About This Series
Change was in us and around us all the time. Student services professionals (staff, faculty, or administrators) needed to be nimble, flexible, and adaptable while remaining steady and calm amidst ongoing unsteadiness for the students they served and in the systems they worked within.
In this three-part workshop, we explored our relationship with change, unsteadiness, and unpredictability while equipping participants with tools to foster resilience and adaptability in their roles.
Reflecting on Our Relationship to Change: Insights for Growth
Session 1 | April 2, 2025
1.5-hour Webinar: Watch Recording | Presentation Slides PDF
Through reflective exercises and open discussions, attendees gained insights into how their personal experiences influenced their professional roles. The series created a supportive space to explore the relationship between trauma, grief, stress, and change, and how they could continue moving through unsteadiness in a way that was anchored in their own healing and wellness.
In Session 1, we explored our relationship to change, unsteadiness, and unpredictability and engaged in self-reflection to strengthen our work by uncovering strategies for staying calm and grounded—benefiting work with students, colleagues, and communities.
Navigating Uncertainty: Trauma-Informed Relational Leadership Strategies
Session 2 | April 9, 2025
1.5-hour Webinar: Watch Recording | Presentation Slides PDF
Building upon the foundational insights gained in Session 1, Session 2 focused on participants’ relationship with themselves and its impact on external relationships within the education community. Together, we unpacked trauma-informed approaches to managing conflict and leading through uncertainty.
Centering Our Values in Our Actions: Healing-Centered Principles to Practice
Session 3 | April 16, 2025
1.5-hour Webinar: Watch Recording | Presentation Slides PDF | “Using Live Oak Trees..” Transcript
Participants gained actionable strategies for implementing healing-centered change management. They explored practical tools to create supportive, adaptable environments that benefited themselves, their teams, and the broader educational community.
We led through unprecedented layers of complexity and uncertainty. How we showed up for our students, our teams, and ourselves was the work. Whether participants navigated challenges in their departments, supported students through transitions, or led institutional initiatives, they engaged in meaningful learning and reflection.
About the Presenter:
Leora Wolf-Prusan, EdD, (she/hers) is the Managing Director for School Mental Health and Leadership at the Center for Applied Research Solutions. She directs the School Crisis Recovery & Renewal project and served as the School Mental Health Field Director for the Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC). Her work spans various initiatives, including the 2020 Implicit Bias & Trauma-Informed Leadership series for CalWORKs, EOPS, and NextUp teams across California.
Leora specializes in grief and trauma healing, educator mental health, and trauma-informed leadership. Her research focuses on the impact of student deaths on teachers, fostering resilience, and identifying school system support for educators. She holds a BA in International Relations and Spanish from UC Davis, a teaching credential from Mills College, and an EdD in Educational Leadership from UCLA. Based in the Bay Area, Leora enjoys life with her daughter, Halleli Nuriel, along with apple crisp and good cheese.