TRI's Ambassadors of the Year: 2021
Since TRI's inception, there has been a generosity that TRI has received from many individuals and organizations around the world. There is a wider net of people and organizations, beyond those who work at our organization, who have gone above and beyond to help spread the mission and healing models of TRI.
Every year, we recognize an Individual Ambassador and an Organizational Ambassador who have worked tirelessly to help strengthen communities through the use of the Trauma and Community Resiliency Models.
Please join us in honoring Magdalena Sunshine Serrano and New Hanover County, North Carolina.
Individual Ambassador of the Year: Magdalena Sunshine Serrano, LCSW Director of Behavioral Health and Psychiatry Services, Community Health Centers of the Central Coast
Magdalena Serrano
Magdalena Sunshine Serrano (she/her/hers) is an Indigenous woman of Serrano, Apache, and Tarahumara descent. Magdalena is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a specialty in trauma-informed treatment with Indigenous populations. Magdalena began her TRM and CRM journey in 2014 after meeting and training with Elaine Miller-Karas. This encounter was a critical turning point in Magdalena’s career and changed the way she approached both her personal life and therapy.
Magdalena has served her local community as the Director of Behavioral Health and Psychiatry Services for the Community Health Centers of the Central Coast. This unique Federally Qualified Health Center focuses on serving the most underserved members of the community with a commitment to an integrated care model. Magdalena has continued to serve her community through professional development and knowledge acquisition to grow the program.
She has a Certificate in Public Health Training for American Indian Health Professionals from Johns Hopkins, Bloomberg School of Public Health. Magdalena is also currently a fellow of the California Health Care Foundation Health Care Leadership Program which is focused on the state-wide development of a telehealth-based behavioral health integration model.
Magdalena has trained healthcare professionals in the Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® and encouraged their continual development since 2014 when she became a CRM Teacher. She has trained members in her own program as well as members of partner organizations. Magdalena also presented CRM to California’s former Surgeon General, Nadine Burke Harris, where she advocated for the implementation of CRM trainings throughout the state.
Magdalena is currently a member of the “Strategies in Addressing ACEs, Toxic Stress, and Trauma-Informed Care in Indigenous Communities Workgroup” through ACEs Aware in partnership with the Aurrera Health Group. Through this, she hopes to amplify key community members trained in the CRM and support them in providing continuous service to their communities. As a partner in the Santa Barbara County ACEs Network of Care Leadership, Magdalena’s vision for equity and well-being for her community is a healthcare workforce that embodies the people she serves.
Magdalena was born and raised on California’s Central Coast. An area with deep agricultural history and a large, underserved population including limited English proficiency, low to no income families, active substance users, persons without homes, and native Mixteco and Indigenous communities. After receiving her Bachelor’s in Sociology and American Indian Studies from UCLA and a Master’s in Social Work from USC, Magdalena returned to the Central Coast to support her community. Magdalena has exemplified a life of service to her community and these efforts have been amplified during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizational Ambassador of the Year: New Hanover County, North Carolina
New Hanover County, North Carolina is a hallmark application of a resilience-focused and trauma-informed integrated approach. Their efforts with the Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® were sparked by the devastation of Hurricane Florence in 2018. This blossomed into a solid preparation and prevention strategy, which incorporates CRM, for the entire community that is now in place when future climate change events and other challenges occur. In 2021, New Hanover County received an Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties in the category of Training and Professional Development for their “New Hanover County Culture of Resiliency” program. The success of this work has resonated in the region and neighboring counties. These efforts have also impacted North Carolina statewide leadership groups such as The NC Association of County Commissioners, The NC Association of County Clerks, the NHC/Pender Courts, Brunswick County, Onslow County leadership, Wilmington Fire Department, NHC School Resource Officers, and NHC 911. All of these organizations have received trainings and or presentations to seek opportunities to integrate CRM skills for navigating stress and daily living.
