Resiliency Within

On this episode of Resiliency Within, Elaine Miller-Karas welcomes Bev Weise, MBA, ACC—leadership coach, social entrepreneur, and co-founder of Refugee Jumpstart Coaching. Bev shares the inspiring story behind the organization she co-founded in 2021 with Syrian refugee Hussein Alzribi to help educated and highly skilled refugees rebuild their professional lives.

Refugee Jumpstart Coaching connects refugees around the world with a global network of pro bono leadership, wellness, and career coaches, as well as job search, entrepreneurship, and industry mentors. Their innovative work empowering displaced professionals earned the organization the International Coaching Federation's Global Social Impact Award in 2024.

That same year, Refugee Jumpstart Coaching became a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in California, expanding its ability to support refugees seeking opportunity, dignity, and meaningful work.

Bev brings more than 35 years of experience in corporate and nonprofit leadership development.

She is an ICF-certified Leadership Coach and the founder of Leadership Talent Solutions, a consulting firm dedicated to helping organizations identify, develop, and retain leadership talent.

Her career has included roles such as Executive Director of Interlaw Ltd., an international association of law firms, and Corporate Director of Executive Planning and Development at Northrop Grumman Corporation.

A turning point in Bev's life came in 2016 when she volunteered in a refugee camp in Chios, Greece. The experience deeply moved her and inspired her commitment to helping refugees recognize their strengths and rebuild their futures.

In this heartfelt conversation, Bev shares how compassion, leadership, and global collaboration can help transform adversity into opportunity—reminding us that resilience often grows when people are given the chance to rediscover their gifts and purpose.

Resiliency Within welcomes back Dr. Phillip Allen. Dr. Allen is a theologian and ethicist whose research and writings include the intersections of social structure, race, culture, and theology and ethics of justice.

He has authored two books: Open Wounds: A Story of Racial Tragedy, Trauma, and Redemption and The Prophetic Lens: The Camera and Black Moral Agency From MLK to Darnella Frazier. He is an affiliate assistant professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he completed his PhD in Theology. He is also a poet and documentary filmmaker.

Dr. Allen founded the nonprofit Racial Solidarity Project based in Pasadena, CA. As a former Division 1 college basketball player at North Carolina A&T State University, he has enjoyed opportunities as a guest chaplain for college and pro sports teams.

Dr. Allen will talk about the nonprofit he started, the Racial Solidarity Project and his book, the Prophetic Lens. The Prophetic Lens takes an important look at the use of the video camera as an indispensable prophetic tool for the security of Black lives and greater possibility for racial justice.

He will share how the camera can be a catalyst for cultural change, using Walter Brueggemann's Prophetic Imagination as a framework for understanding the concept of "prophetic." Chronicling the use of the camera, particularly in film from J.D. Griffiths' Birth of a Nation to Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, Allen's historical approach reveals how effective this technology has been in achieving the goals of its respective storytellers.

Dr. Allen's work is an example of the importance of chronicling the richness of black history.

In a time of deep division, uncertainty, and crisis, Finding Light in the Darkness will explore how we can maintain our well-being, integrity, and hope.

Hosted by Elaine Miller-Karas, an internationally recognized trauma expert and resiliency advocate, she will illuminate practical strategies for navigating today's complex social and political landscape.

Elaine hopes this episode will provide a beacon of light—insights on staying grounded, fostering compassion, and building resilience in the face of adversity.

Elaine is dedicated to empowering listeners to cultivate inner strength and create ripples of change for themselves, their families and their communities.

Join Resiliency Within as Elaine uncovers pathways to healing, unity, and action—because light can be found even in the darkest times.

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About Elaine

Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW, is a social worker, trauma therapist, author, lecturer, consultant, VoiceAmerica podcast host, Psychology Today blogger, and social entrepreneur.

She has been called an "ambassador of hope" in the fields of trauma therapy and community resiliency.

As a co-founder of the Trauma Resource Institute, Elaine serves as the Director of Innovation. She has led the development of the Trauma and Community Resiliency Models, which have left an indelible global footprint, impacting over 75 countries.

