TRI's Ambassador of the Year: Lovelyn Santos
Lovelyn Santos is being recognized as one of the Trauma Resource Institute's Ambassadors of the Year for 2020. Lovelyn was introduced to the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM)® and Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® in 2006 and began training with Elaine Miller-Karas' "Group of Nine" in 2007 to become a certified TRM/CRM practitioner, facilitator, and trainer. She was one of the first persons trained in what was then called Trauma First Aide that evolved into the Trauma and Community Resiliency Models. Lovelyn has given hundreds of volunteer hours to TRI. When we call her to help us whether it is responding to a disaster in the Philippines or helping with a community project in Southern California, Lovelyn has served with humility and compassion. She has been a dedicated, passionate contributor to TRI's mission.
Lovelyn Santos was born and raised in the Philippines, where she began her life of community service at an early age. She attended La Sierra University as an international student and received her bachelor’s degree in Personality/Clinical Psychology Pre-Med with honors there. She completed the AIDS Peer Counselor/Educator Program and was named twice on the Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. She was a recipient of the City of Riverside Honorary Resident Scholarship.
She has served as a volunteer Mass Care and Disaster Services Technician with the Inland Empire American Red Cross (ARC) and the National Disaster Services Human Resources (DSHR) since 1998. Her assignments with the ARC/DSHR included responding to single-family fires, hydration, mass care, disaster assessment, case management, and outreach. She was a part of a team that responded to Ground Zero in Manhattan after the 9/11 terrorist attack(s). Other volunteer work includes assignments at the Inland AIDS Project, Trauma Resource Institute, and the Loma Linda University International Behavioral Health Trauma Team.
She currently resides with her family in California, where she has been working as a Social Worker at the County of San Bernardino Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) for over 20 years and pursuing dual Master’s degrees in Social Work and Gerontology at Loma Linda University. She has over 30 years of experience in community service, disaster services, mental health, crisis intervention, after-hours hotline, and social work. Her education and training also include certifications in Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Massage Therapy.
In San Bernardino County, she contributed to teaching the CRM and TRM skills to the staff in various government departments, consumers, and community leaders. She helped translate the CRM materials in Tagalog–a Filipino dialect-and has participated in TRI's and LLU's domestic as well as international missions/trainings in the Philippines, Serbia, The Caribbean (St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad, Tobago, St. Maarten), and Mexico. She employs the CRM and TRM skills daily for self-care and whenever given the opportunity to share the CRM/TRM skills with others. She finds pleasure in “gifting” CRM/TRM and her experience to others and makes this possible by saving and using her leave time for this purpose.
