Our Team

A high-quality, equitable education means schools are environments where students have access to the tools, support, and resources they need to unlock their potential and share it with their communities and the world—no matter their zip code. It’s about creating a place where students feel like they belong, feel seen, and feel empowered to dream big and accomplish their biggest dreams.

​​Providing an environment where students can thrive means creating spaces where they feel inspired daily, have opportunities to discover themselves and their interests, and know that their unique perspectives are valued and appreciated. It’s about ensuring their academic, social, and emotional needs are met while developing systems and structures that allow them to experience belonging, build community, and grow into the leaders they have the potential to become.

Growing up in rural Eastern North Carolina, I saw firsthand how inequities can limit the potential and development of youth. I also witnessed how schools and the education system can be a powerful force in providing students with the support, resources, and care they need to pursue their dreams and become the best version of themselves. Being part of a team that works to create systems and structures enabling future generations of children—just like me—to reach their goals through the Public School Forum is truly a dream come true.

I have worked as a consultant with the NC Resilience & Learning Project through the Public School Forum of North Carolina since March of 2019. At that time, I was just returning to my North Carolina roots after living and working for four years in Boston, Massachusetts, and then in London, United Kingdom for another two and a half years. 

Two times a Tarheel, I graduated with my B.A. in International Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006. After a year with Public Allies coordinating an afterschool program for students in public housing in Chapel Hill, followed by 3 years supporting neighborhood organizations and University-Community relations through Duke University’s Office of Community Affairs, I decided to get my Master of Social Work. I graduated with an M.S.W. from UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Social Work in 2012, specializing in School Social Work and Child and Family Mental Health. It was from there that I took a job in Boston, MA, working at a nonprofit agency providing school-based psychotherapy, programming, case management and consultation in Boston Public Schools. By way of a lucky surprise, I had the opportunity in 2016 to live and work in London, United Kingdom. While there, I worked for a nonprofit organization as a manager and provider of therapeutic services at an elementary school. I loved the staff and the students and felt at home there. I was also contracted by another organization to help design and deliver trainings for special needs schools and other care organizations across England. 

Since returning to North Carolina, I have been so honored to connect with the incredible team of people at the Public School Forum and the Resilience & Learning Project, and to be a part of their meaningful and impactful work across my home state. I have also established my own private practice in Raleigh, offering psychotherapy to children and adults in person and over telehealth. I love continuing to work directly with children and families, learning from them and helping them discover healing and healthy ways of relating to themselves and each other. 

The Passion Behind the Work

My passion behind the work that I do stems all the way back to my childhood. While growing up in a home which modeled a lot of love and reliability, I was a sensitive kid who often felt like an outsider for reasons I didn’t understand. I often connected to others who felt that way, or who were looking to understand and to be understood. I discovered I felt less alone when helping others feel less alone. I was also very involved in my church youth group, and participated in service trips to places across the state, country and once to Latin America. Time spent in service and in spirituality helped me connect to the systemic issues impacting peoples’ daily lives, and the role my own life could play. My career has evolved over time as I have followed my passion to help co-create a world in which every person grows up empowered in their lives and knowing they are not alone.

What is my “why?”

I discovered my “why” when working with students in Boston Public Schools. I had chosen the field of social work within education out of the belief that if every student could find success in school, they would be more connected and empowered throughout their lives. In Boston, I provided school-based therapy to children who attended separate schools specifically for students with “emotional impairment.” I learned that at least 90% of the students enrolled at these schools had a history of trauma that was complex and often intergenerational. It was here that I learned how social injustice and inequity, as well as related environmental stressors, give rise to the effects of complex trauma and derail a child’s healthy development. It was also here that I learned about a school’s power to help reverse those same effects by providing a trauma-informed environment that could provide the consistency, understanding and community children need to feel safe. I also noticed the potential of schools to leverage relationships to empower students to grow. 

