We explore what accountability can look like, why harm repair matters, and how nonprofit storytellers can move toward practices rooted in dignity, agency, and healing. About Rachel D'Souza Rachel D'Souza, MPPA, MLS is the founder of Gladiator Consulting in St. Louis, MO, a boutique firm co-creating with nonprofits across the country. As a proud member of the Community-Centric Fundraising Global Council, Rachel works to guide and resource a global initiative to reimagine the nonprofit sector through a lens of radical collaboration, racial equity, social justice, and decolonization. In 2024, Rachel completed her coursework to earn her second Master's Degree at the Washington University School of Law. With this additional training in negotiation, mediation, and cross-cultural conflict resolution, Rachel is eager to shift organizational culture and interpersonal relationships in the direction of healing, collaboration, and systems change. Connect with Rachel D'Souza Gladiatorrds Website | LinkedIn About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 consent when we are not the final decision makers? In this episode, we are joined by Kristi Scott, an email marketing consultant who helps small nonprofits transform email campaigns from ineffective to impactful. Rooted in community-centric fundraising and a commitment to equity, Kristi shares how to write emails that are strategic, relational, and rooted in respect, not exploitation, guilt, or false urgency. We talk about leading by example, planting seeds for organizational change, and building systems that protect story owners long after the first publication. About Kristi Scott Kristi Scott is an email marketing and fundraising consultant who works with small nonprofits to transform email campaigns from ineffective to impactful. She has been in the nonprofit sector for more than 15 years in programs, fundraising, and marketing. Her consulting work is rooted in community-centric fundraising, and she is professionally and personally committed to Black liberation and equity for all. Kristi holds an MBA in Marketing with honors and has worked in small businesses, startups, and corporate sales. She was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, the traditional lands of the Tongva (Gabrieleno) peoples. Connect with Kristi Scott Fundraising Email Fix | Website | LinkedIn About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 weight that settles in when we hold space for other people’s pain without tending to our own. Many storytellers and mission-driven leaders find themselves emotionally exhausted not because they don’t care, but because they care deeply and continuously. In today’s episode, we’re joined by Michelle Vande Hay, a Certified Holistic Life Coach and Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator who works with leaders and teams navigating compassion fatigue, overgiving, and burnout. Michelle helps mission-driven professionals reconnect with their bodies, their purpose, and their boundaries so they don’t lose themselves in the work they feel called to do. Together, we explore how vicarious trauma shows up in our daily lives and how honoring stories also means honoring the storytellers. This conversation is an invitation to notice what your body carries and to consider that caring well for others begins with caring well for yourself. About Michelle Vande Hay Michelle is a Certified Holistic Life Coach & Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator. She empowers mission-driven leaders and teams to overcome the culture of overgiving and self-sacrifice so they don’t lose themselves in their mission. Michelle guides leaders & teams to overcome compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and burnout. Through holistic coaching, trauma-sensitive yoga, and breathwork, clients connect more deeply to themselves, their mission, and their community, which creates long-lasting, sustainable impact. Connect with Michelle Vande Hay Download the Self-Care Cheat Sheet | Website | Love Your Life On Purpose Community | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 mountains. She brings a grounded and courageous approach to transformation that challenges traditional ideas of success and celebrates the slow, intentional work of healing. Together, Maria and Angela explore what it means to tell stories from a place of resilience. This conversation serves as a reminder that stories do more than just inform. They transform, helping us reconnect to our shared humanity and the power of belonging. About Angela Soliz Angela Soliz is the founder of Gela Road, a creative resilience agency, and an artist, designer, educator, and trauma-informed speaker who helps people uncover their identity and build purpose-driven brands from the inside out. With a multidisciplinary background and a passion for climbing mountains—both literal and metaphorical—Angela brings a grounded, courageous approach to personal and creative transformation. Connect with Angela Soliz Gela Road | Link Tree About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 nonprofit and government communications, and