Annual Conference
$350
Paper Tigers Turns Ten: The Ripple Effects of Resilience
In-Person Conference
*Early Bird Prices End on June 30, 2025.*
On July 1, 2025, the price increases to $400.00.
Paper Tigers Turns Ten: The Ripple Effect of Resilience
Community Resilience Initiative’s Annual Conference
October 16–18, 2025 | Spokane, WA | Hybrid Event
Mark your calendars for an extraordinary event honoring the 10th anniversary of the transformative documentary Paper Tigers! This year’s Community Resilience Initiative (CRI) Annual Conference will celebrate a decade of progress, inspiration, and resilience sparked by the film that ignited a movement.
Be a Part of This Special Event
Our hybrid conference offers the best of both worlds—join us in-person in beautiful Spokane, WA, or tap into post-conference recordings. All sessions will be recorded and made available after the in-person event, so you won’t miss a moment of the inspiration and learning.
Highlights of the 2025 conference:
- Pre-Conference Workshops
- Inspiring Keynote
- Engaging Panel Discussions
- Breakout Sessions Tailored to Your Focus
- Networking Opportunities
- Evening Social Events
Don’t Miss This Opportunity to Honor a Decade of Impact
Join us as we celebrate the lasting legacy of Paper Tigers and look ahead to the future of the trauma-informed movement. Together, we’ll reflect on the progress made, explore the challenges ahead, and continue building resilience in our communities.
$200
Paper Tigers Turns Ten: The Ripple Effects of Resilience
Post-Conference Recording Package
Unable to Join In-Person? You can purchase the Conference Recording Package. All keynotes and breakout sessions, plus additional offerings, will be recorded and made available after the event. The recordings will be released on October 27, 2025 and you will have three months access until January 27, 2026.
Live Webinar Courses
$175
Moving from Trauma Informed to Healing Centered Practices
Live Webinar
This 2-part course will take place live on Zoom on June 2 & 9 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM PST.
When stress becomes prolonged or intense (trauma), the body and brain enter a stress-based state. This can lead to ongoing stress symptoms like trouble sleeping, anxiety, depression, digestive issues, chronic tension, stress-related ailments, or learning challenges. These effects can have a cascading impact across the lifespan.
Healing-centered practices help the body and brain return to a balanced, restorative, or high-performance state. Central to this process is the care of the brain, nervous system, and stress-related patterns held in the muscle memory. Advances in neuroscience and epigenetics inspire powerful habits to relieve stress and improve well-being.
Course Objectives:
- Integrate healing-centered and restorative practices into trauma-informed care.
- Take care of your brain and central nervous system to feel better and perform at your best throughout the day.
- Understand the connection between stress and disease and learn techniques to reconnect with your body’s strong foundation for wellbeing.
- Activate and strengthen your social engagement and learning systems.
- Use co-regulation as a tool for growth and healing.
- Develop a mindset and habits to support your goals.
- Gain actionable insights to boost your health at the cellular level.
- Recognizing the deep connection between culture, identity, and healing.
$300
Resilience by Design: Creating Trauma Sensitive Spaces
Live Webinar
This course will take place virtually live over zoom on June 3rd from 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm PST.
This course explores design theories and key elements essential for creating Trauma-Sensitive spaces that foster healing and well-being. Whether designing supportive environments for organizations, clients, staff, or personal spaces, you will learn practical strategies to integrate design principles that promote comfort, safety, and wellness.
Learning Outcomes:
- Examine the science behind the predicting brain and the importance of a safe and connected environment
- Explore multiple design theories for healing spaces
- Learn the elements and options available to create a space that is trauma informed and supports diverse populations
- Identify policies and procedures to encourage organizational goals
$500
Course 2: Trauma-Supportive Certification Training of Trainers
Live Webinar
This course will take place live on Zoom on June 24, 25, and 26 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM PST.
Course 2: Trauma-Supportive Certification Training for Trainers is a 3 part course that prepares individuals to conduct CRI’s Trauma-Supportive: Course 2 in his/her/their organization or agency. Attendees will learn to deliver material consistent with relevant science regarding resilience-based practices with universal application. They will receive training on how to use promising approaches to develop strategies to:
- Build a positive culture in the classroom, office, or the family
- Foster resilience through affirming communication
- Create effective regulation skills
- Deliver compassionate and empowering discipline
- Teach others about their own trauma and stress response
- Develop trauma-informed conflict resolution skills
This acclaimed training for trainers also introduces individuals to Trauma-Informed Facilitation. Trauma-Informed Facilitation is a powerful tool for trainers that helps to allow everyone in a learning environment to feel safe enough to engage with the material, the facilitator, and other learners in the group.
