Community Possibilities
Community Possibilities
Community Development Using a Trauma-Informed Approach: Meet Dr. Tasha Parker
In this episode of Community Possibilities, Dr. Tasha Parker shares her story and work as community psychologist and liscenced clinical social worker. Tasha's personal story influences her approach to collaborative systems change, challenging the popular yet insufficient concepts of 'resiliency' and 'grit'. Our conversation navigates the intersection of equity, trauma-informed community development, and intersectionality, unveiling the necessity for spaces that dismantle hidden power structures and champion genuine inclusion.
This episode for anyone devoted to community engagement and equity, offering practical strategies for community collaboration. We discuss how to maintain a trauma-informed lens and advocate for equity across all community engagement phases. Dr. Parker provides insights for creating trauma-informed communities that redistribute power, ensuring those affected by policies are leading the charge in decision-making processes. Join us and be part of the conversation that reshapes how communities foster resilience, equity, and transformation.
Dr. Tasha Parker's Bio
Dr. Tasha Parker is an experienced professional based in Wichita, Kansas. With over 17 years of experience in mental and behavioral health, social justice, and youth development, she is the founder and principal community consultant at the Institute of Development, LLC. Her specialties include trauma-informed, resiliency-informed, liberatory, cultural responsiveness, and equitable approaches. She is also privileged to spend one day a week sitting and supporting clients on their personal journeys, providing clinical therapy. Dr. Parker holds a Ph.D. in Community Psychology, a Master of Public Administration focused on Nonprofit Management and Finance, and a Master of Social Work.
Dr. Parker's diverse skill set includes research and evaluation, group facilitation, prevention, program development, and implementation. She is passionate about collaborative systems change rooted in equity and cultural humility. Believing that the true currency for sustainable systemic changes is rooted in equity, liberation, cultural and intellectual humility, and harm reduction.
Contact Dr. Parker:
https://www.tashaparker.com/
The quickest way to reach Dr. Parker is: tashap@tashaparker.com
Like what you heard? Please like and share wherever you get your podcasts!
Connect with Ann: Community Evaluation Solutions
How Ann can help:
· Support the evaluation capacity of your coalition or community-based organization.
· Help you create a strategic plan that doesn’t stress you and your group out, doesn’t take all year to design, and is actionable.
· Engage your group in equitable discussions about difficult conversations.
· Facilitate a workshop to plan for action and get your group moving.
· Create a workshop that energizes and excites your group for action.
· Speak at your conference or event.
Have a question or want to know more? Book a call with Ann .
Be sure and check out our updated resource page! Let us know what was helpful.
Music by Zach Price: Zachpricet@gmail.com
Welcome back to Community Possibilities. Today, my friend, Dr. Tasha Parker joins me. Tasha and I met somewhere in the Zoom Hollywood Squares I think it was back in 2020. And sometimes people just shine even when they're in the Zoom world, and Tasha was one of those folks. So let me tell you a little bit about my friend.
Ann Price:She has over 17 years of experience in mental and behavioral health, social justice and youth development. She's the founder and principal community consultant at the Institute of Development, and her specialties include trauma-informed, resiliency-informed, liberatory, cultural responsiveness and equitable approaches. Like me, tasha is a community psychologist, but she also holds a master of public administration, focused on nonprofit management and finance, and a master of social work. She loves, obviously, to learn. She focuses mainly on research and evaluation. She's an amazing group facilitator. She works in prevention, program development and implementation areas that I love to work in as well. She's passionate about collaborative systems, change, and that's what we're gonna be talking about today. She shares a little bit about her personal story. She is what she calls a 10-acer. Listen so you learn what that is all about, and in this episode we're gonna talk about our love-hate relationship with the term resiliency. We're gonna talk about why we both hate the word grit, and I ask her selfishly what a trauma-informed community looks like? Because, folks, today we talk a lot about trauma-informed approaches in terms of our work with individuals, but not so much with communities, and so we dig into that a little bit. I imagine we'll probably wanna continue this conversation in the future.
Ann Price:Anyway, enough of the intro, let's get on with the show. Thanks, tasha, for joining me. All right, everybody, welcome back to Community Possibilities. Oh my gosh, we have already had a great conversation before I hit record. Hi, dr Parker, hi Everybody, I want you to meet my oh my gosh, my good friend, dr Tasha Parker. And Tasha, oh my gosh, can I tell you, every time I see your headshot I just grin from ear to ear. It's just all power, it's all you kind of being who you are, and that's the thing I like most about you, and I am so excited for our conversation today.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Oh, thank you, you should have been there. We had a ball taking them. Ooh, we had a good time.
