Exploring Trauma Responsive Practices within Faith and Spiritual Communities

Danielle joined CONNECT in 2021 as a community educator. In her capacity at CONNECT Faith, Danielle collaborates with New York City’s diverse faith communities to create and strengthen their response to gender and family violence. She has a passion for empowering diverse faith communities to live into their values of social justice and transforming the world. Prior to CONNECT, Danielle spent many years as an inter-faith-based community organizer in California, equipping congregations to enact police accountability, criminal justice reform, violence intervention and prevention, and civic engagement. In her downtime, Danielle enjoys designing Afrocentric jewelry, watching Nollywood movies and cooking random recipes from YouTube influencers. She holds a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Iya Rev. DeShannon Barnes-Bowens, MS is the founder of ILERA Counseling & Education Services, where she works as a psychotherapist, professional development trainer, and spiritual counselor. Through ILERA, she offers workshops and programs focusing on sexuality and spirituality, sexual abuse and healing, and vicarious trauma and wellness. Iya DeShannon is the author of Hush Hush: An African American Family Breaks their Silence on Sexuality and Sexual Abuse (2007, 2015). She was a member of CONNECT Faith’s Ending Child Sexual Abuse Collaborative and coordinated their Safe Faith Community Project to help religious communities in New York City prevent sexual abuse.  Iya DeShannon is also an ordained Interfaith Minister and currently serves as Co-Director of One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in NYC. Some presentations of her work have taken place in South Africa, United Kingdom, Portugal, Parliament of World’s Religions, national and eastern regional conferences of the American Academy of Religion, Harvard University, Interfaith Center of New York, Children’s Aid Society, Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential, Washington University, New York Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, and the Values Caucus of the United Nations. For more information about Iya DeShannon and her work visit www.ilera.com.

Nurah Amat’ullah is the founder and Executive Director of the Muslim Women’s Institute for Research and Development, a multi-service institution founded in the Bronx, NY in 1997. This organization operates a halal food pantry in New York City—the first such food program in the city, and among the few Halal food programs for the needy in the United States. The pantry serves over 2000 families in New York City each month. Apart from this, MWIRD also provides health and educational services for thousands of the Bronx residents each month. Amat’ullah received her Doctor of Ministry degree from the New York Theological Seminary, and her Islamic Chaplaincy certification from the Hartford Seminary (now Hartford International University). In addition to her leadership of MWIRD, she is recognized for her role in faith-based service in the international interfaith community. For more information about Amat’ullah and her organization, please visit    http://mwird.org/

Rev. Angela M. Redman, a native of The Bronx, is a proud graduate of the City of New York University system, having obtained an A.A.S. in Paralegal Studies from Bronx Community College, a B.A in Black Studies from H. Lehman College, and a Juris Doctor at the City University of New York School of Law. She also holds a Master of Divinity degree from New York Theological Seminary. As an Elder in the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church (NYAC) she has served as pastor of New Rochelle United Methodist Church & First United Methodist Church of Hollis. She served as the President of the NYAC’s Board of Trustees, as well as a study leader for the UMW School of Missions and instructor for the Metropolitan District’s Lay Servant School. Rev. Redman has also been an attorney for more than twenty years and has been an adjunct professor in the Law and Paralegal Department of the New York City School of Technology for over fifteen years.   Rev. Redman currently serves as the first female CEO/Executive Director of The United Methodist City Society a 185-year-old faith based multi-faceted social service organization.

Rabbi Marisa Elana James (she/her) is the Director of Social Justice Programming at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the largest LGBTQ+ synagogue in the world. At CBST, her work involves supporting community organizing that tackles issues including mass incarceration, Jewish-Muslim relations, and HIV/AIDS. Her work also includes overseeing the Ark Immigration Clinic at CBST, which trains volunteers to work with asylum seekers and support them though their journey to safety. Marisa and her wife, contrabassoonist and translator Barbara Ann Schmutzler, live in New York City.