Healing Our Ghosts

Norman grew up in a loving Jewish family in the midwest. His father was a veteran and although all seem well, Norman felt a disconnect, a deep-felt sense of suffering all around him that was never Acknowledged or discussed. In his early twenties, Norman experienced a great deal of internal turmoil and when he learned the First Noble Truth, one of the central beliefs of Buddhism, he experienced great relief -- his suffering was not his alone, it was universal. Norman has dedicated his life to the study and practice of Buddhism, to live a life of kindness and compassion, and to sharing his path with a wide audiences. He is the author of more than 25 books, including the brilliant Taking Our Places : the Buddhist Path to Truly Growing Up, and Sailing Home: using Homer’s Odyssey to navigate life's perils and pitfalls

Bio:

Zoketsu Norman Fischer is an American poet, writer, and Soto Zen priest, teaching and practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki.[1] He is a Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weitsman, from whom he received Dharma transmission in 1988. Fischer served as co-abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center from 1995–2000, after which he founded the Everyday Zen Foundation in 2000, a network of Buddhist practice group and related projects in Canada, the United States and Mexico.[2] Fischer has published more than twenty-five books of poetry and non-fiction, as well as numerous poems, essays and articles in Buddhist magazines and poetry journals.

Links:

http://www.everydayzen.org/

Marlon was that nerdy little kid who loved to write and went door to door in his little suit to share church pamphlets. But even a protective family could not shield him from the violence in his neighborhood. Marlon was in elementary school when he was first robbed. His exposure to violence made him hyper-vigilant, but nothing could protect him from being raped at gun point at the age of 14. As Marlon puts it, this event took away his childhood freedom and sentenced him to absolute silence and the beginning of his belief of his own brokenness. At 19, he went to jail, facing a life sentence for his part in a fatal robbery. in Jail he earned a college degree, and designed a workshop that bridged his community of incarcerated men with a student community at Vassar College. After he got out in 2009, he started and led two youth development programs, and became a gun-violence prevention advocate and a leader in the justice reform movement. In this podcast Marlon discusses the social context to our stories and the possibility of moving past judgement to recognize the humanity and potential in all of us, including violent offenders. 

Bio:

Marlon Peterson, a writer, the host of a podcast called  Decarcerated, where he interviews people who have spent time in prison about their journeys to success. His Ted talk has been viewed over 1 Million times. In Jail, Marlon earned a college degree, and designed a workshop that bridged his community of incarcerated men with a student community at Vassar College. After he got out in 2009, he started and lead two youth development programs,  one called  H.O.L.L.A, (How Our Lives Link Altogether), and another called Youth Organizing to Save Our Streets (YO S.O.S). He also  earned another degree from New York University, a Bachelors of Science with a concentration on Organizational Behavior. He's a gun-violence prevention advocate and a leader in the justice reform movement. Marlon's writings have appeared in Ebony, Gawker, The Nation, The Crime Report, Black Press USA, Huff Post,  The Roots, and other online publications.  He has contributed to Kiese Laymon's award winning novel, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America and Love Lives Here, Too by former New York Times columnist, Sheila Rule. Marlon is currently working on his first novel. 

Links:

Marlon’s website: https://www.marlonpeterson.com/

Marlon’s podcast: https://www.marlonpeterson.com/decarcerated

Article discussed in the Podcast by Prof. Shawn Ginwright: The Future of Healing: Shifting From Trauma Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement

When Robin’s father was 12, he hid in a closet while his family was gunned down in one of the first mass shooting in US history. 60 years later, Robin’s niece hid in a closet while her classmates were murdered in the Parkland highschool shooting. Robin decided at that moment to become an activist against gun violence. As the child of a survivor and a school nurse, she knows first hand the damage caused by gun violence. When she learned about ACEs, her activism broadened from fighting against gun violence to thriving to promote trauma-informed schools and communities.

Bio:
Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN is a Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN), currently in her 19th year as a New Jersey school nurse in the Camden City School District. She serves on several national boards including The American Foundation for Firearm Injury Reduction in Medicine (AFFIRM), a gun violence prevention research non-profit organization and the National Board of Certification for School Nurses (NBCSN). Robin is the Legislative Chair for the New Jersey State School Nurses Association (NJSSNA). She is proud to be a Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Fellow and past Program Mentor. She has been recognized in her home state of New Jersey and nationally for her community-based initiative called “The Community Café: A Conversation That Matters.” Robin is the honored recipient of multiple awards for her work in school nursing and population health. These awards include 2019 National Association of School Nurses (NASN) President’s Award; 2018 NCSN School Nurse of the Year; 2017 Johnson & Johnson School Nurse of the Year; and the New Jersey Department of Health 2017 Population Health Hero Award. Robin serves as faculty in the School Nurse Certificate Program at Rutgers University-Camden School of Nursing, where she teaches the next generation of school nurses. She was presented the 2018 Rutgers University – Camden Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award for Part-time Faculty. Robin writes a weekly blog called The Relentless School Nurse. You can also follow her on Twitter at @RobinCogan.

Links:

https://relentlessschoolnurse.com/

Here is a link to a new initiative the I am involved in with American Nurse through the American Nursing Association: https://www.myamericannurse.com/american-nurse-welcomes-the-relentless-school-nurse-robin-cogan/

Here is a blog post I did about our experience screening Wrestling Ghosts at NASN Conference: https://relentlessschoolnurse.com/2019/09/11/the-relentless-school-nurse-wrestling-ghosts-an-experiential-film/ 

Here is info about my Community Cafe Initiative: https://relentlessschoolnurse.com/community-cafes/

Elizabeth giving a talk at Google headquarters

Elizabeth's website

Elizabeth interviewed on NPR

Elizabeth interviewed in the New York Times

Elizabeth reviewed in the San Francisco Chronicle

Bryan Stevenson's website
His Ted Talk

Bio:

Meghan Spiro is a survivor, visual artist and photographer, and a mother.  Her professional work focuses on food & wine, lifestyle brands, products and portraits, working within the Hudson Valley, NYC, and beyond. Her personal work is known for exploring intense female struggles like domestic violence, sexual assault, miscarriage, as well as radical methods of healing, spiritual journeys of wisdom, and the sacred feminine and connection to Mother Earth. Much of her work is autobiographic and self-portrait based. Also a poet, She sometimes blends her poetry with the artwork.

Links:

http://philasophia.com/

http://meghanspiro.com/