RISEUP: Voices From the Frontlines

By Krista Phoenix FeeBusiness Health & Fitness Mental Health Education Non-Profit

RISEUP: Voices From the Frontlines episodes

October 08 RISEUP Relationship-Safety Before Repair
A difficult conversation can be uncomfortable and still be
safe. But if one person can't finish a thought, say no, ask for a pause, or
speak honestly without fearing retaliation, a better communication script won't solve the underlying problem.
In this episode of RISEUP Relationship Reset, Dr. Krista Fee
asks what needs to be in place before a couple attempts repair. She explores timing and privacy, listening without immediately correcting, naming one observable moment, and pausing with a reliable return.
She also addresses what happens after a vulnerable conversation, when follow-through matters more than a polished apology.
You will hear practical language for beginning a hard conversation and a three-question reflection you can use on your own.
The episode distinguishes ordinary conflict from intimidation or coercion. If speaking honestly brings fear or punishment, prioritize individual support and a safety plan that fits your circumstances rather than a joint repair exercise.
Explore the Relationship Reset course and community
Read the companion blog: Relationship Reset Blog
If you need confidential support with relationship abuse or
safety planning, visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline at
thehotline.org.
19 min
October 07 RISEUP Responder-Personal Code
You may have a personal code you have never written down: “I
cannot let anyone down,” “I must handle it alone,” or “If I can help, I have to
say yes.” It may have protected what matters to you. It may also be driving a result you no longer want to keep repeating.
In this RISEUP Responders episode, Dr. Krista Fee examines
the private rules that can shape a responder’s work, rest, and relationships. Through illustrative examples of shift coverage and coming home after a difficult tour, she offers a five-minute personal code audit: identify a recurring result, find the rule beneath it, name what the rule protected and what it costs now, then write a version you can practice in the next predictable moment.
The episode connects cognitive approaches with practical
if-then planning while staying grounded in operational duties, real staffing
pressures, and the limits of self-reflection. The exercise is educational, not
a clinical assessment or a substitute for a safe workplace process.
Write four short lines:
(1) the result that keeps showing up
(2) the moment where the pattern begins
(3) the old rule in your actual words
(4) a revised rule that keeps the value without requiring the same
cost.
Add one if-then response you can use when the next request or
conversation arrives. Start with a situation where you have room to think and follow all applicable duty and safety procedures.
For practical, culturally informed conversations with
responders and families who understand life beyond the call, join the RISEUP Responders community- PM for your private invitation.
20 min
October 06 RISEUP Pro-Responsiblity Carries Weight
RISEUP PRO | Dr.Krista Fee | October 5 2026 |
When something goes wrong at work, your team learns a great
deal from what happens next. Do you name your part, ask how the decision affected people, and return with a workable response? Or do they have to wonder whether it is safe to bring you the next concern?
In “Responsibility Carries Weight,” Dr. Krista Fee looks at
the first moments after a leadership decision creates a problem. She explores how pressure and defensiveness can narrow our response, why taking responsibility does not mean claiming blame for everything, and what it takes to repair trust through action.
You will leave with four moves you can use this week: name
what you know, listen for impact, decide what you can do, and return to see whether it helped. There is also a short reflection you can bring to one
unfinished conversation.
Leadership is visible when the room gets uncomfortable. The
question is what people experience from you when it does.
Listen to the episode wherever you get your favorite podcast
If you want to practice this kind of leadership with
thoughtful peers, real-world tools, and ongoing support, join the RISEUP PRO community
#Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture
#TeamTrust #TraumaInformedLeadership #RISEUPPro #RISEUPPhoenix
13 min
August 28 The Cost of Constant Readiness

