Laura Van Dernoot Lipsky Biography

The Trauma Stewardship Institute's creator and director, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, is the author of Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others. She has worked locally, nationally, and globally for more than three decades and is widely regarded as a pioneer in the field of trauma exposure. Laura discovered her passion at the age of 18 when she began helping at a homeless shelter on a daily basis. She went on to help survivors of child abuse, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, acute trauma, and natural catastrophes. Likewise, she has a long history of community organizing and social and environmental justice organizations, as well as teaching on problems of systemic oppression and liberation philosophy. Laura had a near-psychotic break a decade into her work, which she later realized was the consequence of years of watching and being directly involved in tragedy but lacking knowledge into how to maintain yourself in such circumstances. As part of her effort to pull herself back from the edge, she embarked on a quest to learn more about the long-term impacts of human suffering, adversity, crisis, or trauma on both individuals and communities. Laura has continued to work with a wide range of organizations, including zoo staff and restoration workers in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, community organizers, and healthcare professionals in Japan, US Air Force pilots, Canadian firefighters, public school teachers, private practice doctors, small non-profits, massive state agencies, libraries, the Pentagon, alternative colleges, and Ivy League universities, since those early days. Many of her projects are requested to aid in the aftermath of community disasters, such as catastrophic storms or mass murders. The concerns surrounding trauma are increasingly attracting the attention of private businesses. Facebook has requested her to advise with their teams, and film and television studios have asked her to teach performers, screenwriters, and production staff on the dangers of trauma replication on screen. Laura was one of the first in her field to speak out publicly about the high cost of seeing mass extinctions, potentially permanent ecological losses due to global warming, or other kinds of human encroachment on individuals and groups working to rescue our world. Laura's work has been welcomed by the environmental community. She's had meetings with some of the world's most famous ecologists. Laura is a member of the World Transformational Resilience Network since its inception. She was asked to give a TED lecture in March 2015, one of the first to be given inside a women's correctional prison. Trauma Stewardship was prepared in response to a request from peers. She went to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to aid. As Laura neared the conclusion of her stay, some of the inmates inquired whether she had anything written to leave for them. She didn't do it. Many people had pushed Laura to publish a book about her work in the past, but she had steadfastly resisted since she didn't consider herself a writer. The obvious need for resources on trauma exposure would alter the situation. She went home and, with a great deal of help from others, authored and self-published Trauma Stewardship in 2007. Thousands of copies were sold from her basement. The book was nominated for and won international awards almost immediately, and it went on to become a top seller. Berrett-Koehler Publishers approached her in 2010 and wanted to publish a new edition of her work. Laura prioritized expanding the tent to include more caregivers in homes and communities, as well as improving the book's relevance for people working on the front lines of sustainability and environmental movements throughout the world. Trauma Stewardship has sold over 80,000 copies just via word of mouth. Its effect has reached individuals and groups all across the world, from being mentioned in the New York Times as part of a conversation about the situation of Pakistani authors to being mandatory reading in more businesses and educational institutions than can be named. The Trauma Stewardship Institute, which Laura founded in 2011, is where the book's principles are still evolving today. Laura developed and directed a Spanish-language preschool that followed a social and environmental justice program. She serves on the advisory board of ZGiRLS, a non-profit that encourages young girls to participate in sports. Laura was also an associate producer on the award-winning film A Lot Like You, and she was honored with a Yo! Mama award for her efforts as a social activist mother.

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