Crossnore – The Healing Place Podcast

Brett Loftis – Science of Resilience & Building Trauma-Resilient Communities

By thehealingplacepodcast | April 10, 2020

What a joy to sit down with Brett Loftis, CEO of Crossnore School and Children’s Home, and Founder of The Center for Trauma Resilient Communities, as we engaged in a compelling conversation about:

Crossnore School and Children’s Home
The Center for Trauma Resilient Communities
the impact of animals on healing
the science of resilience
the positive outcomes due to one caring adult
building trauma resilient organizations, communities, and cultures
supporting healers
adventure based counseling and other therapy modalities
mindfulness for children and helpers

Welcome to The Healing Place Podcast! I am your host, Teri Wellbrock. You can listen in on Pandora, iTunes, Blubrry, Spotify, Deezer, Google Podcasts, Podbean, and more, or directly on my website at www.teriwellbrock.com/podcasts/. You can also watch our insightful interview on YouTube.

Bio:

Brett A. Loftis, JD
Chief Executive Officer, Crossnore School & Children’s Home
Founder and Faculty Member, Center for Trauma Resilient Communities
bloftis@crossnore.org

“Brett Loftis has a passion for protecting the most vulnerable children that is apparent from the moment he says hello. As the Chief Executive Officer of Crossnore School & Children’s Home, Brett leads an organization that is dedicated to growing healthy futures for children and families. His experience working in a residential program for at-risk children and as a Guardian ad litem in South Carolina, a youth minister in Texas, and as an attorney and the Executive Director of the Council for Children’s Rights in Charlotte, NC positioned him well to assume the executive role at Crossnore in 2013.

Under Brett’s leadership, Crossnore effectively completed their Second Century campaign surpassing their goal to build the organization’s endowment fund, built a new high school building at Williams Academy which opened in 2015, and constructed three new cottages on the Avery campus which opened in 2016. His executive leadership and strategic planning with the Board of Trustees led Crossnore to a successful merger with The Children’s Home in Winston-Salem, NC to become Crossnore School & Children’s Home in 2017. Services are expanding to underserved counties in western North Carolina through a satellite office opened in Hendersonville, NC in early 2018. He co-founded the Center for
Trauma Resilient Communities, a program of Crossnore School & Children’s Home, in 2018.

Brett received his undergraduate degrees in Sociology and Political Science from Furman University. His passion for children eventually sent him to Wake Forest University School of Law to continue his career in child advocacy. He serves on numerous statewide committees and boards of directors, and he speaks statewide and nationally about children’s issues. Brett has completed the Train the Trainer program with David McCorkle from the Sanctuary Institute and helps to lead a team of 42 Sanctuary trainers on Crossnore’s campuses.

Brett and his family live on the Avery county campus of Crossnore School & Children’s Home and in his free time, he loves to coach youth soccer and basketball. Brett’s greatest love is his wife, Sally, and their three sons, Will, Elijah, and Lawson.”

Learn more about Brett and his mission at:

https://www.crossnore.org/

Peace to you all!

Teri

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Shenandoah Chefalo – Garbage Bag Suitcase

By thehealingplacepodcast | November 22, 2019

What a delightful conversation I engaged in with the passionate and compassionate Shenandoah Chefalo, author of Garbage Bag Suitcase: A Memoir and faculty member of The Center for Trauma Resilient Communities. We dove into the depths of:

the healing work of Crossnore and The Center for Trauma Resilient Communities
growing up in the foster care system
trauma-brain
3 proven resilience-building factors
compassion approaches
and why we dislike tomatoes!

Welcome to The Healing Place Podcast! I am your host, Teri Wellbrock. You can listen in on iTunes, Blubrry, Spotify, Deezer, Google Podcasts, Podbean, and more, or directly on my website at www.teriwellbrock.com/podcasts/. You can also watch our insightful interview on YouTube.

Bio:

“Shenandoah Chefalo’s early childhood and subsequent placement into foster care has given her a personal insight into the trauma that children in our nation experience every day. As an author, coach, and nationally-recognized speaker, Shen advocates for foster children everywhere she goes. She also encourages and challenges those in power on state and federal levels, as well as those providing care, to provide the best care possible for these children. With a lengthy career as a paralegal and director of a law firm, Shen has also seen the legal side of children’s care and how much more trauma may be experienced as a child’s case proceeds through the court system.

Shen has been the owner and chief training advocate of two firms in Michigan offering business and life coaching, consultation, and training across the United States. She has consulted with both private and public sector clients providing group and one-on-one training and coaching, workshops, webinars, and keynote speeches. Shen is particularly adept at helping clients identify and address issues, as well as achieve goals, specifically related to the topics of trauma and adversity.

In addition to her work, Shen has authored three books: Setting Your Vision and Defining Your Goals (2013), Garbage Bag Suitcase (2016), and Hiking for Stillness: Healing Trauma One Step at a Time, expected to be published in 2019. Shen earned a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Science, Human Resources, & Society from Michigan State University, and is a 2011 graduate of Coach U in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a member of the Michigan State Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and currently serves as the State Chairman of DAR Schools.

Shen is married to Gerry and the couple have one daughter, Sophia. The Chefalos enjoy adventure and their travels have taken them around the globe. They especially enjoy their family trips during the Christmas holidays and in 2018, they will be hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano in Tanzania. This trip will also raise awareness for children in foster care and funds for Crossnore School & Children’s Home.”