When Bearing Witness®: Becoming a Trauma-Informed Storyteller

Hosted by Maria Bryan

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Jun 2026

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The When Bearing Witness® podcast is an invitation to explore trauma-informed storytelling, a safe and healthy process of gathering and telling painful stories. Join my conversations with trauma-informed experts and fellow social-good storytellers as we help shape the intersection of trauma-informed care and the storytelling process. Stories are sacred, and we can create a safe space to tell and share them.

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June 9, 2026Episode 5420 min

Building a Nonprofit Story Bank With Consent and Care with Natalie Monroe

Send us Fan MailIn This EpisodeNonprofit storytelling is changing. Organizations are being asked to think more carefully about how stories are gathered, who holds power in the storytelling process, and what it means to share stories with dignity, transparency, and ongoing consent. As more nonprofits move away from transactional testimonials and toward community-centered storytelling, many teams are still navigating how to do this work ethically while continuing to communicate impact.In this conversation, Natalie Monroe from MemoryFox helps us explore what this shift looks like in practice. We discuss the growing importance of story banks, strengths-based messaging, and giving story owners more agency over how and where their stories are shared. Natalie shares insights from her work supporting nonprofit teams through real-world storytelling challenges, including navigating sensitive stories and creating systems that help organizations gather stories with greater care.This episode is an honest and hopeful conversation about the future of ethical and trauma-informed storytelling in the nonprofit sector.About Natalie MonroeNatalie Monroe is the Community Engagement Manager at MemoryFox. After a career in the wine industry learning the nuances of Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, she landed in a nonprofit with the military-to-agriculture movement. Natalie told the stories of veterans turned farmers feeding our country. Here she embraced content creation and the power of video messaging.Natalie is grateful to engage in mission-driven work every day. A friend of Natalie once dubbed her the “people broker” because she thrives on introducing friends to each other and engaging in meaningful conversation. When she’s not immersed in storytelling, you might find her volunteering with the local library friends in her community of Davis, California or pondering her next themed gathering.Connect with Natalie MonroeLinkedIn | Learn More About MemoryFoxAbout Host Maria BryanMaria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with MariaSpeaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

May 12, 2026Episode 5310 min

The Mid-Year Reset Your Storytelling Practice Might Need

Send us Fan MailBy this point in the year, storytelling can start to feel different.You’re still showing up to the interviews, the deadlines, the back and forth. But something begins to shift. A story lingers longer than you expect. A decision stays with you after it’s made. You start to notice the weight of the work in a way that’s harder to ignore.In this episode, I’ll explore with you what it means to arrive at that moment, not as something to fix, but as something to pay attention to.Together, we name the parts of storytelling that often go unspoken. The emotional load that builds over time. The tension between urgency and care. The quiet ways decision fatigue can shape how stories are gathered and shared.If your work has been feeling heavier lately, this conversation is an invitation to pause, reflect, and consider what a more supported, sustainable storytelling practice might look like from here.About Host Maria BryanMaria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with MariaSpeaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

April 14, 2026Episode 5214 min

How Ethical Storytelling Becomes a Movement With Diana Farias Heinrich

Send us Fan MailDiana, CEO of Habrá Marketing and creator of the Equastory framework, joins us for a conversation about what it takes for trauma-informed storytelling to become more than an individual practice. It becomes a movement when people begin challenging harmful norms, building new practices together, and treating consent, privacy, and agency as shared responsibilities.We explore how the stories we share can shape not only audience understanding, but a story owner’s sense of safety long after something is published. We reflect on what it means to tell stories with people, not about them, and why lasting change requires community, accountability, and ongoing practice.About Diana Farias HeinrichDiana Farias Heinrich (she/her) is the CEO of Habrá Marketing and a champion of ethical nonprofit storytelling. Through her Equastory™ framework and The Ethical Nonprofit Summit, she actively safeguards equality, respect, and dignity in nonprofit communications while helping organizations raise funds with integrity. She's a certified Advocate for Survivors of Domestic Violence and for DEI in the Workplace. Diana's proud to be a mom and wife and has supported women in Ghana in starting a sustainable clean water business.Get Your Ethical Nonprofit Tix!Register for the Ethical Nonprofit Summit at ethicalnonprofitsummit.com, and use the code MARIABRYAN15 to save $15 on your ticket.About Host Maria BryanMaria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with MariaSpeaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