***Attendees for Course 2 Trauma Supportive Training of Trainers must have taken CRI’s Course 1 on Demand and Course 2 on Demand.
The Science Behind the Series
Live Webinar
This Webinar takes place live over zoom on July 9, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM PST.
Ever feel like leading people is part strategy, part psychology, and part magic trick? You’re not wrong – and the magic, it turns out, is mostly brain science.
The Science Behind the Series is your backstage pass into how the human brain actually works – so you can lead with less guesswork and more insight. This session is the required first step in the Neuro Leadership Series, and it gives you the keys to understanding what’s going on under the hood when your team (or you) reacts, resists, connects, or completely shuts down.
This brainy deep dive is broken into three clear and practical parts:
The Predicting Brain Process – You’ll explore how the brain constantly predicts what’s going to happen next – and how those predictions shape every thought, emotion, and action. Spoiler alert: our brains are like overprotective weather apps, always forecasting – and sometimes getting it wrong.
The Individual Experience Framework – Discover why people react so differently to the same situation. This section looks at how personal history and past experiences wire each person’s brain differently – offering a helpful lens for decoding your team’s behavior without pulling your hair out.
The Keeping PACE With the Brain Model – You’ll learn a simple framework to understand how social needs (like belonging, status, and fairness) are hardwired into our brains – and why ignoring them can spark conflict faster than you can say “team meeting.”
Together, these pieces will change the way you think about leadership – from managing tasks to managing minds. You’ll walk away with practical insights that help you lead more clearly, coach more effectively, and navigate tough moments with a lot more grace (and a lot less stress).
Because once you know how the brain actually works, leading people doesn’t feel like a guessing game – it feels like progress.
**This course earns 3 SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) credits. A completion certificate will be awarded at the end of the course.**
Neuro Mechanisms
Live Webinar
This Webinar takes place live over zoom on August 14 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM PST.
If you’ve ever made a snap judgment, misread a team member’s tone, or wondered why your “clear communication” led to total confusion – congratulations, you’ve met your brain’s behind-the-scenes crew.
Neuro Mechanisms is a deep (and surprisingly fun) dive into the hidden machinery of the brain, designed for leaders who want to lead with less friction and more clarity. Part of the Neuro Leadership Series, this session debunks popular brain myths and breaks down the science of how we actually process people, problems, and pressure.
Here’s the twist: your brain isn’t a camera recording reality – it’s more like a guess-a-tron, constantly predicting what’s coming next based on past experiences and limited info. Sometimes it gets it right. Other times? Not so much.
In this session, we explore:
- Why our brains often miss important details (even when we’re sure we didn’t)
- How common leadership blind spots are rooted in misunderstood brain function
- What happens when assumptions override accuracy – and how to get ahead of it
- How to recognize your own (and your team’s) brain-based glitches before they turn into workplace messes
You’ll walk away with a sharper lens for interpreting behavior, more compassion for human quirks, and new tools to lead with both insight and impact.
Because once you understand how the brain really works, you stop guessing – and start leading with precision. No PhD required. Just curiosity, a willingness to unlearn a few myths, and maybe a little coffee.
**This course earns 3 SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) credits. A completion certificate will be awarded at the end of the course.**
Neuro Learning
Live Webinar
This Webinar takes place live over zoom on September 10, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM PST.
Let’s face it: leading without understanding how people learn is like trying to drive a stick shift without knowing what the clutch does. You might move forward… but there’s a lot of grinding along the way.
Neuro Learning, part of the Neuro Leadership Series, is a 2-hour brain-savvy session that shows leaders how to harness the actual science of learning. Why? Because training, growth, and motivation don’t happen by chance – they happen through specific neural pathways. And if you’ve ever repeated yourself in a meeting three times with zero uptake, you already know what happens when those pathways aren’t activated.
This course unpacks the how behind learning at work – why some messages stick, others vanish, and what you can do to shift your team from just surviving information to actually using it.
You’ll learn:
- Why lumping together “teaching,” “telling,” and “training” creates confusion (and resistance)
- How the brain pulls in and retains information – and why multitasking is learning’s worst enemy
- What to do (and what not to do) to motivate and inspire even the most reluctant learners on your team
- Simple, science-backed techniques to turn your team into a learning engine – not a stalled-out station wagon
So if you’re ready to ditch the “I already told them” frustration and start building a culture of real growth and learning, this session will give you the tools – and the brain science – to make it happen.