Ann Price:Well, dr Parker, I always ask this question. I'm very curious how you are gonna answer it. My community psychologist, social worker friend friend. I always want people to kind of tell their story, because every time you listen to podcasts they say, well, introduce yourself. And people end up saying, well, I went to this university, I went to that university, I wrote this book, I did this thing. But I always want to know how people became who they are. So let's start with that question.
Dr. Tasha Parker:How did I become who I am? One of my favorite things to say I'm the granddaughter of Celeste Mary Heal, who was a born sharecropper, and I always like to start with that because I think that's where I get a lot of my boldness from. I wouldn't necessarily say, oh, I'm courageous, but that boldness, so I come to be who I am because of who she is. And then what else? I didn't have a rough upbringing. I'm a tenacer. I don't think that made me who I am, but it's definitely shaped how I moved through the world.
Ann Price:And hold on. Sorry to interrupt you. What was that word?
Dr. Tasha Parker:Tenacer, you're right, acer. Everybody an adverse childhood experiences.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Oh gotcha Ten. Ok, all right, yeah, and so I've been through some things. However, how I come to who I am is I think I've learned at a very early age that I can figure things out. Like I have this belief in myself that it's crazy. Like you can't tell me nothing about me. You can't. I know who I come from, I know how I got here and I don't always know where I want to go. I know how I want to do it and so that's how I become who I am. It's living the life. Living the life.
Ann Price:Yeah, yeah, thank you for sharing that. I neglected to tell people how we came to know each other. So we met in the Zoom room, like during the COVID world, on Hollywood squares somewhere, and I remember like picking you out of the Hollywood squares like, dang, that woman's going somewhere.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Yay, Susan, I always credit Susan Wolf. I was in the middle of doing my dissertation I had a lovely my advisor, Dr. Ronda Lewis at Wichita State University. We would show up to talk about dissertation and she'd be like did you start your LLC, yet Did you do this? You need to contact these people. And so Susan was one of the people that she told me to get a hold with. And Susan said come on, girl, I'll tell you where to go and who to deal with. And she Ann Price's office hours and the IC topic chat. So I said OK.
Ann Price:Yeah, yeah, that's true we have. We do have Susan in common, so, yeah, so, and, and the three of us are community psychologists, you are licensed clinical social worker. I have my master's in clinical I don't know if you knew that, so I know for me that really helps when I'm out in community to have that clinical background. I wonder if you can kind of talk about those two sides of yourself, how that happened, how that informs the work you do.
Dr. Tasha Parker:I always feel like. So I've always been in the business of I call myself a hope dealer, like I even as a clinician I was. I'm not here dealing hope, I'm in the business of planning seeds, baby. That's what I'm doing, and I think of community psychology and community consulting very similar to therapy, but it's like on a community and organizational level and so I've been doing clinical work for a very long time. I love the work, it's my heart's passion and I think that's what they say.
Dr. Tasha Parker:However, I got to the point that I wanted to really do more. Systems work and whether it's helping programs or collaborative or foundations like interact and improve those relationships within the community and how they provide those services and understanding how those relationships impact programs Right. And so that's how I got here and me being the person I am, I was like I got to know all the things Go back to school, but they marry each other Well because I'm quite comfortable holding space with people. I feel like I'm a, I'm analyzing. When you think about qualitative data, like listening to words, I do it and interpreting it in real time, because it's what I've been doing for so long as a clinician.
Ann Price:So no desire to ever work in an academic setting.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Oh no, that was never you should have. When I got to where I got in my program, like, are you going to go back? No way I'd go to. I mean, it is a little pot that I like to stir a little bit in relation to. I believe that higher education is such an un psychologically safe environment and I believe there's more and more communities and organizations moved to be trauma resiliency informed. I don't understand why they're not following suit.
Ann Price:Oh yeah, that's interesting. What a concept.
Ann Price:Yeah, oh yeah, I got a whole thing about that, but anyhow, yeah, we can have a whole conversation about why I didn't choose that role, but probably, like you, short story is yeah, I didn't think I would serve or be served very well in those in that, in that setting. So, yeah, that gives it to me. So let's talk about the reality you have created, which is the Institute of Development, and I want to ask you I told you before we started selfishly these questions are things that I am very curious about and hopefully it will resonate with folks out there. But tell us about your firm and why the name.
