Liz Brown-Norden is the mother of 5 children and proud resident of Massachusetts. Two of her sons suffered devastating injuries in the Boston Marathon Bombing, both suffered right leg amputations. One above the knee and one below the knee. Trauma impacted her entire family and she bravely shares her experience of a Mother’s Love and gut wrenching pain. The impact of trauma is real and long lasting. Liz humbly shares her experience as the mother of victims of terrorism, from the attack through the trial.

“There is so much bad in the world and but so much more good.”

Liz started the Leg Forever Foundation in the aftermath of her own pain, choosing to repay the kindness that was showed to her and her family during the darkest time in their lives.

Sherrie bravely spends an hour with me talking about PTSD, therapy and resilience. Sherrie continued to look for professional support despite setbacks with the clinicians she encountered along the way. This is a must listen for clinicians to hear what worked and what did not and for survivors who are still searching for the right help.

Sherrie Lawson survived the Washington Navy Yard shooting that occurred on September 16, 2013. Through her healing journey she became passionate about supporting others that also suffer from the “invisible wounds’ of trauma. She joined The Rebels Project as a member in 2014 and began working with TRP in an official capacity in 2016. After spending 15 years in Washington, DC and returning home to her native NC for two years she relocated to Denver, Colorado to become even more involved in the TRP mission of providing support for survivors of mass tragedy. Sherrie currently volunteers as Director of Operations for TRP. In addition to her work with TRP she lectures at the University of Colorado-Denver and a is SoulCollage(R) Facilitator.

www.soulcollage.com

Sallie Lynch Program Consultant for Tuesday’s Children shares her intimate knowledge and experiences with working with survivors from Sept. 11th and subsequent communities impacted by mass violence. Sallie has a breadth of knowledge, wealth of experience and an unparalleled amount of compassion to help the world. Tune in as Sallie gives us an in depth look into helping survivors rise.
Sallie Lynch, Senior Program and Development Consultant at Tuesday’s Children has nearly 18 years of experience serving families of September 11th victims, responders and survivors, and has worked through Tuesday’s Children with international victim service providers and with other communities impacted by mass tragedies, including Newtown, CT, Orlando, FL, Las Vegas, NV and Parkland, FL. She is the principal researcher and author of Tuesday’s Children’s evidence-based Long-Term Healing Model, a five-module training curriculum, toolkit and compilation of lessons learned on community healing and resilience.

She previously coordinated a collaborative research and intervention program with Columbia University School of
Social Work and the FDNY Counseling Service Unit working with 9/11 widows and children. She is a co-author of the book FDNY Crisis Counseling: Innovative Responses to 9/11 Firefighters, Families and Communities (Wiley, 2006). Sallie is a member of the Advisory Board for Peace of Mind Afghanistan (PoMA), a national campaign to raise awareness of mental health issues in Afghanistan. She holds an MA in Anthropology from Columbia University and a BA in Cultural Studies from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.

Amy C. O’Neill, MS, LPC has built a career in mental health over two and a half decades and traveled a personal path that has proven over and over again that resilience is key to truly living healthy, both in mind and body. Resilience enables us to face tragedy and still take the necessary steps to go through. Resilience is mandatory for us to recover when obstacles interfere. And, as Amy can attest, resilience can be harnessed. After methodically training and successfully completing three Ironman Triathlons, and the prestigious Boston Marathon five times, Amy knows how mental and physical focus can lead to success. Perhaps her biggest life test was being thrust into the role of a Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor. Her testimony understanding the path of the unthinkable has opened up her eyes to a new way of going through adversity. Amy’s goal is to share her keen and personal insight to share her lived and learned knowledge with others. The survival journey is complicated but we can not only survive challenges but also thrive and create a life we love

In this episode, Mike Dempsey shares his incredible survival story from September 11th, 2001. The impact of this attack spans his life then he is again confronted with mass violence again in Las Vegas during the Route 91 shooting. Being one of a growing number of Americans impacted by multiple tragedies Mike shares his thoughts on his journey and how he approaches life after the impact of trauma.

