What does it actually take to build trauma-informed schools and systems where both young people and the adults who support them can thrive?

In this episode, host Katie Kurtz is joined by Dr. Brianna Young, educator, systems-change leader, and author of The Trauma-Informed Educator, for a conversation about moving trauma-informed practice beyond individual strategies and into the structures, relationships, and cultures that shape our everyday school experiences.

We explore why supporting students also means supporting teachers, how organizational systems can mirror the stress responses we see in individuals, and why accountability, trust, collaboration, and creativity are essential to meaningful change.

From rethinking communication and power dynamics to finding small, practical ways to create more breathing room for educators, Dr. Young reminds us that trauma-informed practice isn't another initiative or toolkit. It's developing a mindset of seeing, relating, and designing the systems we inhabit.

Learn more about Dr. Brianna Young:

Dr. Brianna Young, is an educator, author, strategist, and self-proclaimed professional question-asker who believes curiosity, connection, and some clear (but kind!) communication can transform the way we teach, lead, and learn. With experience spanning classrooms, universities, and organizational leadership, Bri brings a systems-level lens to trauma-informed education, challenging the idea that meaningful change has to be complicated, exhausting, or devoid of joy. As the author of The Trauma-Informed Educator, she challenges educators and leaders to move beyond buzzwords and rethink how everyday interactions shape the experiences of those around us. When she's not facilitating learning or challenging the status quo, you'll probably find her at a restaurant, walking around the lake by her house, or heading to the airport.

Connect with Dr. Brianna Young:

Instagram: @briannayoungteaches

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianna-young-educator/

Purchase Her Book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-trauma-informed-educator-mindsets-and-practices-for-resilience-connection-and-change-brianna-young/fce2eeeb856fdbbd

Website: briannayoungconsulting.org

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What does it look like to understand trauma-informed care as a global movement, not a framework belonging to any one country, culture, or profession?

In this episode of A Trauma-Informed Future, host Katie Kurtz is joined by Amy Smith, founder of Kindred Consulting with Purpose, joining me from Queensland, Australia. Together, they explore the connections bringing people across the world together around trauma-informed care, the Indigenous and First Nations wisdom that has long informed this work, and how we can honor its origins while building a more inclusive, globally connected movement.

They also dig into what it takes to move beyond buzzwords and one-off training to embed trauma-informed principles into our everyday interactions, workplaces, and systems. From burnout and systemic harm to the power of curiosity, trust, and human connection, this conversation challenges us to think about not just what trauma-informed care means, but how we live it.

Because building a trauma-informed world isn’t something any one of us, or any one country, can do alone. It’s a collective, ongoing practice of learning, unlearning, and creating systems that better honor our shared humanity.

Learn more about Amy:

Amy Smith is the Founder and Director of Kindred: Consulting with Purpose; a purpose-driven consultancy that partners with organisations to cultivate mentally healthy, trauma-informed workplaces and communities. An Accredited Social Worker, supervisor, facilitator and consultant, Amy has spent more than a decade working across mental health, suicide prevention, refugee and asylum seeker support, First Nations communities, and regional and remote Australia. Her work is grounded in a deep commitment to decolonising practice and recognising that many of the principles now described within contemporary trauma-informed approaches have long been understood and embodied by Indigenous peoples through ways of living, knowing, being, and relating. Amy supports organisations to honour this wisdom while translating trauma-informed principles into practical, relational approaches that create meaningful and sustainable change. Through workshops, leadership coaching, supervision, and organisational consulting, Amy is passionate about making complex ideas accessible and supporting leaders to cultivate cultures where people feel safe, connected, and able to thrive. Outside of her work, Amy is a mum to two little humans and believes the same principles that guide her work also shape her life. She intentionally nurtures trusted relationships with family, friends, and community, finds joy by the ocean and around a campfire with a guitar in her hands, and firmly believes that a good solo dance party in the kitchen can brighten even the hardest of days.

Connect with Amy:

Website: www.kindredconsulting.com.au

LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/amykindredconsulting/

Instagram: kindred.consulting

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What if trauma-informed education isn’t about managing students but transforming the systems they learn in?

In this episode, host of A Trauma-Informed Future podcast, Katie Kurtz sits down with educator, author, and trauma-informed education expert Alex Shevrin Venet to explore what it really means to make education trauma-informed. They unpack why equity and justice must be central, how schools can unintentionally create harm, the limits of “resilience” as a feel-good solution, and why trauma-informed practice requires us to rethink, not simply add onto-existing systems. Alex shares some seriously important takes on PBIS, educator burnout, boundaries, and why sometimes the most trauma-informed choice is to leave.

About Alex:

Alex Shevrin Venet is an educator, author, and professional development facilitator based in Vermont. She teaches graduate teacher education at Vermont State University. Previously, she was a teacher and leader at an alternative therapeutic school, community college instructor, and after school teacher in the upper elementary grades. Alex works with educators around the country to strengthen their trauma-informed education practices, with a focus on empowering teachers to create systemic change. She is the author of the bestselling book Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education, which has been integrated into teacher education programs in several states and has been cited in education research more than 350 times. Her follow-up book, Becoming an Everyday Changemaker: Justice and Healing at School, provides teachers the tools to implement trauma-informed practices starting where they are.

Connect with Alex:
Website: unconditionallearning.org

Instagram: @unconditionallearning

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