Dr. Tasha Parker:So Institute of Development is a community consulting firm where we do a little bit of everything. I think the main thing is we have the ability to listen and understand well, to design an individual project for you, like whatever that looks like, where there's thought, partnerships, strategic planning, strategic development, evaluation, technical assistance, a variety of things. You need it like that clinical leveraging, that clinical background. I think I have ability to kind of uplift that. I came up with the name because this won't shock you. You know me. I was like I want to develop all things. That's what I want to do. So we're going to be an Institute of Development and eventually we're going to have these labs and these different academies that are focused on specific areas, and so that's how it came about. Is that I wanted to develop?
Ann Price:all things, all things, and. And you've been in business for how long? Last is December 2021.
Dr. Tasha Parker:So have a long what that's two and a half years and you're doing well, and you're doing well. I am blessed, like I'm very grateful. Things happen faster than I thought. So, yeah, I do think I'm doing well.
Ann Price:You are. You are doing well Not that you need me to tell you that, but you are doing well and you're doing great things and I can't wait to see where your career goes. It sounds like we're ending before we started and we're not Okay. So here's what I think you are becoming known for is your trauma informed and your resiliency, work Equity, inclusion, all of those things. It's a lot and the selfish part of me wants to know what that looks like from your community psychology lens.
Ann Price:My podcast name is Community Possibilities. I think we can have a lot more possibilities when we focus on systems level change. So what I don't know that was that was a lot, not really question. That reflects kind of my like struggle and my curiosity. But I guess my question is what does that look like for you at the community level? And the reason why I asked this question is fun fact I did my dissertation 20 years ago on resiliency, looking at the effects of witnessing individual and community violence on adolescents. Right, and of course the it's all over the place resiliency, trauma informed and whatever training. When I'm at a conference, whatever training says resiliency, trauma informed even when it has the word community in it, it's still very individual. Yeah, that's. That was a really long wind away of saying. What does that look like on the community level that is not focused on an individual deficit approach, mm hmm.
Dr. Tasha Parker:And so when I think about you know, all the things you said, those are a lot of things. I think they are a lot of things, but they really tie together beautifully. And so I say you know, I think you have to start with equity. Like an equity is like this movement that we're doing, like, because equity is the pathway to justice, like social justice, like that's what we want, right. And equity is what we do, right. Where I think about the trauma, resiliency, informed pieces, how we do the what Right. So when I think about equity, we are going to create a shared purpose of whatever this program evaluating whatever we're doing. We're going to include all stakeholders. We're going to talk about that data privacy. We're going to talk about data on select those, like the what we do.
Dr. Tasha Parker:And then the trauma is how we do it, like, how are we doing our work in the community? And community happens across the system, right. So, whether it's the community that we locally live in on the community of organizational community of professionals, whatever it may be, but also, how are we providing, how are we interacting with each other? Right, it is the system creating barriers to our ability to be well, and are we also putting protective factors in place. It's one thing when people talk about equity and we say we remove the fence, we can't ignore that for a very long time people were still straining standing on several boxes or having no boxes to look over the fence. And so we'll.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Trauma informed is to say let's acknowledge that Right and let's create some supportive systems or at minimum ensure that as we remove the fence and try to keep it removed, that we're not creating barriers for people to address the long term impacts of it. Like if I walk around on a broken ankle for a long time at some point in time. Once it's set, they have to re break it Right to set it correctly. And trauma informed is acknowledging that this person didn't have access to what they needed. So there has been damage done and the resiliency informed. Let's create a pathway for them to get that healing. Why we continue to do the other things. So on the community level. For me it's acknowledging those inner relationships across the system and how it impacts the community as they do their work.
Ann Price:Can you get it? No, no, that was. That was beautiful. I hope I wrote it down because I thought it was like I want to remember that one People listening probably going to have to go back and listen to that whole thing again because there's so many nuggets, but the one I first write down is equity is the pathway to justice.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Oh yeah.
Dr. Tasha Parker:I think, it's not this destination. Like equity, like this is how we're going to, we're doing it. We don't get there, like we're trying to remove that fence right, like and that's not good as justice, equity is just how we doing it. Like, what are we doing? What are we doing? What are we doing? And you got to be willing to call that out, like in all phases, all the time, and that's difficult even in the way that we function in practice. It's like when we were talking earlier about you know, do you want employees? And not like half?
