A Letter from SEI Director of Training and Faculty Relations
Kristin Velazquez Kenefick, PsyD, P-SEP, TIYT
4-minute read
Kristin Velazquez Kenefick,
PsyD, P-SEP, TIYT
“From January 21-24, I had the pleasure of attending my first Faculty Forum since starting at SEI last year. A hybrid event, some of us were in-person together in California, while many others joined in on Zoom. I’m told it was our best attendance—by far!—to-date. With 41 members of the faculty, and several faculty mentees, we were able to dive deeply into important topics ranging from transgenerational trauma to neuroscience, and the rich conversations that resulted will lay the foundation for future changes at SEI and in the SE curriculum.”
Katelyn Johnson is Texas born, grew up in Colorado and lives there still. Prior to joining SEI, Katelyn spent many years working for Starbucks, both as a shift supervisor and a barista. In her free time, she is usually hanging out at home with her cats, playing video games, going for drives through the mountains exploring all they have to offer, or playing Dungeons and Dragons.
"It's so rewarding to be a part of a team that strives to effectively communicate the importance of the SE modality to our constituents and I'm excited to dig in and be a part of the change that creates more ease of access to the program as well as more awareness and inspiration as SEI becomes a household name worldwide."
Emily Tworek
Development Manager
Emily Tworek
Emily is originally from the small town of Edinboro, Pennsylvania, but as of April 2021, she has made her home in New York City. She graduated from the University of Rochester in 2020 with a dual major in english and business, a minor in spanish, and a certificate in literary translation studies.
She discovered her love for business development while working at the Rochester-based literary nonprofit Writers & Books and at Pittsburgh CLO, a regional theater focused on producing musicals in Pittsburgh. She has a passion for telling stories about organizations and the people who make them exceptional, which she is excited to bring to SEI. Outside of work, she loves cooking and baking for her friends, reading, exploring museums and restaurants around Manhattan, seeing theatre, and attempting to learn the kalimba.
“SEI’s mission could not be more important in our world right now, and I’m honored to be a part of bringing it to fruition. I envision a development department that communicates the vitality of the SE modality to donors around the world, increases access to our programming and community, and inspires positive growth for the organization and for those we serve.”
Get to Know the SEI Constituent Services
Team
In a continued effort to provide outstanding constituent services to the SE community, SEI has recently organized a new team housed within the Operations Department: Constituent Services. This team is made up of two staff members, Katy Neisler, the Constituent Services Manager, and Katelyn Johnson, Constituent Services Specialist.
This new team's focus will be delivering outstanding communications through all of SEI's communication channels. Katy and Katelyn will be working behind the scenes to streamline technology processes to improve constituent services management and response times.
In the next few months, Constituent Services will be creating new ways to collect feedback, release knowledge resources on our website, and streamline our communication channels to help constituents get connected to the appropriate staff quickly.
Katy and Katelyn want to hear from you about your experiences with SEI! In the first quarter of 2022, they will be releasing several avenues for you to share your feedback, including this new quick survey. You can find this survey in all internal staff’s email signatures, and it will be added to the website soon!
SEI Responds to Marshall Fires in Boulder County, Colorado, USA
In response to the Marshall Fires on December 30 that devastated neighboring towns to SEI's administrative headquarters, SEI put out a call to SE students and SEPs to support survivors. The response was a staggering 211 volunteers, signed up and ready to make wellness check calls to 750 survivors. Calls are already underway and the volunteers are resourcing survivors with SE tools that can support them during this challenging time.
This response was made possible by SEI Director of Public Health Initiatives Amie Leigh in partnership with Crisis Cleanup, a national leader in collaborative disaster management, and the Mountain West VOAD, a coalition of Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster. Crisis response is a growing part of SEI’s public health efforts, as the need is greater than ever. Thank you to all the volunteers who are donating their time and SE expertise to support survivors!
Our learning and knowledge library has a wealth of valuable, relevant webinars from leaders in the SE field. All webinars in the membership portal are free for members to stream. To take advantage of this learning library, join SEI.
Evolving with the Times Podcast, Family Lawyer Edition
With SEI Board Chair Rebecca Stahl, JD, LLM, SEP
50-minute listen
"By 2031, I hope to see a future where the legal system is more aware and understanding of both the lawyer and the client's humanity... including our animal instincts that mean we sometimes don't respond well to difficult situations... and that people receive support instead of shame for that."
“The researchers found that overall, urban enrollees used more mental health care than rural ones. And although the usage gap narrowed from 2005 to 2018, the quality and cost of care weren’t equitable, even for privately insured patients.”
The town hall format offers an additional live opportunity to ask questions and share perspectives about the direction, strategic priorities, and current projects underway at SE International. After opening updates and comments from representatives of the SE International Board of Directors, the remainder of the Town Hall session will be devoted to your questions and comments.
Hidden Mental Health Professionals: Educators and Teachers
February 11, 2022 | 12:00 PM MT
Educators are tasked with the responsibility of teaching – children and adults – but time and circumstances have revealed that in many ways these professionals are responsible for much more. They have been tasked with guiding students and shaping their personalities, helping them endure through stress, and providing early identification of mental health issues. Often, teachers are the first people to identify certain behavioral and mental health concerns and connect students and families to additional school and community services, including mental health providers or social workers. Further, teachers are even sought out as the first source of support for students, acting as an unofficial counselor. In many ways, the current COVID-19 pandemic has compounded these issues, with many teachers reporting higher rates of burnout due to increased stress placed on them, as well as higher levels of student and family distress.
While teachers take on these responsibilities, some experts say that traditional training for educators does not adequately prepare them for these additional duties.
In this month's Community Conversation join Mina Roustayi, PhD, MSEd, SEP; Katie Jones, LMSW and Advanced SE Student; Danica Lynch, E-RYT, SEP; Patsy Ippolito, BEd, MA, SEP; and Colleen Enright, MA, NBCC, and Advanced SE Student as we explore this impact on teachers, considering ways mental health professionals can support educators, methods for peers to support each other, and access to tools to minimize and avoid burnout.
Valentine's Day is next week! Help us to celebrate by creating your own Trauma Healing Valentine and tagging us on social media! And don't forget to use the hashtag, #traumahealingvalentines.
Share Your Story
We’re developing a library of SE case studies and stories for our website.
Find us – and engage with us – on our social media channels or by email. We’d love to connect.
RESOLVING TRAUMA. FOR GOOD.
Somatic Experiencing International is dedicated to supporting trauma resolution and reliance through culturally responsive professional training and education, research, and outreach around the globe.