Because if leadership is about helping people grow, then understanding how their brains grow is a pretty good place to start.
**This course earns 3 SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) credits. A completion certificate will be awarded at the end of the course.**
Self-Paced On-Demand Courses
$75
Trauma-Informed Instruction for Trainers: Using the ECTcellent Approach
On-Demand
This course equips you with the essential tools and strategies to create trauma-informed learning environments, fostering safety and connection for optimal engagement. You will learn to recognize and mitigate threat responses, tailor instruction to meet diverse neurobiological needs, and implement practical techniques for effective communication and learning. Designed for professionals seeking to enhance their training methods, this course emphasizes adaptability, empathy, and actionable insights. By the end of the course, you will be empowered to transform your sessions into inclusive, supportive, and impactful learning experiences.
$20
Finding Joy in Everyday Life
On-Demand
This one hour and ten minute digital/pre-recorded workshop offers an opportunity for you to practice resilient mindset strategies. Finding Joy in Everyday Life will introduce the ways in which present moment awareness can teach you to find joy in your daily life. I chose a virtual format on purpose so you can practice these everyday mindfulness techniques in your everyday setting.
$45
A Prequel to Yoga: Learning to Listen to Your Body
On-Demand
After teaching for 20 years, this course represents what I wish students knew before starting yoga. What I wish they knew is that the purpose of yoga is to learn to listen to your body. That’s where mindfulness comes in. Whether you are new to yoga or jumped into yoga without the benefit of a structured introductory class, I hope you will find the following course helpful.
While I highly recommend you take an introduction to yoga course from a qualified instructor, I also know this might not be possible for a variety of reasons. This course is for anyone who is interested in starting a yoga practice, or reviewing the basics, but doesn’t know where to start. You may be overwhelmed by the selection of books and videos available, often with the pace of instruction in the videos moving too fast or assuming you already know the postures. You may be interested in yoga but are intimidated at the thought of walking into your first public class due to body image issues or physical limitations. Maybe you just don’t have access to an in-person teacher. This course is for you!
In this course you’ll learn:
- Some common names and poses you’re likely to encounter in a beginning class or video, so when they come up you’ll know what to do!
- What it should feel like and how to avoid injury.
- Ways to modify for common physical limitations (hint: your pose does not need to look like the instructor’s in order to benefit!)
$250
Trauma-Informed Educator
On-Demand
Discover the power of Trauma-Informed Educator Micro-Credential Training – a groundbreaking program developed by the Community Resilience Initiative and the University of the Incarnate Word Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program. This self-paced training equips educators with the essential knowledge and practical skills to understand and respond to the impact of trauma on student learning, allowing you to complete the course at your convenience.
Gain expertise in neuroscience and trauma-informed strategies to create safe, supportive, and resilient classrooms. Learn how to foster emotional regulation and healing relationships that enable every student to thrive.
Ideal for teachers, counselors, and administrators, this course is more than professional development—it’s a commitment to transforming educational spaces into nurturing environments. Begin your journey toward impactful, trauma-informed education today.
$100
Trauma Informed Educator II Recordings and Assessment
On-Demand
** Trauma Informed Educator I Is a pre requisite of this course. **
Understanding the profound impact that trauma can have on a student’s learning journey is crucial in today’s educational landscape. This training equips educators with expert knowledge, practical skills, and a certification that underscores their commitment to fostering nurturing, supportive, and resilient learning environments.
Participants will gain insights into the neuroscience and psychology that inform trauma-informed practices, learning to apply strategies that promote emotional regulation, safety, and healing relationships within the classroom. This program is not just professional development—it’s a commitment to transforming educational spaces into sanctuaries where every student can thrive.
Ideal for educators, counselors, and administrators, this training marks a step towards a future where education not only imparts knowledge but also heals, empowers, and fosters resilience. Join this vital mission and become a catalyst for change in your educational community. Your journey to making a meaningful difference in the lives of students starts with the Trauma Informed Educator II Micro-Credential Training.
Good luck, and we look forward to recognizing your commitment to creating safe, supportive, and empowering learning environments.
Instructor: Rick Griffin
$750
The Certified Trauma Informed Specialist
On-Demand
The Certified Trauma-Informed Specialist (CTIS) program is a self-paced Training for Trainers certification that prepares school personnel, faculty, and graduate students to deliver the Trauma-Informed Educator training. Participants learn to facilitate sessions based on the latest in neuroscience and trauma-informed practices, enabling them to train educators to create supportive learning environments. Graduates are fully certified to lead and implement trauma-informed educational strategies within their schools.
