Building Resilience in Students Impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Whole-Staff Approach

About Amber N. WarnerRicky RobertsonVictoria E. Romero

Victoria Romero is an educator with over 42 years of experience working as a classroom teacher principal and leadership coach. She continues to coach administrators directors principals vice principals and school leadership teams for equity and sustainable school improvement in three school districts in Washington. Victoria is a certified consultant and lead author of two Corwin Press books Building Resilience in Students Impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Whole Staff Approach (2018) and Race Resilience: Achieving Equity Through Self and Systems Transformation (2021). Both books focus on the impact of traumatization as it relates to social-emotional needs of students as well as how to create school cultures that foster resilience. In her more recent work Victoria provides guidance to school staff in engaging in authentic dialogue about how racialization and racial positioning influences perceptions behaviors expectations and decisions. Her guiding framework emphasizes that systems will change when the people working in them change. Ricky Robertson is an educator author and consultant. He has had the privilege to work with students from pre-K to 12th grade who have persevered in the face of adversity and trauma. He began his career in education as a New York City public high school teacher teaching in one of the citys highest-performing public schools. He then went on to work as a teacher behavior specialist and eventually as an administrator in traditional and alternative schools supporting students with significant mental health and behavioral needs. Ricky is the co-author along with Victoria Romero and Amber Warner of the Corwin bestselling book Building Resilience in Students Impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Whole Staff Approach. The model that he and his co-authors developed in their book was included in the Roadmap for Resilience: The California Surgeon Generals Report on Adverse Childhood Experiences Toxic Stress & Health as an example of best practices for schools to support children and families impacted by toxic stress and trauma. Ricky continues to work with state and federal policymakers as an adviser on trauma-informed care in public health and education policy.  As a consultant and coach Ricky works with schools school districts education service districts and state departments of education across the country to develop systems of support that foster achievement well-being and resilience among staff and students. His work has been featured in podcasts online media books magazines national conferences as well as a trauma-informed teaching video series developed by the National Education Association WETA and AdLit. Ricky finds inspiration in the resilience of young people and the heart and hard work of educators.   Amber N. Warner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 20 years of experience. She has had the privilege of serving as a community outreach case manager (4 years) school social worker (8 years) medical social worker (5 years) and behavioral health therapist (3 years). As a School Social Worker in addition to her work with children and their families she was part of the school wide Modern Red School House Leadership Team and the Positive Behavior Interventions and Systems Team. She facilitated K-6 monthly classroom discussions utilizing Second Step and Character Counts curriculums. Amber is also a co-author of Building Resilience in Students Impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Whole Staff Approach. In 2011 Amber worked in healthcare and part of the organizations leadership team she was introduced to the work of Dr. Bryan Sexton on healthcare providers staggering burnout rates and the healing proponents of Positive Psychology. A new passion and interest developed for her. She became a Certified Duke Patient Safety Officer in 2013 at Duke Universitys Patient Safety Center.  Amber has also studied under the direction of Dr. David Burns leading Psychiatrist and adjunct professor at Stanford University and the developer of TEAM a new form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for the treatment of depression and anxiety. She has achieved Level 2 TEAM certification from the Feeling Good Institute.  She has a certification from the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth in Trauma-Informed Care. Most of all Amber has a passion for people their wellness and quality of life. She currently resides in California. She enjoys spending time with family and friends hiking Inferno Pilates learning new things traveling community service attending church and an occasional new pair of shoes.