today she leads the messaging, media, and advocacy work for an organization that supports women survivors. Amanda and I talk about why nonprofit communicators must approach journalists with both strategy and care, ensuring that press opportunities do not come at the expense of the very people they aim to serve. This episode will encourage you to think critically about your media relationships, the guidelines you set, and the culture of consent you create. About Amanda Clelland Amanda is the Director of Communications and Advocacy at Thistle Farms, a Nashville-based nonprofit and social enterprise that serves women survivors of human trafficking and prostitution. There, she leverages earned media and storytelling to educate and advocate for change. Amanda's passion for storytelling and creating positive change through communications has led her to work in both government and nonprofit sectors for nearly 15 years in legislative, membership, and media relations. She guides the Thistle Farms' messaging, storytelling, and media strategies as well as oversees the organization's public policy and advocacy work on the local, state, and federal levels. She is a longtime volunteer and advocate for women's health and domestic violence organizations in Nashville. Connect with Amanda Clelland Thistle Farms Website | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 workshops and initiatives that honor lived experience while protecting the dignity and agency of each storyteller. We discuss what she has learned about the healing potential of storytelling, how to create trauma-informed spaces that prioritize care, and the fine line between empowerment and exploitation in nonprofit storytelling. About Anne K. Ream Anne K. Ream is the founder of The Voices and Faces Project, a global testimonial writing program for survivors of gender-based violence and other human rights violations (now Center for Story & Witness); co-founder of World Without Exploitation, the national coalition to end human trafficking; and author of Lived Through This, a critically praised memoir that documents Anne’s multi-country journey listening to sexual violence and trafficking survivors. The recipient of numerous awards for her work using story to create social change, Anne is a regular contributor to New City Chicago and currently serves as board president at Justice for Migrant Women. Connect with Anne K. Ream Center for Story and Witness | Story and Witness Instagram | Anne K Ream Instagram | Anne K Ream LinkedIn About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 leaders and communicators can learn from. Together, we explore the parallels between documentary filmmaking and nonprofit storytelling, especially when it comes to navigating consent, power dynamics, and cultural context. Heidi reflects on moments in her career where doing what’s right meant stepping back, collaborating with community members, and rethinking her role as a storyteller. Her approach is a model for nonprofit communication ethics—one that prioritizes safety, transparency, and trust at every stage of the process. About Heidi Burkey Heidi Burkey is a seasoned documentary filmmaker specializing in character-driven stories with a passion for highlighting underrepresented individuals and communities. Through verité-led filmmaking, she strives to create films that offer a nuanced and empathetic perspective. As a filmmaker, she is known for her ability to quickly establish trust with individuals and adapt to the unique cultures and communities represented. Her films have been distributed on platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Max, PBS, and Amazon. Connect with Heidi Burkey Website | Instagram | From Reflection to Release Framework | Ethical Storytelling About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 deep listening can disrupt bias and reshape how we understand digital expression. A researcher, social worker, and AI ethicist, Dr. Patton explores how grief is often misread as aggression, and how those misreadings can escalate both online and offline violence. But the solutions, he reminds us, are not just technical, they are relational. He offers a model of trauma-informed storytelling rooted in cultural humility, reflexivity, and active listening. We all bring our own lens to storytelling. But to do this work ethically, especially in nonprofit storytelling and storytelling for social impact, we have to slow down and ask hard questions: Am I the right person to tell this story? What information is missing? Who do I need to engage with, and how do I do that in a trustworthy and ethical way? About Dr. Desmond Upton Patton Dr. Desmond Upton Patton is a leading expert at the intersection of social work, technology, and racial justice, known for his groundbreaking research on how social media impacts grief, trauma, and violence in communities of color. A Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor with appointments across social policy, communication, and psychiatry, he developed the Contextual Analysis of Social Media (CASM) to address bias in AI by centering cultural