***Participants in The Certified Trauma-Informed Specialist (CTIS) program must have taken Trauma Informed Educator. If for any reason you have not already taken Trauma Informed Educator, you can register for the self-paced on demand version of it here:
Register for Trauma Informed Educator ON DEMAND
Instructor: Rick Griffin
$20
Trauma-Informed Educator Certification Assessment
On-Demand
This course contains all the materials to take the Assessment for Certification of Trauma Informed Educator and Credential of Certification upon completion.
Empower your teaching journey by embracing the transformative power of Trauma-Informed Educator Micro-Credential Training. This unique program emerges from a pioneering collaboration between Community Resilience Initiative and the University of the Incarnate Word Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program. It offers an unparalleled opportunity for educators to delve into the critical intersection of trauma, learning, and psychological resilience.
Understanding the profound impact that trauma can have on a student’s learning journey is crucial in today’s educational landscape. This training equips educators with expert knowledge, practical skills, and a certification that underscores their commitment to fostering nurturing, supportive, and resilient learning environments.
Participants will gain insights into the neuroscience and psychology that inform trauma-informed practices, learning to apply strategies that promote emotional regulation, safety, and healing relationships within the classroom. This program is not just professional development—it’s a commitment to transforming educational spaces into sanctuaries where every student can thrive.
Ideal for educators, counselors, and administrators, this training marks a step towards a future where education not only imparts knowledge but also heals, empowers, and fosters resilience. Join this vital mission and become a catalyst for change in your educational community. Your journey to making a meaningful difference in the lives of students starts with the Trauma Informed Educator Micro-Credential Training.
$40
Autoregulacion: Creando hábitos de facilidad - Curso en línea
On-Demand
Las prácticas restaurativas de la Autoregulación nos permiten cuidar el sistema nervioso y el cerebro, restaurando nuestra integridad natural y nuestra brillantez. Estamos cultivando la FACILIDAD donde se lleva a cabo el aprendizaje. Cuando el sistema nervioso está equilibrado y el cerebro recibe una mayor circulación, se activan las partes del cerebro relacionadas con el aprendizaje. Salimos del modo de supervivencia. Cuando nos sentimos seguros y conectados, el cuerpo puede entrar en el estado restaurativo de autoregulación.
$40
Self-Regulation: Creating Habits of Ease
On-Demand
The restorative practices of Self-Regulation allow us to care for the nervous system and brain – restoring our natural wholeness and brilliance. We are growing the EASE where the learning is done. When the nervous system is balanced and the brain receives more circulation, the learning parts of our brain are activated. We come out of survival mode. When we feel safe and connected the body can enter the restorative state of self-regulation.
Learn the science and practices of Self-Regulation. Develop personal self-care strategies you can use anywhere to feel better and support brain health. Discover the power of co-regulation and how your nervous system state can impact those around you. The 9-lesson series helps you anchor restorative practices as foundational to care.
$100
Introduction to the Science of Trauma and Resilience
On-Demand
Choose your start date and take the course at your own pace.
This dynamic mini-course introduces you to the science of trauma and resilience: the NEAR sciences, a cluster of emerging scientific findings in the fields of Neuroscience, Epigenetics, ACE Studies, and Resilience.
Learn the basics of trauma and resilience with Rick Griffin, the Executive Director of the Community Resilience Initiative.
$130
Course 1: Trauma-Informed
On-Demand
Choose your start date and take the course at your own pace.
This self-paced, six-part training course introduces you to Community Resilience Initiative’s framework for building resilience, KISS: Knowledge, Insight, Strategies, and Structures. KISS describes our learning from theory to practice and how to implement strategies into action.
This course includes three groups of topics: the NEAR sciences, a cluster of emerging scientific findings in the fields of Neuroscience, Epigenetics, ACE Studies, and Resilience; Beneath Behavior, which uses the knowledge of brain networks to gain insight into the factors that drive behavior; and R.O.L.E.S., CRI’s signature strategy to responding to trauma.
The key objective is to provide information about identifying and responding to trauma with evidence-based resilience strategies when working with an audience whose trauma history may not be known.
$130
Course 2: Trauma-Supportive
On-Demand
Choose your start date and take the course at your own pace.