🔥 EPISODE 1
The Cost of Constant Readiness: When
Your Body Never Stands Down
🚨 NEW EPISODE RELEASE
You made it home.
The uniform is off. The shift is over. The calls are done.
…and your body is still scanning the room.
Still tracking movement.
Still holding tension.
Still waiting for something to go wrong.
Someone you love walks toward you.
They’re not a threat.
They’re not a problem.
They’re just trying to connect.
And something in you tightens anyway.
Not because you don’t care.
Because your system hasn’t come down yet.
🎙️ In This Episode:
We’re not talking about burnout.
We’re talking about what happens when readiness becomes your baseline
state—and no one ever taught you how to exit it.
You’ll hear:
This is the part no one trains.
🧠 What Most People Miss:
Your system isn’t broken.
It’s doing exactly what it was trained to do.
The problem is…
it never got trained to stand down.
And over time, that doesn’t just affect you.
It affects the people waiting for you on the other side of the door.
🔥 Listen / Watch Now:
🎧 RISEUP Voices From The Frontlines
⚡ If This Hit:
You’re not the only one living this way.
You just might be one of the first willing to actually look at it.
➡️ Comment CONNECT and I’ll send you the next step
➡️ Or book a call:
11 min
July 07 TIL 40/40 Trauma Informed Leadership in the Real World: Episode 2
🎙️ New Episode Announcement
We’re back with Part 2 of our live Q&A—going even deeper into the
realities leaders face. Topics include:
“This is how we’ve always done it.” How to transform rigid systems without losing your values.
What to do when a leader’s discretion causes harm: repair, accountability, and outcome responsibility.
How to prevent burnout while leading change.
How to move teams from grievance to growth without minimizing pain.
These aren’t hypotheticals; they’re the daily fires leaders stand in.
You’ll hear trauma-informed strategies that protect dignity, deliver justice, and keep your North Star steady—even when the waves are high. It’s a masterclass in leading people and systems with courage and care.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6IpBgf3j2RC4pKVMKxMkx6?si=3a827a5dc06c4790
📅 Book a call with Krista to see how this program can transform your leadership or schedule your organization’s custom training series: https://calendly.com/riseupphoenix/compass
11 min
June 30 TIL 39/40 Trauma Informed Leadership in the Real World: Question and Answer Episode 1
🎙️ New Episode Announcement
Live from the frontlines of leadership, this conference-style Q&A
tackles the questions you’re asking right now. How do I rebuild trust after a breach? How do I hold people accountable without shaming them? What do I do when my board, staff, or parents are polarized and combative?
We field questions from school administrators, nonprofit directors, city leaders, business executives, and first responders. Every answer draws on the book and this series: nervous-system regulation, transparent communication, fair consequences, and systems that heal instead of harm. You’ll leave with
scripts, practices, and frameworks you can use in your next meeting.
If you’ve been craving practical, compassionate answers to high-stakes leadership dilemmas, this episode is for you.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6IpBgf3j2RC4pKVMKxMkx6?si=3a827a5dc06c4790
📅 Book a call with Krista to see how this program can transform your
leadership or schedule your organization’s custom training series: https://calendly.com/riseupphoenix/compass
12 min
June 23 TIL 38/40 The Peaceful Warrior
🎙️ New Episode Announcement
When words no longer work, what then? Part 2 moves from philosophy to practice. We define the peaceful warrior: a leader who pursues peace relentlessly, prepares for conflict soberly, and refuses to dehumanize, even under pressure. You’ll learn how to set nonnegotiable boundaries, protect people and mission without collapsing into rage, and keep dignity intact when
stakes are high.
We also dig into de-escalation and the psychology of conflict, how to downshift nervous systems, interrupt the “us vs. them” spiral, and make principled decisions under fire. And yes, we talk about training: RISEUP offers a full de-escalation and conflict toolbox for leaders and teams who want real-world skills, not just ideals.
This episode is your field guide for leading through confrontation
without losing your soul.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6IpBgf3j2RC4pKVMKxMkx6?si=3a827a5dc06c4790
📅 Book a call with Krista to see how this program can transform your
leadership or schedule your organization’s custom training series: https://calendly.com/riseupphoenix/compass
12 min
June 16 TIL 37/40 Is Peace Possible in a Violent World
🎙️ New Episode Announcement
Can we remain nonviolent in a violent world? In this episode, we wrestle with one of leadership’s oldest, hardest questions. We trace the arc from Gandhi’s "ahimsa" and King’s “soul force” to Churchill’s refusal to appease fascism and Mandela’s road from resistance to reconciliation.
This isn’t just a theory for a classroom; it’s the daily paradox leaders face when they must hold dignity as the compass while confronting real harm.
We’ll explore what nonviolence can accomplish, where it meets its limits, and how trauma-informed leaders avoid naïveté without surrendering their humanity. You’ll also hear the two questions every leader must answer before the crisis hits: What cause am I willing to die for? And what cause am I willing to take life for? If you don’t know, someone else may decide
for you.
If you lead in government, education, nonprofits, faith communities, business—or at home—this conversation will equip you to pursue peace while preparing to protect what matters.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6IpBgf3j2RC4pKVMKxMkx6?si=3a827a5dc06c4790
📅 Book a call with Krista to see how this program can transform your
leadership or schedule your organization’s custom training series: https://calendly.com/riseupphoenix/compass
17 min
June 12 The Bloodstained Microphone
The Bloodstained Microphone
Leadership in an Age of Outrage, Influence, and Uncertainty
In today's world, influence has never been easier to obtain.
With a smartphone, a social media account, and an audience willing to
listen, anyone can shape opinions, mobilize movements, and influence public discourse. Yet while influence has become increasingly accessible,
responsibility, accountability, and leadership have not necessarily kept pace.
In this thought-provoking episode, Dr. Krista Fee examines the growing gap between influence and leadership through the lens of trauma psychology, neuroscience, crisis response, and real-world leadership experience.
Using current events, including the Karmelo Anthony case, public unrest,
social media culture, and escalating international tensions as examples, this episode explores why outrage often feels like certainty, how emotional contagion influences communities, and why the loudest voices are not always the wisest.
Listeners will discover:
• Why certainty and truth are not the same thing
• The neuroscience of outrage, tribalism, and emotional contagion
• The difference between justice and vengeance
• Why influence without accountability is dangerous
• How social media has transformed modern leadership
• The "Facts First, Feelings Second, Options Third, Action Last"
decision-making framework
• Why responsible leaders learn to tolerate uncertainty
• The hidden consequences of public influence
• How to pursue truth without sacrificing compassion
• Why the people caught in the middle of every conflict matter most
At its heart, this episode is not about politics, ideology, or taking sides.
It is about leadership. It is about responsibility. It is about what happens when ordinary people are given extraordinary influence and the choices they make with it.
Because the microphone is never neutral. Every word lands somewhere. Every message influences someone. Every movement impacts real lives.
The question is not whether we have influence. The question is whether we understand the responsibility that comes with it.

Hosted by Dr. Krista Fee
Executive Director, RISEUP Phoenix Trauma and Crisis Institute
Where neuroscience meets leadership for high-stakes environments.
1 hr 2 min
June 09 TIL 36/40 The Shadow Side of Leadership Language: When Words Harm and Divide
🎙️New Episode Announcement
On today's episode we will lean into the dark side of language leaders often exploit to manipulate, control, or divide all in the name of fear, power, and corruption.
We explore the us vs them model for dehumanization, the distance between contempt and atrocity and i'll give real world safeguards to avoid these language traps.
🎧Listen now on Spotify: Trauma-Informed Leadership Series
📅Book a call with Krista to see how this program can transform your leadership
or schedule your organization’s custom training series: https://calendly.com/riseupphoenix/compass

10 min

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RISEUP: Voices From the Frontlines episodes

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