Her book, "Building Resiliency to Trauma: The Trauma and Community Resiliency Model, Second Edition (2023)," has been recognized by the United Nations and Taylor and Francis. She is a regular contributor to Psychology Today.

She has presented internationally at Oxford University's Skoll World Forum, the United Nations, Resiliency 2024, Medscape, Psychotherapy Networker, the Global Fund, the Carter Center, and the Centers for Disease Control.

Elaine believes in a world where every person is treated with dignity and our differences are acknowledged and respected.

In this encore episode, Elaine Miller-Karas, host of Resiliency Within, welcomes back Kevin McLeod, Director of Business & Community Development at the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI), for a powerful conversation about teens, healing, and hope.

In this episode, Kevin addresses the Trauma Resource Institute's inspiring work bringing the Youth Ambassador Program (YAP) to teens in Georgia's Juvenile Justice System—and how this innovative program can be brought to schools, teen centers, and community clubs everywhere. YAP has recently been applied to the Disaster Relief Mobilization-Community Resiliency Model Program.

YAP empowers teens with simple, science-based wellness skills from the Community Resiliency Model (CRM)—tools that help calm the nervous system and restore well-being after stress or trauma. Through hands-on, experiential training, youth become CRM Teen Ambassadors (CRM-TAs) and learn six easy-to-use skills they can apply for self-care and peer support.

What's more, these young leaders go on to share the skills with their friends and classmates through short, engaging "share-backs" that bring the skills to life in everyday settings—from classrooms to living rooms.

YAP is more than a program—it's a movement to build resilience, foster connection, and inspire hope—one teen at a time.

In this episode of Resiliency Within, Elaine Miller-Karas sits down with Edith Boyle, LCSW—President & CEO of LifeBridge Community Services—for a meaningful conversation about the power of balancing the narrative and why the stories we tell about our communities shape their future.

Bridgeport, Connecticut is often described through statistics of hardship—high poverty rates, community violence, limited access to mental health care, and chronic school absenteeism. These realities are significant and deserve attention. But when a place is defined only by its struggles, something vital is lost. Research calls this deficit framing or spatial stigma—a lens that can lower expectations, reinforce bias, and quietly erode hope, dignity, and well-being.

So the question becomes: What else is true?

Bridgeport is also home to deep cultural pride, resilient families, committed faith and neighborhood leaders, strong nonprofit partnerships, and generations of community strength. Edith shares how LifeBridge embraces both truths—acknowledging adversity while actively cultivating possibility.

Through trauma-informed school and community mental health services, integrated pediatric behavioral health, community resiliency training, and arts-based healing initiatives, LifeBridge helps individuals and neighborhoods expand their narrative beyond survival toward empowerment.

This conversation explores how a balanced narrative doesn't deny pain—it widens the lens. It reduces shame, restores dignity, supports nervous system regulation, and strengthens resilience not just in individuals, but across entire communities.

Join us for an inspiring dialogue about reframing stories, reclaiming identity, and rediscovering what is possible.

About Our Guest:

Edith Boyle, LCSW President & CEO, LifeBridge Community Services

Edith Boyle, LCSW is President & CEO of LifeBridge Community Services in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and a licensed clinical social worker committed to advancing healing and resilience in communities impacted by stress and adversity. A first-generation college graduate, she holds an MSW from Western NewMexico University and a BA in Psychology from Arizona State University.

Since 2022, Edith has led LifeBridge's expansion of accessible, trauma-informed outpatient mental health care for children, adults, and families—integrating talk therapy and clinical art therapy to support both mind and body. She also champions practical, neuroscience-informed resiliency skills in everyday settings through Community Resiliency Model (CRM) trainings for frontline professionals and community members, helping people feel calmer, more focused, and more connected during challenging times.

Edith is advancing community-based models that bring care closer to where families live and learn, including embedding clinicians in schools and pediatric practices across Fairfield County.