Since then, my “why” has always been the same. My weekly hour with a child as their therapist can’t have the same defining impact as the hours they spend with their community. While therapy is a powerful force for healing and growth, a child’s development depends on repetition and on the interactions they have with, and see modeled by, the people who shape their daily lives. Each school has the potential to be the community that defines a child’s development. And when school staff understand how to create trauma-informed environments and become therapeutic agents in their students’ lives, each child has a chance to grow up connected and empowered. My “why”’ is to be the supportive arms around the adults and educators we work with who are the arms around our students. We are all a part of the village it takes to raise every child.

“A child’s life changes dramatically with the unexpected experience of being taken serious by an adult who believes in their abilities and challenges them to succeed.” – Paul Tough

As a former K-8 educator and school counselor, I have more than 18 years of experience working in public education. I have a passion for using my gifts to serve vulnerable children and teens who are living in or experiencing stressful or traumatic situations. This passion continues to guide me toward opportunities to educate others on recognizing how trauma affects all individuals and how our bodies respond to trauma. I find great joy and peace when educating others on how to stay connected, healthy, and resilient in the face of tough times and adversity. During stressful times, knowing how to self- regulate, restore self-compassion, and re-connect to others is essential in my life. It’s equally essential that I support others in these processes.

After working in the public school system as an educator for 14 years and while pursuing my master’s degree in counselor education, I attended a Reconnect trauma and resilience training which not only rekindled a fire within, but also changed the trajectory of my journey. In 2018, I began an in-depth study of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) along with trauma and resilience work. Shortly after, I became a board member of Rural Opportunity Institute (ROI) and a Reconnect educator through Resources for Resilience™.

Prior to joining the Public School Forum, I served as a school counselor while also passionately facilitating Reconnect trainings throughout eastern North Carolina. I believe what makes me stand out as a resilience educator is my open heart and my ability to connect with others. Living life with an open heart to not only serve others but to meet people where they are is important to me. I try to remember that everyone I meet has their own “stuff” to deal with in life and I never know how heavy or painful that stuff might be to carry. Additionally, healing from my own past trauma was accomplished by many factors including my innate resilience. My personal journey of healing enables me to offer support to others with letting go, connecting, and healing from the tough, heavy stuff. My gift is teaching by way of offering love, empathy, with a patient and compassionate presence to others, but first to myself. 

The Passion Behind the Work

When I Google the term “passion” it is defined as “a strong and barely controllable emotion.” When thinking about the emotion behind this work and what drives me to support school systems, educators and students in building resilience – I can truly say I feel an emotion much deeper than joy alone. I feel a strong and barely controllable urge to offer support with my whole heart from a place deep within my soul. I believe this passion comes from a vow I made to God when I was a young girl. I made a vow that I would give the world the best I have — although it may never be enough. I remember asking God to “make me an instrument of His love.” I remember telling him that I would love others, serve others, and give with no conditions attached- simply because I genuinely believe as human beings, we are all connected. We are connected by our stories of triumph because we all have an area of our life which we have either overcome or are still striving to come out triumphantly. We are also connected by our stories of grief and/or pain. In the words of James Baldwin:

 “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.”

If we are indeed connected by our stories of triumphs and our stories of pain – it makes sense that we would also be purposefully and intentionally connected in our stories of resilience; those moments when we adapted well in the face of adversity.

So, where does my passion for this work come from? It comes from my strong desire to serve others in a way that allows them to feel valued, supported, cared for and connected. I enjoy educating others with empathy and compassion in a way that allows them to feel connected to what’s being taught.

When I speak about being connected I am referring to the state in which we feel more safety and trust in our relationship with others. That point in which we notice that we are not alone. We often connect in order to survive and thrive. From my own past experiences of not feeling connected, feeling alone and not valued – I am fueled with a strong desire to do my part in supporting others in their ability to adapt well, remain connected and feel supported during stressful times. Whether an individual is stressed while teaching a classroom full of students or stressed while trying to survive a pandemic- I believe we desire to feel supported and genuinely want to adapt well. Even as our students are growing and learning in a world filled with stress, I want them to know how to connect with others, and to build their resilience. My passion comes from a place of wanting others to feel connected and supported rather than alone. 

