“LIFTS courses have validated for me and our faculty how important it is to look at the whole child. The courses have helped us to move the conversation toward
relationship-building in the school.”
– Ruby Maestas, principal, Carver Elementary School, Carver, Massachusetts
The Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity [commonly known as LIfTS] is an initiative committed to raising educators’ awareness of the effects of trauma on student learning, behavior, and social-emotional well-being, and helping them implement strategies to ameliorate those effects. As such, a great deal of our work centers on providing graduate level coursework and professional development to educators, as well as consultation services to administrators.
Over the past few years educators have repeatedly asked us to develop a venue where they could continue to remain involved with a “community” of practitioners when they were no longer actively taking our courses or PD. This is intended to be that venue: the LIfTS Community Hub. In the section below, we try to address a few basic questions about this site.
About Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity
Childhood trauma, with its diverse causes and profound consequences, has risen to the awareness of educators across the country. Lesley University is committed to serving educators who seek a nuanced understanding of the effects of trauma on learning—and to the cultivation of safe, supportive classrooms where children feel seen, heard, and understood. In such classrooms, a child is free to take emotional and cognitive risks, while experiencing the uninhibited joy of learning.
Since 2010, the Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity has been helping school staff in Massachusetts and beyond to deepen their knowledge about childhood trauma and to introduce practices that significantly lessen its impact. Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity provides these key services:
Meet our Team
Patricia Crain de Galarce
Patricia is the director of the Center for Inclusive and Special Education and associate dean in Lesley University’s Graduate School of Education. She is responsible for Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity planning and oversight.
Merlyn Mayhew
Merlyn is the Assistant Director of the Center for Inclusive and Special Education at Lesley University. She is responsible for Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity course enrollment and other program logistics.
Joel Ristuccia
Joel is the Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity Lead Instructor/ Mentor, responsible for training LIFTS faculty and developing new courses. He is also a staff member and content author for the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative (TLPI), a key LIFTS partner.
Salvatore Terrasi
Salvatore is the Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity Program Director and is responsible for program management and development. He is a member of the National Adjunct Faculty at Lesley University and an authority on educational research, measurement, and evaluation.