Centuries of racial harm in American society have become so normalized that people of color don’t realize how it affects their mental and physical wellbeing. Dr. Lisa Collins, through autoethnographic research, explains a primary cause of this racial trauma. She is the director at Education Through Engagement, LLC, a consulting firm for organizational health and wellbeing.
Lisa’s personal experience with racial trauma played a huge role in defining her career path. She moved to Oregon with her bi-racial family for better opportunities but ended up in toxic and racist environments, opening her mind to American society’s reality. When Lisa began pursuing her doctorate, she decided to base her research on racial trauma.
The idea behind autoethnographic research was influenced by a directive from her primary care doctor to take off from work. Lisa realized that her personal experience with racism could be valuable research to analyze to explain what was happening to her health and wellbeing. She gathered materials, spent days and nights applying the right methodologies, and finally got results from her hard work.
Lisa’s dissertation Healing From Racial Trauma: A Consciousness Journey Through Autoethnography is a mind-blowing research study that uses Strategies for Trauma, Awareness, and Resilience (STAR) model to analyze racial cycles in society and how to break free.
Although this research was more empirical and data-based, Lisa added some aspects of spirituality and meditation in her model. She wanted to cure people suffering from racial trauma through love and healing, which was only possible through spirituality.
Lisa entered the organizational culture by becoming a life coach and director. Education through Engagement is more than just a consulting firm; it is one step closer to bringing racial consciousness in employees that further make up the society. Lisa aims to change the mindset by focusing on organizational health.
As a professional educator and scholar, Lisa understands that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work in organizations is a challenge. Most white- people in an organization do not understand the work and, like people of color, need to process to break the cycle of racial harm. This collective work is the change that should begin in the organizational culture. Society will also have a more progressive mindset once the people learn to grow and thrive through healing and love with group learning.
Although her research is complete, Dr. Lisa is always looking for ways to incorporate new strategies in her consulting model. She uses Conscious Freedom Coaching as a strategy for organizational healing and centers wellness as a foundation of her work.
Join Dr. Lisa as she unveils new Social Impact and Engagement projects through her consulting firm to heal people from racial trauma and create a better future for the next generation. Visit the official website today!