Dr. Tasha Parker:I can do it in an equitable fashion because I'm still representation of, even though I have intersectionalities that belong to marginalized groups. I'm still a representation of a system that has perpetuated harm. Once I become an employer, employer, yeah, and that's what I have to. So when I think about equity on the community level, it's also acknowledging, when I think about trauma informed is acknowledging the systems that we represent, regardless of how I engage with that system, if I was part of it. So representation of it, that's true. Trauma, informed work.
Ann Price:You know, one of the things that I see, because I do a lot of work in in rural settings, is community members just don't get it when we talk about systems and how systems are inequitable. Right, they're not hard, hard of people. They just haven't had their mind and their heart open, right. And I'm thinking about it Did a training with Donna Beagle a few years ago and she did the exercise. I'm sure you've seen it where you have everybody stand on a line and you say, if you had this experience, take a step forward. If you had that experience, take a step backwards or two step backwards or three or whatever it is.
Ann Price:And I remember I did that exercise and there were a lot of people that were way ahead of me, a lot, and there were a lot of people behind me. And then there was this one black man God love him. He was so far back in the field that I could barely see what color shirt he had on. And I am all. I am not really exaggerating here. So I'm wondering, if you have, if you can maybe give us an example or two about when communities are acting in a way that is not trauma, informed, certainly is not equitable, and what we can do as folks who work in communities to kind of open up those hearts of minds, to provide those experiences that they can start the journey to kind of understand what their community members are going through.
Dr. Tasha Parker:So I'm a tough question. I said my little ADD brain may have to chunk that, that's okay, I got an ADD brain. So initially, when you started to talk, the first thing that comes to my mind is we have to recognize that where our nation, like what it was built off of, it's capitalistic, it's colonized, right, and so, regardless of who you are, you're in, you're inequitable, like don't say well, if no, you are, like let's be clear, like it's how we were all trained, it doesn't, it doesn't matter black, brown, white, green, yellow, like own that, recognize that. And so the goal is to be uplifting that and constantly like the auditing yourself and say, okay, this is where that is acknowledging like, okay, it's not about your intentions, it's about your impact. So I think community has intersectionality is real Right, and because of our different intersectionalities, we have certain privileges as well as certain disadvantages, and so being able to acknowledge the different privileges that you have just as well as your knowledge disadvantages, right, like those things exist and impact us, but also acknowledging the privileges and how that can show up in ways that are inequitable.
Dr. Tasha Parker:When you think about power and the expression of power and the faces of power, sometimes we forget and rather, even if you're a nonprofit right, even if you are someone who is doing the hearts work and providing these needed services, you have to be able to recognize hidden power at play. That still is you, as anytime you have a holder of resources as a power, differential and resources of people, time, knowledge, money, right, those are all resources. And so I think the first part is acknowledging that and recognizing hidden power at is at play, which is when I don't believe that I can say anything because of the power you have, so I won't. And so part of engaging in, you know, doing the thing when we say equity is what I do, and so I'm intentionally creating the space, right, we're liberating out here and I say, hey, everybody, come on in, and I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna say does anyone have something to say? I'm gonna go around individually and invite you and create these different pathways for you to contribute.
Ann Price:That's what I think about.
Ann Price:In this work. Yeah, it's constantly on my mind, yeah, and I'm always on my mind, for sure, and I can only speak for myself and in my like identity as a white upper middle class woman that I am constantly becoming and becoming aware of how many times I stick my big fat white foot in my mouth and I do the training that I've had. I told my friend of Falami Prescott when she was on the podcast you know I feel like I got cheated, like in high school when I was taught American history. Totally got cheated. Need to start all over, right, mm. Hmm, yeah, yeah, we're all, we're all learning, we're all on a journey.
Dr. Tasha Parker:And I think the most dangerous thing for any of us is like intellectual humility, like because I'm not intellectual competence when I believe I'm competent, we got a problem, because what do you learn more when she competent? So the goal is intellectual and cultural humility. Right, that's part of engaging, like, in those equitable practice and then tying back into that trauma reform is acknowledging what has inequities cause, right, and also, I don't always see it, I won't see it, but I know there have been some barriers here and those barriers impact people. And once again, how am I creating these pathways where people can get the support? So, sometimes you know that could be, you know, leveraging your networks, even.
