1.2 Trauma-Informed Practices for Student and Employee Engagement and Wellbeing
Session Description: This workshop provides a practical, research-informed introduction to trauma-informed practices that support student and employee engagement and wellbeing. Participants will explore how trauma affects behavior, learning, and workplace interactions, and learn concrete strategies that can be immediately applied to everyday communication and instruction. Emphasis is placed on creating psychologically safe, supportive environments that foster connection, resilience, and positive outcomes for both students and staff.
Session Objectives: 1. Understand the foundations of trauma-informed practice and how trauma impacts student and employee engagement, behavior, and wellbeing. 1. Identify research-based trauma-informed strategies that foster psychological safety, connection, and trust in educational and workplace settings. 2. Apply practical, actionable tools to everyday communication, instruction, and interactions with students and colleagues.
Themes:
• Institutional and instructional strategies for supporting learner success
• Strategies for addressing challenges to supporting learner success
• Trauma-informed communication
Audience:
• PK-12 teachers, staff, and administrators
• Higher education faculty, staff, and administrators
Presenters: Liz Lane, EdD, Program Director- Human Services CAC, VIA Certificate, and Criminal Justice, Trauma-Informed Organizations Certificate, and Universal Design for Learning( UDL) Senior Fellow at Goodwin University
Jennifer Boylan, MA, MAT, LPC, Assistant Professor and Internship Coordinator – Human Services, and Universal Design for Learning( UDL) Teaching Fellow at Godwin University
Presenter Biographies: Dr. Liz Lane is a Program Director and Full Professor at Goodwin University in East Hartford, CT, where she has taught English and research for 20 years. She completed her dissertation as a Teaching and Learning Specialist, focusing on the impact of trauma on female college students’ transfer and drop-out rates. Dr. Lane holds a Trauma-Informed Organization Certificate and is a Universal Design for Learning Senior Fellow. Her current scholarship focuses on expanding Trauma-Informed Approaches( TIA) in higher education and developing programs that address the life circumstances contributing to student attrition.
Jennifer Boylan is an Assistant Professor and Internship Coordinator for Human Services at Goodwin University. She holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Saint Joseph and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Quinnipiac University. She is a licensed professional counselor in Connecticut and a Teaching Fellow in Universal Design for Learning. She has expertise in disability rights in higher education, having served as President of the Connecticut Association on Higher Education and Disability( CT-AHEAD) and as director of accessibility services offices at Eastern Connecticut State University and the University of Saint Joseph.