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When Bearing Witness®: Becoming a Trauma-Informed Storyteller
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.
Episodes
54 episodes
How Ethical Storytelling Becomes a Movement With Diana Farias Heinrich
Diana, 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 challengi...
Bringing Nonprofit Storytelling Back to the Campfire with Michael Kass
What 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 con...
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Joy As A Liberatory Practice with Frank Velásquez Jr.
Content 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...
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Five Ways to Build a Trauma-Informed Storytelling Practice In 2026
As 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 h...
Repairing Storytelling Harm with Rachel D'Souza
In 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. Storytell...
Leading Ethical Storytelling from the Outside with Kristi Scott
Nonprofit 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,...
Tending to Storyteller Vicarious Trauma with Michelle Vande Hay
Content 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 to...
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The Art and Practice of Resilient Storytelling with Angela Soliz
In 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...
Flipping the Script on Nonprofit Media Relations with Amanda Clelland
For many nonprofits, earned media is a powerful way to raise awareness, build credibility, and connect with new supporters. But when stories involve lived experiences of trauma, the stakes are high. On this episode of When Bearing W...
Survivor Storytelling as a Catalyst for Change with Anne K. Ream
What happens when storytelling isn’t just about raising awareness or driving donations, but about creating a space where survivors can be truly seen, heard, and supported?On today’s episode of When Bearing Witness, I sit down with Anne R...
Directing with Care: The Ethics of Documentary Filmmaking with Heidi Burkey
What does it look like to practice trauma-informed storytelling behind the camera? In this episode of When Bearing Witness, filmmaker Heidi Burkey shares how she approaches documentary work with care and a deep respect for ...
Slow Down, Listen, Disrupt Bias, Repeat with Dr. Desmond Upton Patton
In this episode of When Bearing Witness, Dr. Desmond Upton Patton invites us into a conversation about humility, listening, and the ethics of digital storytelling. He shares what he has learned from years of research at the intersectio...
Centering Accessibility in Nonprofit Marketing with Dominique Dunlop
Ensuring your digital marketing is accessible for all audiences may seem like a daunting task, but today’s guest, Dominique Dunlop, makes it feel not only doable but meaningful. Dominique is the founder of A11y Impact and a...
Meeting Organizational Resistance with Curiosity with Dallase Scott
In nonprofit storytelling, there’s often a disconnect between the trauma-informed and ethical practices we aspire to and the systems we’re working within. Many of us feel the urgency to do less harm and tell stories with greater care, but when ...
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Building Work Cultures We Don’t Need to Heal From with Lindsey Fuller
What does it really mean to create a work culture we don’t need to heal from? In this episode of When Bearing Witness, I’m joined by Lindsey Fuller, an educator, coach, and Executive Director of The Teaching Well, for a dee...
Marketing Without Fear Tactics with Stephanie Bilinsky
How do we communicate with care when marketing and fundraising often rely on urgency and pressure? Today’s guest brings a thoughtful lens to one of the most overlooked areas in nonprofit storytelling: the words we choose and how the...
Leading with Story in Times of Crisis with Catherine Alonzo
What does it mean to lead with care when everything feels like it’s on fire? Today’s guest brings clarity to one of the most important tools we have in times of crisis: storytelling. Catherine Alonzo is a strategist, storyteller, an...
Finding Courage in Community with Diana Farias Heinrich
In This EpisodeWhat if ethical transformation in the nonprofit sector doesn't start with policy, but with people? In this episode, Maria Bryan is joined by Diana Farias Heinrich, founder of the
Content Warnings That Actually Resist Harm with Rachel Edwards
Content warnings have long been treated as mere disclaimers—brief nods to potential triggers without much thought to their real impact. But what if they could do more? Rachel Edwards believes they can. As a senior conten...
Purpose Over Pressure: Sustainable Marketing with Quinn Tempest
In this episode, we explore how purpose, clarity, and sustainability can shape the way we show up as nonprofit storytellers and marketers. Our guest, Quinn Tempest, is a business and brand strategist and the founder of Create Your Purpose®<...
The Courage To Stand Up and Speak Out with Vu Le
In this episode, we navigate how nonprofit leaders can speak up with courage during politically divided times. Our guest today, Vu Le, a bold voice in the nonprofit sector, combines humor with unflinching honesty to challenge systemic issues.&n...
Dismantling the White Coat: Reshaping Mental Health Care with Dr. Neeru Bakshi
In this eye-opening episode, Maria talks with Dr. Neeru Bakshi, a psychiatrist who's shaking things up in mental healthcare. Neeru, a South Asian woman, works in a field dominated by Western viewpoints. She offers insights on why diverse voices...
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The Evolution of Ethical Storytelling with Carly Euler
Join Maria Bryan and Carly Euler, Marketing Director at MemoryFox, to explore the insights from the hot-off-the-press 2024 Ethical Storytelling Report. As nonprofits navigate the delicate balance between sharing compelling stories a...
Breaking the Invisibility Tax: The Science Behind Who Gets Heard with Chloé Nwangwu
When brand scientist Chloé Nwangwu discovered that crucial Yemen voices were excluded from peace talks during its civil war, she realized something profound: brands teach others how to treat you. This revelation led her to develop groundbreakin...
Ethical Calls to Action: Moving Beyond Manipulation in Nonprofit Storytelling
Gone are the days of guilt-driven appeals and false urgency in nonprofit marketing. In 2025, we are embracing trauma-informed storytelling that empowers, not exploits. In this episode, we unpack why ethical calls to action matter and how they c...
