Address
10 Street Name, City Name
Country, Zip Code
Get in touch
555-555-5555
mymail@mailservice.com
Follow us

Healing Racism Alumni

“What makes the work of the Healing Racism Institute of Pioneer Valley so important is the way it enlightens hearts and minds to the kind of race-based cultural conditioning that still continues to shape our nation. Highly deserving of wide participation, the institute examines the history of racial politics in a way that is non-judgmental, engaging and quite personal. I consider this institute to be very important and valuable, especially as our school district continues our work to enhance cultural competence across the board.”
Daniel J. Warwick
Superintendent of Springfield Public Schools

“The Healing Racism session was very powerful and it helped me better understand the impact of racism in our region. I look forward to positively impacting my workplace and community with the knowledge I gained the past two days”

Sarah Pompea

Springfield Falcons

...it has been life changing.
this one hit my heart like no other
“My initial thought process was, can we make a difference? Hearing from various people who attended the session reflect on their experiences was enlightening. It led me to believe that the solution to the problem is not complex. We need to have conversations and more often. Conversations allow people to think deeply while they are sharing their experiences and it allows people who are listening to reflect on their own experiences, cultural attitudes and behaviors. We can’t make a change overnight, but incrementally, individually, and collectively we can do our part to cultivate transformational systemic change to heal racism. As a result of the Healing Racism session, I have become more conscious of how I view people and how I see the world. One key tool that I have used to heal racism from my experience in attending the session is to listen and have more conversations with people of various ethnic backgrounds in order to acquire a succinct understanding of how they view the world.”
Andrew R. Cade
Urban League of Springfield
“Most Republicans take a back seat to no one when it comes to genuine caring, compassion and concern for others. Our core values are evidence of that. But words are easy, action is not. There is hesitancy or even fear about reaching out into unfamiliar territory. But the only way we are going to bring our core values to life in this incredibly diverse and fractured society of ours is by living them not only in our own neighborhoods, but in all neighborhoods.
The first step is hard. One of the best ways to begin is to enroll in the Healing Racism Institute of Pioneer Valley’s program here in Western Massachusetts. Those of us who have been through it almost unanimously say it has been life changing.”
David Woods
Woods Financial Group
“I wanted to share what a great experience it was for me and how I have shared it with the people I work with. I feel that by participating in a workshop like this one and sharing the experience with others we will someday have an anti-racism community one community at a time.”
Barbara Gresham
Holyoke • Chicopee • Springfield • Head Start, Inc.
“Parting thought: Believing that we all belong to the family of humanity, and that life is finite inspires me to listen to others and work toward lasting change for good.”
Wendy Lane Wright
The Carson Center for Human Services
“I found the session quite interesting and am still thinking about some of the information and participant comments. It was a very good group of people to spend two days with.”
Barbara T. Pilarcik RN
The Association for Community Living
“Thank you again for including me in such a wonderful experience. I must say it was by far the most useful, and realistic approach to learning and understanding racism, that I have participated in over the years.”
Traci Gaynor
AIC Student
“The Glasswing session happened so seamlessly. It was a great experience. I'm honored to have the opportunity to take this workshop, and appreciate the Regional Anti-Racism Workgroup for making this training possible for me and many other people in the region. This is such important work. What a gift. I've done a couple of other 2 1/2 day Undoing Racism trainings, which were also terrific. What I really appreciate about Glasswing is the Workgroup's vision for creating a fundamental shift in the region by providing the training for a critical mass of people who live, work in and care about Springfield and Hampden County. Carrying this work forward together will have the potential to create real and lasting change. Anti-racism work is a core value in my personal and professional life, and I would welcome the opportunity to stay engaged with the Workgroup's efforts as this project moves forward.”
Beth Spong
Rainmaker Consulting
“Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to be part of this session. I feel I am a changed person and hope to do more with what I have been able to take in and have learned. I would love for the remainder of some of our Senior Managers to be able to participate in this program.”
Lynn Bunce
Hampden Bank
“The workshop conducted by the Healing Racism Institute was a powerful experience. The facilitators worked diligently to ensure a safe and respectful environment for all participants and the dialogue and exercises used over the two days allowed each of us to increase our understanding of how racism very tangibly impacts the well-being of our region. Holyoke Community College is proud to host these workshops and work with others in the Pioneer Valley to promote meaningful and insightful conversations about this very important subject.”
William (Bill) Messner
President/Holyoke Community College
“The dialogue format was an invaluable part of the Healing Racism training, forcing us all to really listen to each other to understand. The training strengthened the anti-racism work that I have already begun professionally and expands my network of allies to give me the support needed to continue to do this important work.”
Lora Wondolowski
Leadership Pioneer Valley
Share by: