Ames Paulson, Co-Founder & CEO, Healing Together and Kerri Kelly, Founder, CTZNWELL
Dominant culture isn’t something that is just happening outside of us. It’s happening inside us and in between us. mariame kaba shares “When we set about trying to transform society, we must remember that we ourselves will also need to transform. Our imagination of what a different world can be is limited. We are deeply entangled in the very systems we are organizing to change. White supremacy, misogyny, ableism, classism, homophobia, and transphobia exist everywhere. We have all so thoroughly internalized these logics of oppression that if oppression were to end tomorrow, we would be likely to reproduce previous structures.”
In this session, we will explore how these logics of oppression are in the way of our personal and collective belonging and how we move towards healing together.
- How do the patterns of white supremacy culture get in the way of belonging?
- What is it costing you?
- What is it costing us?
- What medicine can we harvest from land and lineage to cultivate true belonging?
- What is the role of this inquiry in our larger movement work?
- What is needed for us to to unlearn dominant patterns and practice accountability together?
You are invited to step into a safe container to explore the ways we have been conditioned by dominant culture, even within this field, and identify within our collective wisdom alternative pathways for belonging and accountability.
Zoom links will be emailed within 24 hours of registration. Please contact us at events@garrisoninstitute.org with questions.
HOSTS
Amy Paulson, Co-Founder & CEO, Healing Together: “Ames” (she/they) is a mental health and healing advocate working at the intersections of social justice, Healing Justice, and Transformative Justice, to disrupt cycles of violence, heal generational trauma, and democratize access to peer-based healing resources in the Bay Area and around the world. A survivor of orphan trafficking and sexual violence, Ames has been navigating medicalized, traditional, and alternative systems for mental and emotional health for decades – and, as a result, is passionate about de-stigmatizing and de-pathologizing trauma and broadening access to ancestral, land-based, and culturally rooted healing resources. In addition to serving as founder & executive director at Healing Together, Ames is a facilitator of Interpersonal Dynamics, aka “T-Groups”, at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Ames is a fellow at the Culture of Health Leadership Institute for Racial Healing and is a newfound land steward and food grower in the Miwok territory of the Central Valley, California.
Kerri Kelly, Founder, CTZNWELL: Kerri is the founder of CTZNWELL, a movement that is democratizing wellbeing for all. A descendant of generations of firemen and first responders, Kerri has dedicated her life to kicking down doors and fighting for justice. She’s been teaching yoga for over 20 years and is known for making waves in the wellness industry by challenging norms, disrupting systems and mobilizing people to act. A community organizer, wellness activist and author of the book American Detox: The Myth of Wellness and How We Can Truly Heal, Kerri is recognized across communities for her inspired work to bridge transformational practice with social justice. She’s been instrumental in translating the practices of wellbeing into social and political action, working in collaboration with community organizers, spiritual leaders and policy makers to transform our systems from the inside out. Her leadership has inspired a movement that is actively organizing around issues of racial and economic justice, healthcare as a human right, civic engagement and more. Kerri is a student of abolition, anti-racism, ableism and decolonization. She works diligently to dismantle oppression within herself and the systems and culture she is a part of. She works in support and solidarity with BIPOC leaders and organizations to explore how to work across lines of difference to advance equity and build community resilience.