Shanda is back with a message for the Fall!

Today's guest is Lynn Rosenthal, who served in both the Obama and Biden Administrations. Vice President Joe Biden appointed her to be the first ever White House advisor on violence against women in 2009.

We have been in each other's orbits for many years in the movement. I am so grateful she took the time to discuss her early days in the work, working with President's Obama and Biden, and the opportunities for change she sees in the current climate.

This conversation was years in the making!! I got to sit down with longtime colleague Tony Porter. Tony is an author, educator, and activist working to advance gender and racial justice and create a more equitable society. He is internationally recognized for his efforts to prevent violence against women while promoting a healthy, respectful vision of manhood and he informed so much of what I think about preventing violence!

We talked about what drew him into the work, how his work has changed over the years, the need to research men's pathology, what he's grieving, and what he's grateful for.

A Call To Men works to transform society by promoting healthy, respectful manhood and offering trainings and educational resources for companies, government agencies, schools, and community groups. https://www.acalltomen.org/about/

LisaLyn and I had an in depth conversation about her article:

“Mockery Masquerading as Strength: America in the Throes of Metastatic Masculinity.”

And what it reveals about power, governance, and the very real consequences people are living through right now.

https://justsolutionsconsulting.wordpress.com

Dr. Sandra Marie and I talk about the stepse she took to disrupt the way we experience spiritual/wellness communities.

DR. Sandra Maries is a nurse, clinician, and lifelong questioner who has spent years at the intersection of healthcare, spirituality, and lived human experience.

Her work, Spiral Rebellion, was born from her own journey of releasing identities that no longer served her—and recognizing the beliefs she had been carrying without ever choosing.

Who Benefits when we don't show up for ourselves?

"Black Girls make pain look lit."

Zoe Flowers

"Love Is A Battlefield"

-Pat Benatar

Welcome to Come to the Brink. I’m Zoë Flowers.

This season is called The Disruptors.

These are conversations with people who refuse to accept the way things have always been — especially when those ways are harming the very people they claim to serve.

Because disruption, in this space, isn’t just about calling things out. It’s about telling the truth. It’s about shifting culture. It’s about choosing people over systems that were never designed to hold us.

And today’s guest has been doing that work for a long time.

Arlene is a nationally recognized speaker, trainer, facilitator, and thought leader with over 25 years of experience in the domestic and sexual violence movement.

Website: www.toorelinstitutue.org

Email: avassell@toorelinstitute.org

Things I am currently working on...

Upcoming In-person Training (May 13-14 / Washington D.C.)

Stewarding the Work: A People First, Purpose Always Facilitator Intensive

www.toorelinstitute.org/events

New Book Release

People First, Purpose Always: A Practical Guide for Building Healthy and Thriving Teams

Available via Amazon and the TooREL Institute On-line Store

The wellness industry has become big buisness. So much of what we see in modern wellness is performative. We are in a situation where wellness practioners are operating at lower capacity and clients often feel they have to look well even if they don't feeling well. Caress Fitch believes every part of nature rests deeply, and need to do the same. She's also dedicated to having 3 belly laughs a day and taking recess breaks.

Caress Fitch is a trauma-aware, systems-informed wellness strategist and the founder of Mindful Passions International — a practice rooted in embodied autonomy, harm reduction, and sustainable change for people navigating complex life transitions.

Her work draws on nervous system regulation, ancestral health, and client-led pacing to support people in building lives that are not just functional — but actually livable.