Mike Dempsey is a founding Board member for the WTC United Family Group, which is now known as The September 11 Education Trust. Mike coordinates peer support programs such as a recent event in Parkland, FL as well as the Oklahoma City/September 11th Family Exchange, which is a mutual peer support program, which unites the September 11th community with the members of the Oklahoma City bombing community held each year in April and September. Throughout each portion of the exchange, peer support activities are held to promote healing and connection that include support groups, panel discussions and visits to respective memorials and commemorative ceremonies. Mike was also a member of the Coalition of 9/11 Families from 2003-2006.
Mike Dempsey heads up enterprise risk management services for Dixon Hughes Goodman’s Financial Services Group and is based in North Carolina. Mike was previously a director at KPMG for 7 and a half years in the regulatory safety and soundness team specializing in operational risk, enterprise risk, and third party risk management. Mike also worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, where he was the lead examiner and team leader for Large Bank Supervision based in Charlotte and a member of the inter-agency Basel Qualification Team. Prior to the Fed, Mike was regional head of Operational Risk and global head of business continuity at Hypo Real Estate Group based in Munich, Germany and Depfa Bank based in Dublin, Ireland from 2007-2009 and was head of investment banking operational risk for Credit Suisse from 2000-2007.
Mike holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Nova Southeastern University and a bachelor’s degree from SUNY / Albany.

Amy C. O’Neill, MS,LPC has built a career in mental health over two and a half decades, and traveled a personal path that has proven over and over again that resilience is key to truly living healthy, both in mind and body. Resilience enables us to face tragedy and still take the necessary steps to go through. Resilience is mandatory for us to recover when obstacles interfere. And, as Amy can attest, resilience can be harnessed. After methodically training and successfully completing three Ironman Triathlons, and the prestigious Boston Marathon five times, Amy knows how mental and physical focus can lead to success. Perhaps her biggest life test was being thrust into the role of a Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor. Her testimony understanding the path of the unthinkable has opened up her eyes to a new way of going through adversity. Amy’s goal is to share her keen and personal insight share her lived and learned knowledge with others. The survival journey is complicated but we can not only survive challenges, but also thrive and create a life we love.

In this episode Sarri Singer shares her story of being a victim of terrorism and how it inspired her to create the organization Strength to Strength which is connecting survivors from around the world.
Sarri Singer, born in Lakewood, New Jersey, is the daughter of New Jersey State Senator, Robert Singer. Until 9/11, Sarri worked two blocks away from the World Trade Center. Deeply moved by the tragedy of 9/11, Sarri decided to resign from her position in December 2001 and move to Israel to help victims of terror. While there, Sarri volunteered with various organizations working with victims of terror.

On June 11, 2003, Sarri was on Bus 14 in Jerusalem when an 18 year old Palestinian terrorist dressed as a religious Jew boarded and blew himself up. 17 people were killed, including all those seated and standing around her, and over 100 people were injured. Sarri was hospitalized for two weeks and then returned to New Jersey to be with family. Her story became high profile. She appeared on television stations such as CBS, FoxNews, CNN and radio interviews. She spoke before members of Congress in Washington, D.C. and politicians in New York and New Jersey. In September 2003 she returned to work and volunteering in Israel. In June 2004, she returned to the United States to take care of medical issues associated with her attack.

Sarri is the Founder and Director of Strength to Strength, focusing on bringing together victims of terrorism together from around the world and assisting with long term psychological needs. Sarri has addressed audiences throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, and Israel and continues to share her unique insight into the ongoing struggle for victims of terror in Israel and around the world.

Amy C. O’Neill, MS,LPC has built a career in mental health over two and a half decades, and traveled a personal path that has proven over and over again that resilience is key to truly living healthy, both in mind and body. Resilience enables us to face tragedy and still take the necessary steps to go through. Resilience is mandatory for us to recover when obstacles interfere. And, as Amy can attest, resilience can be harnessed. After methodically training and successfully completing three Ironman Triathlons, and the prestigious Boston Marathon five times, Amy knows how mental and physical focus can lead to success. Perhaps her biggest life test was being thrust into the role of a Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor. Her testimony understanding the path of the unthinkable has opened up her eyes to a new way of going through adversity. Amy’s goal is to share her keen and personal insight share her lived and learned knowledge with others. The survival journey is complicated but we can not only survive challenges, but also thrive and create a life we love.