nuance and lived experience. His work has shaped national conversations on digital violence and empathy, informed tech safety policies at companies like Twitter and Spotify, and been featured in The New York Times , Nature , and NPR . Connect with Dr. Desmond Upton Patton SafeLab | LinkedIn | BlueSky About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 strategy to this conversation. We talk about how trauma-informed storytelling, nonprofit communication ethics, and accessibility are all connected, and why accessibility is more than just a box to check. It’s a way to truly connect. If you’ve ever wondered where to begin, Dominique offers practical, realistic steps you can take today to make your content more inclusive, whether it’s your website, social media, or email. We also talk about how accessible storytelling can build trust, grow your reach, and strengthen your mission. This episode is for anyone who wants their nonprofit marketing strategies to reflect care, clarity, and impact. About Dominique Dunlop Dominique Dunlop is the founder of A11y Impact and a champion for nonprofit digital inclusion and accessibility. With a background in inclusive education and lived experience, she works to make the web a place where everyone belongs. Dominique believes that digital inclusion is not an afterthought; it is the foundation. Connect with Dominique Dunlop A11y Impact | Linkedin About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 clarity and encouragement to that exact moment. Dallase is the founder of Trust, a consulting firm that helps organizations navigate change with empathy, transparency, and strategy. She has supported more than 40 institutions, including Yale, Columbia, and Brown, along with collective impact initiatives like the Boston Green Ribbon Commission. In this conversation, we explore how nonprofit leadership can become more open to trauma-informed storytelling practices, how storytellers can influence from within, and what it takes to make trauma-informed storytelling part of your organizational culture. About Dallase Scott As founder of Trust, Dallase Scott brings a wealth of expertise and training in strategy, organizational design, change management, and design thinking that is unique in the field of sustainability consultants. Her balance of empathy, transparency, and structured engagement makes her a sought-after facilitator who provides customized support to guide stakeholders through an engagement and decision-making process that meets the needs and long-term vision of the institution. Clients value her personalized facilitation and engagement processes, carefully designed to strengthen the talent and capabilities which already exist in client organizations. Over the past 15 years, Dallase has engaged faculty, students, staff, and senior administrators at over 40 higher education institutions, including Brown University, Tufts University, Yale University, University of Florida, Dartmouth College, Columbia University, and Princeton University. She has also supported many cohorts and alliances looking to use their collective impact to tackle larger, complex projects that overcome systemic barriers, such as the Boston Green Ribbon Commission, North Texas Food Policy Alliance, and the Ivy+ Sustainability Consortium, among others. Connect with Dallase Scott Trust | Growing Trust Series | Instagram About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 impacts our nervous systems, why self-care alone isn’t enough, and what it looks like to build human-centered organizations rooted in ethical storytelling practices. About Lindsey Fuller Lindsey Fuller is an educator, coach, and changemaker with over 20 years of experience in education, facilitation, and leadership development. As Executive Director of The Teaching Well, she works to stabilize schools and redignify the teaching profession by supporting educators and nonprofit professionals with the tools they need to build resilience, communicate with care, and thrive in their work. Her approach centers trauma-informed practices, collective well-being, and sustainable organizational culture. Connect with Lindsey Fuller Gather at the Well Podcast | The Teaching Well | Linkedin About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

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 intentional, human-centered messaging. In this conversation, we explore how trauma-informed storytelling practices can strengthen nonprofit leadership and communication ethics. Stephanie unpacks common copywriting tactics that unintentionally harm audiences, like scarcity, urgency, and pain-point marketing, and offers nonprofit marketing strategies rooted in clarity, choice, and consent. About Stephanie Bilinsky Stephanie is a trauma-informed copywriter for ethical entrepreneurs. She connects business owners with their dream clients through intentional, human-centered messaging. Connect with Stephanie Bilinsky Brandcendent.com | Linkedin | Instagram About Host Maria Bryan Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with Maria Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email