Dr. Tasha Parker:I think about community organizations and resiliency informed, like in being trauma informed, which is important, but collaboration and mutuality. So I mean, even if I know I don't have the place or the space for a certain programming efforts or certain customers who need those services, I've collaborated with my community enough that I can refer accordingly, mm. Hmm, right, that to me that's part of being resiliency informed and trauma informed as well.
Ann Price:Yeah, and I think, because I know you work with community organizations as well, community coalitions and collaborators One of the things that that I asked them is just, you know, look around the room, does this reflect your community? Does this? Does your presence, the people you see, reflect your community? Does?
Dr. Tasha Parker:it reflect and taking it a step further, because sometimes we will engage community in a way that is illegitimate. Mm hmm, right, and there's been no true redistribution of power.
Ann Price:Yeah, give us some examples, Tasha.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Advisory committees. Come on, community, we're going to tell you what we're going to do. We just want you to come and tell us what you think Mm, hmm, and or not. Establishing clear decision making authority. Don't invite me to the table and not tell me that, oh, you don't, you won't have voting power to decide what program we're going to. We just want to hear what you think about it. Tell me that. Tell me that, yeah.
Ann Price:Great. So those are the things. Aren't stains? Ladder of participation Uh huh, right, there, right, I'll put a link for those of you who have never heard.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Heard of that before, yeah but we do it so much for advisory committees. They like community members that are all professionals.
Ann Price:Oh, okay, great Gosh, every, every day, every every day. And I don't know if you've had this situation where you might be in the community and maybe you're developing a theory of change or logic model, which I've also heard pushback on. Why are we even doing those things? But let's just assume we are doing those things that we, to your point, have been taught to do as evaluators and in our, in our space, and some of the things when I ask questions about what changes do you want to see in the people you serve. How interesting sometimes the responses are when I ask that question.
Dr. Tasha Parker:You know, I had a meeting earlier today, which is crazy because it's only 10.
Dr. Tasha Parker:I was going to say I had a meeting before you but this person was talking about a program that they wanted to develop and reimagining the system. You know childcare stuff and you know me, but you're not shocked when I say this. I'm like you give this information from like, yeah, you know, you got the data, but are you talking to the people? Like there are two key stakeholder groups that are being left out and I think ultimately, that will impact your ability to really have equitable outcomes and be sustainable.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Right, because there's some things you don't know, because you can't know unless you talk to the people, regardless of what the numerical data say. The numbers say Right, yeah, yeah, that's what I. You tell me what you think is best for me.
Ann Price:I see a lot of that.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Oh yeah, oh, you want to. Some grinds my gears. Look at what grinds my gears when I hear I love that. You know more. White evaluators are, like you know, being conscious of equity and being culturally responsive. But it's really hard for me. Some of it is my stuff right, I can own that. But but there's telling me like this is this injustice that I see, and that's not okay and I'm like how the hell you know you ain't, you're not in it, living it, feeling it Like, you see it from your perspective? Right, ask me what I feel or think. All right, once again, it's not always about intention, it's about impact, but that goes back to that trauma and resiliency and form of peace.
Ann Price:Every time you hear say intention, I hear my mother saying the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Dr. Tasha Parker:It absolutely is. It's so is the road to trauma? You want to traumatize people, be well intended and not recognizing that it's really about the impact that you're having and being okay with saying, okay, well, help me understand what that looks like, and those are tough conversations, yeah.
Ann Price:Well, yeah, we can't put that burden on other people. We got to do some of that work for ourselves. Mm-hmm, yeah, what does a trauma-informed community look like? If you could wave your magic wand and make a community trauma-informed, what would it look like?
Dr. Tasha Parker:Well, I don't think a community ever gets there, because society is constantly changing Like, and there are new ways that we are being impacted by the world. And so I think a trauma-informed community is acknowledging on different levels of a system that trauma is happening on an individual level, on an environmental level, on a community level, like we're naming it for our industry, or where we're at and what that looks like. It's also acknowledging how we may be contributing to it. We're acknowledging the barriers that we may be placing not intentionally, but the barriers that we may be placing to resiliency, mm-hmm, right, but then also being intentional about those pathways to healing.