My passion also comes from the ongoing mindfulness of how the life I live impacts my four children now and will continue to be impactful long after I’m gone. I want to leave a personal legacy for my children. I believe leaving a legacy also includes what I bestow personally to my children simply from the life I have lived. My children are always watching, listening, and noticing how I treat others. This in turn will impact how they choose to treat others and themselves. A lasting legacy is all about the actions I take during my life and the way those actions affect how others remember me. I want to ensure my loved ones will remember my life with love, not pain. I want the act of remembering me to bestow confidence, peace, strength, joy, love and connection. 

What is My “Why?”

Why I do this work is very clear to me. Believing in others, caring for others, helping others see their strengths, providing support during tough times, simply showing up and being present brings me great joy that feels like contentment and peace within. I do this work because there is always someone who needs to know that no matter what they have been through or experienced, that pain or traumatic experience does not have to leave them stuck. We can make a conscious choice to grow through our adversity. Resilience is in all of us and I believe I have a gift within me that can serve as a source of connection, strength and safety when others are going through adversity. My “why” is because I believe love is the greatest power in the universe and love shows up in various ways. When someone is going through a tough time, being a source of love is something I believe can be very beneficial. I know that source of love lives within me and through that source of connection, resilience is built.

By learning you will teach, by teaching you will learn. And so is this cycle of passion within me; I have learned how to build my own resilience so that I can teach others how to build theirs. And through teaching others, I am continually learning more to fuel the passion.

When I began learning about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), I learned this phrase “adversity is not destiny.” Knowing that my adversity is not my destiny is what keeps me going. Whether that adversity be the on-going difficulty of getting myself and my four children out of the house each morning for work/school or dealing with several health challenges- these tough circumstances do not have to dictate what happens next in my life. Each of us has the power to build on our strengths and grow. Safe, nurturing, and stable relationships can foster strength and healing. Self-regulation is possible. Restoring self-compassion is possible. Knowing this keeps me going in this work. More importantly, knowing that I have been given this beautiful and empowering opportunity to help educators, administrators, students and families know that adversity is not destiny is what keeps me going in this work.

I have always found that I am at my very best when I am serving others, lifting others up and helping lighten others’ loads. I started my career as a medical social worker serving disabled adults and medically fragile children and their families.  I had the great pleasure of managing their plans of care so that they could remain in their own homes. Otherwise, they would have been placed in facilities, separated from their families.  It was such a rewarding job that brought so much joy and meaning to my life that I was sure I would continue on that path for my entire career.  However, God had other plans for me, and due to life and location changes, I found myself working in child welfare. This was an area I never thought I’d work in, but it did not take long for me to realize I was exactly where I should be. I soon found a passion for advocating for children and their families from a whole different perspective.  

I quickly moved into an administrative role as the System of Care Coordinator.  In this role I had the responsibility and wonderful opportunity to work with multiple child-serving systems, including  Child Welfare, Mental Health, the Department of Juvenile Justice, Public Schools and Public Health. Together, we worked to break down barriers, promote collaboration and advocate for family perspective and voice. It was during this time that I was introduced to ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and the impact of trauma and stress on the development and formation of the brain.  This information had a powerful impact on me, both personally and professionally. Understanding ACES  provided a real explanation to so many things I had witnessed and experienced. 

The Passion Behind the Work 

In 2010 God once again decided He had other plans for my life and I was led to yet another place I was to serve. I accepted a position as the Behavior Specialist for Bladen County Schools.  In this role, I served the most behaviorally and emotionally challenged students in the school district.   They very quickly became “MY KIDS”.  My passion and desire became to help these students find success and a sense of belonging, to help others understand them and to advocate that they be given the same respect and chances as other students. ACEs became an everyday conversation with the teachers, administrators and parents. In addition, a great deal of my time was spent training school staff on mental health issues, de-escalation skills, classroom management, relationship building and Multi-Tier Systems of Support (MTSS) .  I was always looking for the “needs behind the deeds” and tried to help staff understand that until we dealt with the trigger (the “need”), we would never be able to change negative behavior. 