March 10, 2026Episode 5135 min

Bringing Nonprofit Storytelling Back to the Campfire with Michael Kass

Send us Fan MailWhat if storytelling returned back toward its oldest purpose: connection?In this episode, I’m joined by Michael Kass, founder of Story & Spirit, to imagine what it would look like to flip the way we tell nonprofit stories, not as content, not as a tool, not as a mechanism, but as something living. Something that restores connection, belonging, and shared humanity.And to do that, we must first explore the historical roots of nonprofit storytelling and how many of our inherited fundraising practices were shaped by systems of inequality. Together, we unpack how traditional deficit-based narratives can unintentionally strip agency from communities and reinforce an “us and them” dynamic.We discuss anchoring asset framing as a practical shift, the difference between cultivating saviorism and cultivating connection, and the rise of artificial intelligence in storytelling and the opportunity it presents to return to something more relational and embodied. If you have ever felt tension between urgency and integrity in your work, this conversation invites you to widen the frame and imagine storytelling that restores wholeness rather than extracting from it.About Michael KassMichael Kass is the Founder of Story & Spirit where he specializes in facilitation and convening design that fosters transformation through bridging human connection and spiritual practice. Over the past 15 years, he has facilitated convenings and trainings for clients ranging from grassroots nonprofits to Fortune 100 companies, weaving together strategic frameworks with practices that honor the whole human and complex systems. Michael serves on the Advisory Council of the International Dignified Storytelling Project, facilitates breathwork and meditation on InsightTimer, and probably likes chocolate more than you do.Connect with Michael KassMini Nonprofit Storytelling Mini-Course | Nonprofit Storytelling:Fundraising & Beyond Course | Ethical Storytelling Resources About Host Maria BryanMaria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with MariaSpeaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

February 10, 2026Episode 5025 min

Joy As A Liberatory Practice with Frank Velásquez Jr.

Send us Fan MailContent warning: This episode includes discussion of trauma, systemic harm, and experiences of marginalization, shared with care and intention.This conversation begins with a truth many of us feel but don’t always name, that while trauma-informed storytelling often centers pain and loss, there is another force that has sustained communities for generations: joy.In today’s episode of When Bearing Witness, we sit down with the Founder of 4 Da Hood, Frank Velásquez Jr., to explore joy not as an escape from hard work, but as a form of resistance and a pathway back to our full humanity. Frank reflects on what it has meant to reclaim joy personally – as a leader, storyteller, and entrepreneur – and how collective joy shows up in spaces where people of color gather together. This conversation examines how joy lives alongside grief, how laughter can coexist with difficult conversations, and how choosing to lead with aspiration rather than deficit can fundamentally shift the way stories are told and received. From nonprofit storytelling to leadership culture, this episode invites us to imagine what becomes possible when joy is not an afterthought, but a deliberate, liberatory practice.About Frank Velásquez Jr.Storyteller Extraordinaire, Social Justice Warrior and Architect of Relations, Frank Velásquez Jr., relentlessly pursues racial and gender equity, while creatively connecting our stories, preserving the unique flavor of each one like in a yummy bowl of gumbo. As Founder of 4 Da Hood and the mastermind behind the Ascending Leaders in Color leadership program, he’s forging paths for peeps of color to lead with more authenticity, courage, and joy! Because for Frank, advancing equity isn’t just a job – it’s a movement towards building generational wealth for communities of color to thrive! And he's doing it one connection, one story, one courageous conversation at a time.Connect with Frank Velásquez Jr.4DaHood Website | LinkedInAbout Host Maria BryanMaria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with MariaSpeaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

January 6, 2026Episode 499 min

Five Ways to Build a Trauma-Informed Storytelling Practice In 2026

Send us Fan MailAs we step into a new year of storytelling, this episode invites you to slow down, take a breath, and ground your practice in deeper care. Trauma-informed storytelling is not just about avoiding harm. It’s about building systems, rhythms, and habits that protect the people at the center of your work — including you.In this conversation, Maria shares five practical ways to strengthen your trauma-informed storytelling practice in 2026. These approaches don’t require new software or a bigger team. It’s a gentle, practical invitation for anyone who wants to begin this year with intention.About Host Maria BryanMaria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with MariaSpeaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

November 25, 2025Episode 4834 min

Repairing Storytelling Harm with Rachel D'Souza

Send us Fan MailIn today’s episode of When Bearing Witness, we step into a conversation that sits at the heart of trauma-informed storytelling: what happens when a story intended to inspire instead causes harm, and how we move toward repair. Storytelling is powerful, but it is never neutral. When nonprofits share personal experiences without care, consent, or curiosity, those choices can leave deep emotional and relational wounds. This episode honors the truth that repair is possible, but only when we slow down enough to acknowledge harm and choose a different path forward.Joining me for this vulnerable and necessary conversation is Rachel D’Souza, the founder of Gladiator Consulting and a proud member of the Community-Centric Fundraising Global Council. Rachel’s work centers on radical collaboration, racial equity, social justice, and decolonization, and her advocacy is deeply informed by her own lived experience of having her story misused for fundraising.We explore what accountability can look like, why harm repair matters, and how nonprofit storytellers can move toward practices rooted in dignity, agency, and healing.About Rachel D'SouzaRachel D'Souza, MPPA, MLS is the founder of Gladiator Consulting in St. Louis, MO, a boutique firm co-creating with nonprofits across the country. As a proud member of the Community-Centric Fundraising Global Council, Rachel works to guide and resource a global initiative to reimagine the nonprofit sector through a lens of radical collaboration, racial equity, social justice, and decolonization. In 2024, Rachel completed her coursework to earn her second Master's Degree at the Washington University School of Law. With this additional training in negotiation, mediation, and cross-cultural conflict resolution, Rachel is eager to shift organizational culture and interpersonal relationships in the direction of healing, collaboration, and systems change.Connect with Rachel D'SouzaGladiatorrds Website | LinkedInAbout Host Maria BryanMaria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with MariaSpeaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