Dr. Tasha Parker:So maybe I may be an organization where I can't necessarily be a person who's lobbying because of how my funding is being rendered or how it's coming down, but that doesn't mean I can't be connecting people within my organization to people who are doing civic leadership, engagement, right. And so I think a true trauma-informed community is on this pathway. It's not in the destination, but they continue to evaluate how they are perpetuating harm, how are they creating pathways. But that also has to be happening in that framework of equity. I just don't think that, even though taking care of self too, right. So another part of being trauma-informed is acknowledging what I'm experiencing Like. Is a human doing this work, or is the nonprofit leader doing this work, or the foundation leader doing this work? Like acknowledging those things. I don't know if that answers your question, but no, it absolutely does.
Ann Price:And that kind of leads me to the question I'm very curious about is I've developed a love-hate relationship with the word resiliency. Oh, I hate it. I was curious how you Okay. Well, there you go. How do you feel about that word? Well, you use it too, friend.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Oh yeah, once again, you can't accept one piece and reject the other. You gotta take it all, oh right. And so my biggest issue with the word resiliency is sometimes we like to use it. Well, it's the cop-out to make and change it, because people are resilient Like this. I won't tell that story. It's like when someone makes comments and they say well, because of this, this portion of this group of people are resilient, and that's not what resiliency is about.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Residency is in spite of this thing I was able to overcome and restabilize. Like you look at the research, it'll tell you that children need a certain amount of adversity that they can overcome in order to continue to strengthen resiliency. But at some point in time it's too much, right. So I have a love hate relationship with resiliency. Like, I love it because it's important to remove barriers to it and create pathways to it. When I say pathways like protect the factor.
Dr. Tasha Parker:So how do we build strong social equal? That's a buzzword. How do we build strong? How do we ensure that children and adults have people throughout their life that are not part of their family unit, that are supporting and caring for them? Right, that's a protective factor. How do we ensure people have access to things, whether they're gonna use it or not. How do we ensure that people have knowledge to make informed decisions about if they will or won't access things? And so that's the importance of resiliency informed, because it holds me accountable and keeps out on the top of my mind. But I can also hold others accountable when I partner with them and work with them, because you know what I'm saying. Negotiable, like I'm not negotiating with you. If I'm gonna bring this trauma informed approach, I'm gonna bring this equity up. I'm not negotiating. It's how I'm gonna do the work, gotcha, so it helps me name it.
Ann Price:Well, it also helps you identify who you wanna work with and who wants to work with you. But the resiliency piece, you can say so, socio ecological model, that's fine, we can cause that's. And that was a beautiful example of you explaining it without using the buzz words, and when I did my dissertation that's what I use, right? But what I hear a lot, what I think I see a lot, is resiliency is up to the individual. Just buckle up, be more gritty also word I hate right, just have grit and take the grit scale right. I can't.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Put yourself up by your boost. I don't have shoes, so there's no bootstraps to pull up on.
Ann Price:Yeah, yeah, exactly. And so I've told that story, I think, on the podcast before about sitting in the Mayor's Advisory Council and the question on the table was what level of competency should these kids aspire to in this afterschool program? And, of course, the advisory committee, which was predominantly white, of course, and very wealthy 100% competency. And I leaned over to my colleague who was helping on the project and I said I'm probably about to get inspired. And I said something about hmm, so you're expecting these kids to achieve what their families have not been able to do, what their teachers, what their school cannot do, what their community cannot do, what the state has not been able to do, this country has not been able to do? Right, we're gonna put it all on these little kids. By God, you should be 100% competent in all of these things, even though you were sitting in one of the worst performing schools in the city, surrounded by poverty and violence.
Dr. Tasha Parker:And so when I think about that, it goes back to equity and being trauma informed. So the trauma informed is acknowledging that because of where these kids sit, there are other things that they are battling. That contributes to competency. Whatever the hell that is right Like really gives the side with the competency is it's a test score, don't you know that? Yeah, and we know historically that how that works, Uh-huh.
Ann Price:Yeah, how that works. Ah, this stuff is so complex.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Oh yeah, but I love it because of the complexity of it, because you continue to navigate it and I think once you figure out, like how you wanna walk, that you walk that path, then you keep walking and you keep walking and you hope that you're planning seeds for other people to walk that path, like on the journey.
Ann Price:Yeah, yeah, 100%. So what advice would you give to community leaders to be more effective however they define effective and to be trauma-informed, and also I'm thinking about, like secondary trauma, which I think you alluded to earlier. So most of the folks, so I think, who listened to the show, our community nonprofit leaders or community leaders what do you wanna tell them, dr Parker?