My sense of service and importance of helping others is something I have always tried to instill in my two daughters Lexie and Lorna Jade.  Both are now in college and I am very proud to say both are pursuing careers in the medical field and plan to work in underserved rural areas once they graduate.

This past July, after twelve years of service with the school system and twenty seven total years of public service, God decided it was time for me to retire and start my service with the Public School Forum as a Project Manager with the Resilience and Learning Project.  I am so excited for this chapter of my life and for yet another opportunity to serve others. 

What Is My “Why?”

My “Why” is very personal. I had a very traumatic childhood and have dealt with the ramifications of that all of my adult life.  I always thought that something was really wrong with me and that I would never or could never be enough.  I always felt so misunderstood and judged.  The first time I attended a training on ACEs I left it in tears.  Tears of joy, tears of anger, tears of peace, tears of hurt, tears of understanding and tears of excitement.  For the first time in my adult life it all made sense.  I finally understood that the real question was not “What is wrong with me?” but rather, “What happened to me?”  It was a very freeing moment and really set me on the road to healing from within myself. I finally realized that my own traumatic childhood, my negative experiences and times of mental unwellness were not in vain and actually had a purpose.  I was to use my experiences and knowledge to help others, to enlighten others and if at all possible help prevent others from going through the same thing.  Every day when I open my eyes I thank God for a new day to serve Him and ask Him for opportunities to be His hands and feet on the earth to serve others.

I truly believe that trauma-informed care and education is so very important, more so now than ever before.  My hope is that this movement will continue to grow in North Carolina and be prioritized  in every school district.  I would hope that every educator would know and understand the important role that they play in the life of a child and the great significance of helping build resilience and establishing trusting, meaningful relationships.  I am so beyond blessed to be a part of the Resilience and Learning Project and very proud to be part of the team helping to spread this critical  information.  Everything happens for a reason, and I know my life has led me here “for such a time as this”.

I come from a family of teachers: my Mom, Dad, stepdad, grandfather–all of them found meaning, purpose, and joy in the classroom, the lecture hall, the resource room, or the marching band field and concert stage. It was clear to me from an early age that I would follow in their footsteps. I started out teaching high school English in my home state of New Jersey and quickly discovered that the job was less about discussing novels, plays, and poems, and more about forming connections with the students in front of me. The moments that stayed with me the most were when kids would stay after school to talk with me about what was happening in their lives. Whether they were grieving the loss of a parent, struggling to overcome an eating disorder, grappling with depression, or just stopping by to share some news, making those connections outside of the classroom was so rewarding that I knew I wanted to change the course of my career.

After I’d spent about a decade teaching, my husband and I relocated to NC in 2000 and I decided to get my Master of Social Work (MSW) so I could be a school social worker. I wanted to help kids who, for whatever reason, felt “stuck” and like they couldn’t succeed or couldn’t make it through. I wanted to help them get unstuck. I graduated from the UNC School of Social Work in 2010, but the school social worker job wasn’t meant to be. Life threw me an enormous curveball in the person of my beloved first-born son, who has severe developmental delays and disabilities. Seven years after his birth, my younger son came home from Guatemala after a protracted two-year adoption process. My oldest son’s needs determined that I couldn’t work full time, however, I have put that MSW to work in other ways, and always in the service of teachers and by extension, their students. Before having the great fortune to join the Resilience & Learning Project here at the Public School Forum of NC in 2019, I had been involved in several school-based interventions ranging from violence prevention at the middle school level to supporting social and emotional competence in the pre-K classroom by training and coaching pre-K teachers in five NC counties. The work I’m doing now for the Forum feels to me like the perfect culmination of everything I’ve done to date.