November 11, 2025Episode 4725 min

Leading Ethical Storytelling from the Outside with Kristi Scott

Send us Fan MailNonprofit storytellers are tasked with sharing stories that move people to act, yet we also carry the responsibility of protecting the dignity and agency of those whose stories we tell. And when we are working on the outside of an organization, as contractors or consultants, the power to ensure ethical and trauma-informed practices can feel limited. So, how do we uphold care and consent when we are not the final decision makers?In this episode, we are joined by Kristi Scott, an email marketing consultant who helps small nonprofits transform email campaigns from ineffective to impactful. Rooted in community-centric fundraising and a commitment to equity, Kristi shares how to write emails that are strategic, relational, and rooted in respect, not exploitation, guilt, or false urgency.We talk about leading by example, planting seeds for organizational change, and building systems that protect story owners long after the first publication. About Kristi ScottKristi Scott is an email marketing and fundraising consultant who works with small nonprofits to transform email campaigns from ineffective to impactful. She has been in the nonprofit sector for more than 15 years in programs, fundraising, and marketing. Her consulting work is rooted in community-centric fundraising, and she is professionally and personally committed to Black liberation and equity for all. Kristi holds an MBA in Marketing with honors and has worked in small businesses, startups, and corporate sales. She was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, the traditional lands of the Tongva (Gabrieleno) peoples.Connect with Kristi ScottFundraising Email Fix | Website | LinkedInAbout Host Maria BryanMaria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with MariaSpeaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

October 21, 2025Episode 4622 min

Tending to Storyteller Vicarious Trauma with Michelle Vande Hay

Send us Fan MailContent Warning: Michelle briefly talks about the death of a loved one. Be mindful of your emotional capacity as you listen in. Storytelling in the nonprofit world is a powerful act of witness, but it can also take a quiet toll. When we listen to story after story of grief, injustice, or survival, our bodies absorb more than we realize. This is vicarious trauma, the invisible weight that settles in when we hold space for other people’s pain without tending to our own. Many storytellers and mission-driven leaders find themselves emotionally exhausted not because they don’t care, but because they care deeply and continuously.In today’s episode, we’re joined by Michelle Vande Hay, a Certified Holistic Life Coach and Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator who works with leaders and teams navigating compassion fatigue, overgiving, and burnout. Michelle helps mission-driven professionals reconnect with their bodies, their purpose, and their boundaries so they don’t lose themselves in the work they feel called to do. Together, we explore how vicarious trauma shows up in our daily lives and how honoring stories also means honoring the storytellers. This conversation is an invitation to notice what your body carries and to consider that caring well for others begins with caring well for yourself.About Michelle Vande HayMichelle is a Certified Holistic Life Coach & Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator. She empowers mission-driven leaders and teams to overcome the culture of overgiving and self-sacrifice so they don’t lose themselves in their mission. Michelle guides leaders & teams to overcome compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and burnout. Through holistic coaching, trauma-sensitive yoga, and breathwork, clients connect more deeply to themselves, their mission, and their community, which creates long-lasting, sustainable impact.Connect with Michelle Vande HayDownload the Self-Care Cheat Sheet | Website | Love Your Life On Purpose Community | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTubeAbout Host Maria BryanMaria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with MariaSpeaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

October 7, 2025Episode 4524 min

The Art and Practice of Resilient Storytelling with Angela Soliz

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of When Bearing Witness, Maria sits down with Angela Soliz, a resilience coach, artist, and founder of Gela Road, a creative resilience agency helping people uncover their identity and build purpose-driven brands from the inside out.Angela’s journey weaves together artistry, trauma-informed coaching, and the wisdom gained from scaling both real and metaphorical mountains. She brings a grounded and courageous approach to transformation that challenges traditional ideas of success and celebrates the slow, intentional work of healing.Together, Maria and Angela explore what it means to tell stories from a place of resilience. This conversation serves as a reminder that stories do more than just inform. They transform, helping us reconnect to our shared humanity and the power of belonging.About Angela SolizAngela Soliz is the founder of Gela Road, a creative resilience agency, and an artist, designer, educator, and trauma-informed speaker who helps people uncover their identity and build purpose-driven brands from the inside out. With a multidisciplinary background and a passion for climbing mountains—both literal and metaphorical—Angela brings a grounded, courageous approach to personal and creative transformation.Connect with Angela SolizGela Road | Link TreeAbout Host Maria BryanMaria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place. Connect with MariaSpeaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email