Dr. Tasha Parker:I would say do your part. Like, stay in your lane. Like do your part, stay in your lane and think about the 15%, knowing that you cannot impact all the things. But what's your 15% that you can? It's liberating structures activity that I use sometimes when I'm working with like a group of nonprofits at once and then tell them like well, we don't have the funds to and bad equity or trauma-informed. So what's the 15% that you can do without any additional resources, no permission, you don't need any more power. But also recognize that you're doing your best in being okay to seek out help, right, cause sometimes this is. I remember I was doing some work with a group of nonprofits and wanna say I know we need you, but we can't afford you. I said let me decide what I wanna do with my time. You don't know what I wanna do with my time, right? Be willing to ask.
Ann Price:Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Tasha Parker:And so I think that and just continue. It's a process, it's not like an in journey. Educate yourself on what it looks like in your sector, reminding yourself that it's not just on an individual level and it's not just external facing. This is probably one of the biggest recommendations. It's look internally, like internally within your organization. How also are you being trauma-informed, right? How are you taking care of yourself, your staff cause? Then that parallel process comes, which is what? When internally we don't feel safe, we start to behave and conduct business in a certain way, and so then what happens is seeps out externally. And so now, right when you know we count a productive in the work that we were trying to do.
Ann Price:Yeah, I mean we wanna change community and system, certainly. But there is an element of I gotta start with me.
Dr. Tasha Parker:We've talked about this before right.
Ann Price:I got. I have to know when my trauma is being triggered and for me, I feel it in my body. My hands sweat, my gut tightens up, I feel very scared. Right, I know when my triggers are being pushed right. But you have to do that work to even know what happened to you and what is your body and your mind telling you when that happens.
Dr. Tasha Parker:You have to start there, I think, and then it's true on an organizational level too, though, right, Like organizationally. What are our signs and symptoms when we, as an organization, we have become traumatized Like? What does it look like? Just like because on my physical body level, like you said, my stomach where's the stomach of our organization? And what does it look like when it's hurting? And that's a simple thing that we can do together.
Ann Price:Yeah, I immediately flashed to when community members shut down in a meeting, when somebody takes up too much space and air, when there are parking lot conversations going on after a community coalition meeting or a community meeting. The real work is out in the parking lot or the right or an organization where gossip and backbiting abounds because there's not a space for honest, brave conversations, to use Brené Brown's terms.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Yeah, Mm-hmm, yeah, and I think defining that safety planning, that's another thing. That's easy. You wanna talk about something that you can implement now. Implement a safety plan like a trauma safety plan for your organization. Okay, what are the things? Historically, let's talk what has caused us to, as Jerry Peaks would say with her journey scroll. What's been a shoot, right? What has been something that happened that has sunk us down or kept us in a whirlpool where we're not moving, and what did it look like? Let's identify it. Okay. So what's our plan? And maybe the plan is we're gonna say we're here, let's call it in, let's come together and support each other, like those are the. You think about that 15% solution. It's that piece that you can do, that's attainable.
Ann Price:Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Tasha Parker:I love that. It's like the thought. You said it earlier. There's a big issue like there's. You know, nonprofits, foundations, collaboratives, initiatives, like they're trying to solve big problems, but you can't make the whole pie. If your job is to make the crust, focus on the crust. Don't be worried about how they're making the apples. You focus on the crust, that's your job and you do crust well. Focus on the crust and ensure the crust is being made in a way that is harm reduction, that is, least harmful Harm will be done. Why? Because it's the society that we live in, unfortunately.
Ann Price:And we're humans. Yeah, we are humans, but crust is hard. Did you have to pick that metaphor? I'm all about baking metaphors, but crust is hard. Woman, I'm working on the crust and I vote for the all butter crust. Just saying, just saying.
Dr. Tasha Parker:I made my first set of homemade biscuits about a month ago. I was impressed. I was impressed.
Ann Price:Yum, oh, my gosh, I'm all about that. Hey, is there anything else that we haven't talked about, that you would like to talk about, or anything on your mind?
Dr. Tasha Parker:Not on the top of my mind. I just want to make sure that I can talk to you about 15,000 things, but that's the one thing that you ask me. Just making sure that I covered everything that you asked. Yeah.