The Trauma Resource Institute is acknowledging New Hanover County, North Carolina for creating a “culture of resiliency.” As part of acknowledging New Hanover County, we acknowledge four of their compassionate and innovative citizens for their distinguished service to TRI’s international community as leaders demonstrating how to systemically create a “culture of resiliency”.
Mebane Boyd
Mebane Boyd is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, with a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Davidson College, and a MSW from the University of North Carolina, CW. As the Family Service Manager with Smart Start, she became keenly aware of the role of toxic stress in preventing children from reaching their full potential. In 2018, Ms. Boyd had the opportunity to bring together her experiences and contacts across her community around the topic of resiliency and creating a trauma-informed community. Under her leadership, there are currently over 100 organizations and 700 individuals collaborating to make Hanover County in North Carolina more compassionate and resilient. In October 2018, Ms. Boyd was recognized as the community champion for New Hanover County for the work with the National Center for Disaster Preparedness to ensure that children’s unique needs are considered when planning for disasters.
“Bo” Dean
L.S. “Bo” Dean Jr., is a Senior HR Analyst for Training and Development with over 2000 public servants. Bo is a CRM Certified Teacher and has embraced resilience education to permeate public sector work to enable higher degrees of wellness for those that serve as well as a greater degree of compassion and connection to those being served. The empowerment and implementation of resilience with CRM is the cornerstone in New Hanover County government “culture of resiliency”. He has united many individuals within the community in creating the “Resilience Working Group” to discuss and continue the work to ensure there is a proactive response in emergencies and ongoing means to address concerns. In his private life, he has had the blessings to be active as the co-chair of the New Hanover County Resilience Task Force, governance roles on local New Hanover Regional hospital foundation, a board member of Access of Wilmington/the Miracle League, as well as a member of Central Rotary and leadership in the local Cape Fear Heart Association. He is the founder of the Facebook group “Resilience in Action,” which shares ideas, concepts, and ways to “see what else is true” and put “action” to concepts of resilience for all. The group now has over 2500 members and continues to grow.
Amy Read
Amy Brooks Reed earned her BS and MS in Child Development and Family Relations from East Carolina University. She has worked in the full continuum of Human Services ranging from clinical work as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Early Childhood Specialist, Parent Educator, to Trainer and Consultant. Amy is a certified CRM Teacher. In 2019, she was introduced to CRM and began to incorporate resilience efforts into the community as well as county government. Amy currently works with Coastal Horizons Center as the Community Trainer with SAMHSA School-Aged Youth Disaster Recovery, Mental Health Awareness, and Covid Relief Grants. This includes providing CRM trainings, coaching, and consultation. She has been a collaborator and partner with local CRM Teachers to share this model with educators, first responders, community members, county government employees, behavioral health clinical staff, children, teens, and adults. Aside from training CRM, she has led disaster response initiatives after severe weather events and in response to community violence events. She is also the Interim Lead for the Pender County Resiliency Task Force, a member of the New Hanover County Resiliency Task Force, and Resilient Brunswick County. She is the team lead for the Healthy Blue Initiative which focuses on providing CRM workshops to children and adults involved in the foster care system to improve outcomes.
J’vanete Skiba
J’vanete Becton Skiba is the Assistant Director of Equity, Education, and Engagement with the New Hanover County Resiliency Task Force, J’vaneté helps propel the vision of creating a more compassionate and resilient community by partnering with community leaders and organizations to offer training in trauma-informed and resilience-focused practices. Her favorite thing about working for the Resiliency Task Force is bringing resiliency skills to the community and making connections across sectors from educators to first responders to businesses. J’vanete has a BA in Communication Studies from UNC Wilmington (’03) and a minor degree in English. She is a Certified CRM teacher and a certified Reconnect for Resilience Educator. She has been involved with Be the Bridge, a racial reconciliation organization with global affiliates, was employed with NC Child as their Voter Engagement Specialist, and formerly served as a Special Education Paraeducator with New Hanover County Schools.