Under her leadership, LifeBridge joined the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, strengthening the organization's capacity to serve children and families impacted by trauma.

She also founded Connecticut's first Trauma-Informed Community of Practice (TI-CoP), convening cross-sector providers to deepen shared learning and strengthen trauma-responsive care throughout the region.

In this conversation, Maryam Zar reflects on resilience as an act of continuity—how individuals and communities carry memory, identity, and care forward after profound disruption. Drawing from her leadership in post-wildfire recovery and her partnership in Art for Healing and the Legacy Family project among other initiatives, Maryam explores how healing is supported when survivors are seen as keepers of story, connection, and meaning.

She shares insights on the emotional toll of displacement, the importance of community-led recovery models, and the role of creative and practical structures in helping people feel grounded. The discussion highlights how resilience is often quiet and relational—rooted in showing up, creating safe spaces, and allowing grief and hope to exist side by side. Maryam offers a perspective on recovery that is focused on rebuilding structures and recovering community with a focus on meeting people where they are - even as that evolves.

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About Our Guest:

Maryam Zar is a longtime community leader, civic convener, and recovery advocate based in Pacific Palisades. She is a founder of the Palisades Recovery Coalition and plays a central role in guiding community-centered recovery efforts following wildfire-related displacement and loss. Her work focuses on restoring not only physical infrastructure, but also trust, continuity, and belonging—particularly for families navigating prolonged disruption.

Maryam's leadership emphasizes collaboration across residents, local institutions, mental health practitioners, designers, and policymakers, with a strong belief that recovery is both a logistical and emotional process. Through initiatives such as the Legacy Family project, Community Recovery Labs, and healing-centered convenings, she has helped create spaces where grief, resilience, and forward momentum can coexist. Her approach is grounded, inclusive, and informed by lived experience, with a commitment to ensuring that recovery efforts honor memory while supporting long-term well-being.

Dr. Rebecca Shasanmi Ellis joins Resiliency Within to explore how we can mobilize models of care that strengthen resilience, promote health equity, and advance Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of The Beloved Community across the life span. Drawing on her expertise as a community mental health nurse and a Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® Teacher, Dr. Ellis brings a grounded, systems-level perspective on how social and structural determinants of health shape individual and community well-being.

She has taught nurses and other clinical, public health, and social service providers how to manage their own psychological stress while sharing practical resiliency skills that support more equitable, patient-centered care in both facility-based and community settings. Her wisdom is informed by nearly two decades of work in health systems readiness for maternal and child health—globally and domestically—including her current work with communities in Washington, DC.

Notably, in 2014, Dr. Ellis served as project manager for a $9 million USD World Health Organization initiative in Nigeria, addressing critical frontline reproductive health workforce shortages during the Ebola crisis. In this conversation, she reflects on lessons learned from global and local contexts, and how resilience-informed, community-centered approaches can foster healing, hope, and connection in times of both crisis and renewal.

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About Our Guest:

Rebecca Shasanmi Ellis, PhD, MS, MPH, BSN, RN is an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University's Berkley School of Nursing. Her long-term research agenda focuses on the intersections of health workforce and health systems development, mental health, and structural determinants of health, with the goal of reducing health disparities in underserved and resource-limited communities globally.

With more than 20 years of experience as a field-trained health professional, Dr. Ellis brings deep expertise in program management, implementation science, and interprofessional education across research, clinical practice, health system strengthening, and policy. This multidisciplinary background uniquely positions her to design, lead, and evaluate complex, collaborative programs that bridge nursing, public health, and global health practice.

Dr. Ellis currently serves as Chair of the Public Health Nursing (PHN) Section of the American Public Health Association(APHA) and is a member of the Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations. Prior to joining Georgetown, she was an instructor at Emory University beginning in 2018. She also provided direct patient care as a registered nurse in mental health and women's health settings at SisterLove, Inc.—the first Black women–led HIV organization in the U.S. South—and at Our House Health (formerly CAPN Clinics), delivering care within homeless shelters in Atlanta, Georgia.