Ann Price:I think so, and again selfishly. These are the things that I wrestle with and struggle with. And how can my community and evaluation practice be more trauma-informed, how can it be more equitable in terms of who I work with and what issues I work with? The whole idea about resiliency, I mean? These were, admittedly, selfish questions. They resonate and I think it reflects your work and what you are becoming known for.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Yeah, well, I think there is something I would add, is that? Remember that it always cracks me when people say tell me what this thing looks like. It's individualized because, depending on where you are, where you lie within the ecological system, what level are you at, what problem are you trying to solve, it looks different, but there are principles, sam, so it's so kind to get us to follow these rules at minimum and define what these rules look like for you internally. Externally, how are you going to engage in not just your interactions, but policy development, all those things? This work doesn't happen in a silo with an organization. It's happening across an organization. It's like it should be happening across a system. And I occupy your space. That's my thing. Nobody gets to tell you how to occupy your space. Well, I'm just occupying your space in a way that doesn't impact somebody else's Right.
Ann Price:I might have to add that to my words of the year. Occupy your space.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Oh, I love to say occupy your space. I love it.
Ann Price:I have a friend.
Dr. Tasha Parker:I'll tell you a story before we end, I know at the time, but I got to tell you anyway. So I have a good friend, beth Herman, if you're listening. Hello, she's Jewish and I love Judaism, like it's interesting religion, and I used to study with her from time to time and I liked to learn things. I learned anything from anybody. And there's a story and I hope I'm getting it correct and it's about like humility, right, because humility should be balanced.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Too much humility is self-deprecation right Not enough is arrogance, and it tells a story about a man who showed up to send a guide early every day because he wanted a certain space to be and people would get so upset because he felt like that was his space. Long story short, he just says you can have this space if you get here before me, but me coming and occupying this space, it doesn't impact your ability to have a space, I get mine Right, and that's the importance of occupying space. I'm not taking up two seats, I'm just taking up my seat.
Ann Price:Right, I love it. Occupy your space. So what's next to you, friend? What's next for me?
Dr. Tasha Parker:Yeah, you know, like I said, I don't walk against the wind. I'm aware where the wind blows. I have some fun stuff coming up like work locally is starting to pick up. I'm really excited about that. We'll be able to do some fun stuff. Let's see what else. Getting ready to start some stuff at Goldman Sachs, excited to learn in that opportunity. So I'm just hoping. I don't really know what's next. I'm next. That's what's next I would be. We're up next. You know that's what's next. We're growing 11. That's about it.
Ann Price:I can't wait to see where you grow. Yeah, yeah, who knows? So when you look to the future, what community possibilities do you see, dr Parker?
Dr. Tasha Parker:Community possibilities. Do I see? I see that. Well, that's a tough question. Community possibilities? When you say possibilities, what do you mean?
Ann Price:Exactly what things are possible.
Dr. Tasha Parker:I think all things are possible, but I see communities collaborating, organizations collaborating to maximize resources. Transformation that's what I think is possible. I think the true innovation is collaboration, and collaboration will help us reach transformation. So that's what I believe to be possible.
Ann Price:Man, there are so many good nuggets and sound bites, so I just really want to thank you for this conversation. Oh, thank you for having me. So how can people get in touch with you if they would like to work with you?
Dr. Tasha Parker:You can email me tashaparker tasha, spelled with that, a, t, a, s, h A dot Parker at iodictcom or my LinkedIn, whatever that is, I can't tell you. Those are the main things I mean. You can check my website out, wwwiodictcom. I love to talk, so always feel free to reach out just to talk. I love to talk, I love to listen, and so even if it's a quick chat.
Ann Price:Well, thank you so much for this chat. I appreciate your time and I appreciate you.
Dr. Tasha Parker:Oh, thank you for having me, and you are appreciated as well. Thank you.
Ann Price:Hi everybody. Thank you so much for joining me on today's episode of Community Possibilities. Before I let you go, I want to point you in the direction of some resources that might help you out. We have designed them just for nonprofits and community-based organizations like Coalitions. So if you go to the website communityevaluationsolutionscom slash resources, you're going to find a brand new logic model template, a theory of change template, a coalition assessment and a mini course designed to help you share your data, to tell your story. So there's lots more there. I hope you check it out. I hope it's helpful. One thing you could do to help me out, if you would be so kind, is to leave a review and maybe share an episode. Those likes, those shares, those written reviews really help us get in more ears. And oh my gosh, I totally forgot to remind you that my book with Susan Wolf is out. It's called A Guidebook to Community Consulting, a Collaborative Approach. So lots of resources, lots of things going on here at Community Evaluation Solutions. Hope you have a good week, everybody. We'll see you next time.