The Passion Behind the Work

Teachers are often talked at or talked down to by people who themselves have never taught. People don’t feel entitled to tell surgeons or lawyers or engineers how to do their jobs, but EVERYONE has an opinion about how teachers should be doing their jobs differently or better. When I left the classroom, I had this idea that I could be the intermediary between teachers and all those who sought to influence how they do their jobs. I knew what it was like to be “ON” all day without the freedom to visit the restroom when you need to. I knew the relentlessness of the workload: the week nights, weekends, and spring vacations devoted to preparation and grading; the challenge of dealing with disruptive behaviors in class; the decision fatigue on any given day; and the need to differentiate instruction among a class of 20-30 students with a wide range of needs and learning styles.  

Now, with the Resilience and Learning Project, as a Resilience Coach in a school, my job is not to tell teachers what to do. Instead, our program trusts teachers as experts and we enter into true collaboration with our partner schools with one common goal: to create a school environment in which every child feels safe and therefore able to learn. We are there to support, encourage, and facilitate change that benefits all students–not to dictate it. This is quite different from a lot of professional development that teachers experience. Teaching is a craft and an art, and good teachers know and understand that they are never done learning. I am passionate about supporting them on their journeys, and seeing their changes in practice produce concrete benefits for both their own and their students’ growth and development.

What is my “Why?”

As the proud parent of two very “outside of the box” children, I understand the perspective of both teachers and caregivers when it comes to trying to meet the needs of kids who struggle in school. I know the feeling of overwhelm and panic that BOTH parents and teachers feel when they don’t know how to manage challenging or confounding behaviors in a child entrusted to their care. I know the feelings of frustration both groups feel, and the fear that others (parents, supervisors, colleagues) will conclude from our struggle that we have failed at our primary task of preparing our children or students to succeed in life by giving them the necessary tools. I have seen the magic that occurs when the “whole” child is deeply understood and loved for exactly who they are and when every small victory is a cause for joy and celebration. I have seen this both personally with my own child and professionally when a teacher shifts from a “What is wrong with that kid” mindset to “How can I help that kid? What’s getting in her way?” I want schools to be places where every child feels like they truly belong and where children are not viewed as the sum total of their test scores but as complex, unique, and valuable members of a community of learners. That is my “why” and that drive is why I love the work I do.

Public education should be one of the places in our world where every child feels valued, cared for, and encouraged. It’s not just about academics—it’s about belonging. I believe this sense of safety and support is the foundation of a healthy, equitable society.

In 2020, I was introduced to resilience-building strategies, which have since become a cornerstone of my personal and professional outlook. I have always been a passionate advocate for public education, and my dedication to supporting students and communities has been a consistent thread throughout my career.
For four years, I worked at a small private university in Eastern North Carolina, serving in multiple roles, including youth camp director, academic advisor, and Designated School Official for international studies. These experiences deepened my understanding of student development, cross-cultural engagement, and the transformative power of education.
When I learned about The Forum’s work—and specifically the mission of the Resilience & Learning team—I immediately recognized a meaningful alignment with my values and experiences. The opportunity to combine resilience-building with public education in a tangible, community-centered way is exactly the kind of work I’m passionate about. This is a role I know I can show up to every day with both vision and heart.

Leslie has been rooted in Western North Carolina for over twenty years. Drawn to and inspired by the beauty of the mountains, she chose to study Elementary Education at Warren Wilson College. She believes deeply in the inherent value and potential of each child and is driven to ensure schools and classrooms are places of joyful learning and transformation – both for students and educators. She is grateful to be part of the NC Center for Resilience and Learning team, serving our state’s public schools.

After growing up in the mountains of Western North Carolina, MKayla studied Social Work at Appalachian State University and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Guided by a passion for equitable care, she focused on providing trauma-informed mental health treatment to children and adolescents. Her dedication to trauma-informed practices deepened following Hurricane Helene, inspiring her to adopt a more macro-level approach through community education and advocacy. This path ultimately led her to join the NC Center for Resilience and Learning in 2025.