Since 2014, Dr. Ellis has also served as a research collaborating consultant with the Center for Patient Safety at the University of Sao Paulo College of Nursing in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, contributing to international efforts to advance patient safety, workforce development, and equitable health systems.

Kelly and Miguel open their hearts as they reflect on the life and death of their daughter, Adelaide, who lived with epilepsy and a rare neurodegenerative brain condition. As Adelaide's terminal diagnosis unfolded, Kelly was a full-time caregiver and advocate for her daughter and mother to her older son, Jackson, while Miguel balanced the demands of the stage with the journey of Adelaide's illness unfolding at home. Together, they protected the bond at the center of their family.

This episode is about bearing witness, honoring love, and learning how two people can grieve differently yet still reach for one another while caring for their two children with very different needs. This episode is for anyone who has loved deeply, lost profoundly, and wondered whether connection is still possible after everything has changed. A powerful testament to resilience, devotion, and the courage it takes to keep choosing love—amidst the asteroids.

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About Our Guests:

MIGUEL CERVANTES recently wrapped up his time playing Alexander Hamilton in the Broadway and Chicago productions after almost eight years and 2013 performances.

Other Broadway credits include IF/THEN, AMERICAN IDIOT, and 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. A few of his TV credits include LAW & ORDER SVU, PERSON OF INTEREST, MADAME SECRETARY, and THE BLACKLIST.

Miguel grew up in Dallas, TX, and received a BFA in Musical Theater from Emerson College. His favorite roles have been "Daddy" to Jackson, Anessa, Adelaide, and husband to superhero wife Kelly.

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KELLY CERVANTES is an award-winning writer, speaker, and advocate best known for her blog Inchstones and her USA Today bestselling book, Normal Broken: The Grief Companion for When It's Time to Heal But You're Not Sure You Want To.

She has been published in the Chicago Tribune, Cosmopolitan, and Fortune as well as featured by MSNBC, New York Times, and CNN.

She sits on the boards of CURE Epilepsy and The Undiagnosed Diseases Network Foundation and hosts CURE Epilepsy's podcast, Seizing Life.

Born and raised in the Midwest, Kelly now resides in Maplewood, New Jersey, with her family. Her latest book, The Luckiest: A Memoir of Love, Loss, Motherhood, and the Pursuit of Self, was published in November by Ben Bella Books.

After moving from a conservative Midwestern suburb to New York City to pursue an acting career, Kelly Cervantes never could have imagined what life had in store for her—or how much she would fundamentally change along the way.

Now, in her memoir The Luckiest, Kelly shares the experiences that shaped who she is today—the pain of unrealized dreams, navigating her husband Miguel's Broadway spotlight, fighting for their child's life, finding purpose after loss, and rebuilding her life and marriage.

Throughout her wildly unpredictable journey, she has reflected on the role luck has played in her life, both good and bad. "Are we lucky if we escape life with soft skin and minimal layers," she asks. "Or are we lucky to have the battle scars that show a life of survival and meaning?"

As we begin 2026, Elaine Miller-Karas, the host of Resiliency Within, airs an encore podcast with Aziza Hasan, Executive Director, and Andrea Hodos, Associate Director of New Ground, a nonprofit dedicated to bridging divides and convening constructive conversations around challenging social issues.

New Ground envisions what is possible in a world deeply divided which is as pertinent today as it was when first aired. They will share their wisdom on how New Ground envisions an America where Muslims and Jews are empowered to create lasting partnerships and engage in authentic communication and mutual cooperation.

This vibrant model of engagement – not bound by history, theology, or politics – affirms that conflict is inevitable and yet not intractable. NewGround empowers Muslims, Jews, and allies to bridge divisions and leverage shared values to strengthen our communities' well-being and our fragile democracy.

NewGround is a community-building organization that creates, connects, and empowers Jewish and Muslim Change-makers in America.

Through a professional fellowship, high school leadership council, and public programming, NewGround transforms Muslim-Jewish relations and advances a shared agenda for change. They will share what we need to do differently to bring about lasting change.