Quintin grew up in a family of educators, including his parents and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. He taught middle school science and math for seven years before moving into school administration. He began his teaching career in Trenton, New Jersey, where he taught at an alternative middle school serving inner-city children in 6th-8th grade. He then moved to North Carolina, where he taught for five years in Halifax County, NC, at William R. Davie Middle School. During that time, he earned his master’s degree in school administration from East Carolina University and began his career as a school administrator, serving four years as an Assistant Principal in Nash County at three different schools. Quintin spent his last nineteen years as an Elementary School Principal in Nash County, serving four different schools over the course of his tenure. He worked with the NC Center for Resilience and Learning with two of his schools over the past four years and was drawn to continue the work of supporting students and staff in the areas of developing growth mindsets, a comprehensive understanding of stress response, the impact of trauma on learning, and a focus on building resilience and personal responsibility for all. Quintin retired after thirty years serving the citizens in Nash County, and The Center for Resilience and Learning was a perfect place for him to continue his work to serve and support school communities.

I am an experienced Restorative Facilitator at Elizabeth City Middle School (ECMS) in Elizabeth City, NC. I am also a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Specialist. I am extremely passionate about SEL and Restorative Practice, both in and out of the classroom. Since embarking on this journey at ECMS in 2017, I’ve been working to create a culture of SEL and trauma-informed discipline across the school. Through this process, office referrals and suspensions have shown a drastic decrease of 75%. Negative issues for both students and teachers have transformed into healthy and positive situations. I am also the creator of R.E.S.T (Recognize, Educate, Solve, Transition), a program now offered by ECMS to both students and staff. 

The Passion Behind the Work

“If we are going to get into it, let’s get into it.” These are words I am famous for, and this is my way of going beyond the surface to commit to the deeper level of accountability that restorative justice requires to be successful. This fearless, energetic teaching method and my realistic application of this work has stamped me as a champion of trauma-informed education.

I have always believed that there is a rhyme and reason for everything, and that everything a person goes through has an assignment. Things don’t happen just to happen. More importantly, everyone has a story. One of my greatest joys in this work is knowing that all that I have been through has led me to what I am doing now, and is a fulfillment of my story and my purpose. One thing I’ve learned along the way is that often, the trauma we witness comes from not being able to understand or express our story. Instead, it comes out in acts of frustration that create further trauma. What gives me joy are the opportunities I now have everyday to help others understand and communicate their stories, as we work together to heal their trauma early in life. 

Once I started to acknowledge the trauma I’ve experienced and practice a trauma-informed mindset in my personal life, this propelled me into what I call Life Joy. This  means that everything in life– the good, the bad and the ugly– brings me joy because I now understand the assignments that these things have. This was such an epiphany for me, and I wanted to share it with the world. I believe this process works for everyone who is willing to participate in it. I love the fact that all the trauma in my life has me working both in–and on–purpose.

What is My “Why?”

Being a member of the Resilience and Learning Project enables me to further live my purpose. In supporting schools to adopt a trauma-informed approach, I would especially love to grow and help nurture these vital aspects of trauma-informed education throughout the great state of North Carolina: 

• Foster the mindset that trauma-informed education is about fixing the system, not about fixing kids. For years, we have been throwing kids away based on the misinterpretation of discipline.
• Build healthy relationships. Strong, stable, and nurturing relationships foster a feeling of belonging that is essential for all students, but is absolutely imperative for healing with students who have experienced trauma. This is a vital component in changing the narrative for students and staff in NC schools.
• Finally, I would like to drive home that ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) are not trauma, but are real. ACEs play a major part in the way we function in life, both professionally and socially, both in and out of the classroom. Understanding the importance of ACEs allows humans to better understand each other. 

Our experiences shape who we become. They are the reason  why I love the way I love, why I talk the way I talk, and why I act the way I act. I believe that if I had been given information about ACEs earlier in life, it would have changed my choices, my relationships, and my life in astronomical ways. I am now living in joy because my life experiences have given me the opportunity to share this understanding with others in ways that might change their lives for the better. I am a fan of humanity. I love people, and I love helping – I love us. This is the “why” that drives me in this work.