A dynamic self-paced, on-demand course will help to transform your organization, classroom, or family through resilience-based strategies. Using trauma-informed principles, the course teaches individuals to systematically create the positive environment that is essential for lasting success. Learn more than 30 strategies and promising approaches utilized by some of the nation’s finest trauma-informed practitioners. This will include strategies to:
- Build a positive culture in the classroom, office, or the family
- Foster resilience through affirming communication
- Create effective regulation skills
- Deliver compassionate and empowering discipline
- Teach others about their own trauma and stress response
- Develop trauma-informed conflict resolution skills
*Attendees for Course 2 must have taken Course 1: Trauma-Informed.
Trauma-Informed Leadership Series
$50
The Science Behind the Series
On-Demand
Understanding the brain and its profound influence on human behavior isn’t just for neuroscientists—it’s an essential skill set for effective leadership too. “The Science Behind the Series” is the prerequisite session for the Certified Trauma Informed Leadership Series. The session aims to provide a foundational understanding of the neuroscience influencing human behavior and decision-making.
This is the prerequisite course for all courses within the Certified Trauma Informed Leadership Series.
** Completing both this course and Neuro-Mechanisms fulfills the criteria for the first tier of the Certified Trauma-Informed Leadership Series.
$50
Neuro Mechanisms
On-Demand
This session was pre-recorded as a virtual instructor-led course on June 24, 2024.
Many leaders hold distorted beliefs about how our brains function—misunderstandings that are not only incorrect but potentially hazardous. “Neuro Mechanisms” is an enlightening training session designed specifically for workplace leaders interested in comprehending the intricate mechanics of the human brain.
* Before enrolling in this course, you must complete “The Science Behind the Series.”
** Completing both this course and its prerequisite fulfills the criteria for the first tier of the Certified Trauma-Informed Leadership Series.
$50
Neuro Collaboration
On-Demand
This session was pre-recorded as a virtual instructor-led course on July 22nd, 2024.
The Teambuilding Prowess of the Brain. If leaders don’t understand how to cultivate a culture of collaboration, it’s like missing the yeast in your bread recipe: everything falls flat. “Neuro Collaboration” is an essential leadership training session aimed at unlocking the brain’s innate ability to connect and collaborate within the workplace environment.
* Before enrolling in this course, you must have completed “The Science Behind the Series.”
** Completing this course, Neuro-Learning and Neuro-Communication fulfills the criteria for the second tier of the Certified Trauma-Informed Leadership Series.
$50
Neuro Learning
On-Demand
This session was pre-recorded as a virtual instructor-led course on July 22nd, 2024.
Leaders need to grasp how others learn to be effective in teaching, motivating, and yes, even inspiring. “Neuro Learning” is a cutting-edge leadership training session focused on harnessing the brain’s capabilities for training and development within the workplace. Understanding that the success of an organization often hinges on effective utilization and development of mental resources, this session provides leaders with the tools and insights necessary to tap into the brain’s remarkable ability to draw on information and expertise from the environment. This course zooms in on the distinct neural mechanisms often lumped together by leaders, leading to teaching blunders and motivation mishaps. Through a blend of cognitive science and practical applications, you’ll learn to tap into the right neural pathways for optimal team learning and performance. Upgrade from autopilot to the cockpit of nuanced leadership, and turn your team into a high-performing, quick-learning machine.
* Before enrolling in this course, you must have completed “The Science Behind the Series.”
** Completing this course, Neuro-Collaboration and Neuro-Communication fulfills the criteria for the second tier of the Certified Trauma-Informed Leadership Series.
$50
Neuro Communication
On-Demand
This session was pre-recorded as a virtual instructor-led course on July 22nd, 2024.
A leader without good communication skills is like a smartphone with a spotty network; sure, it’s functional, but it misses out on real-time updates, fails to sync well with others, and can cause a lot of frustrating lag. “Neuro Communication” is a groundbreaking leadership training session that delves into the neural mechanisms underlying communication, moving beyond the conventional understanding of the four communication styles.
* Before enrolling in this course, you must have completed “The Science Behind the Series.”
** Completing this course, Neuro-Collaboration and Neuro-Learning fulfills the criteria for the second tier of the Certified Trauma-Informed Leadership Series.
$50
Neuro Insight
On-Demand
This session was pre-recorded as a virtual instructor-led course on July 29, 2024.
“Neuro Insight” is an advanced leadership training session that goes beyond the surface level understanding of empathy to explore the underlying neural mechanisms that shape our perception, thoughts, and emotions.
* Before enrolling in this course, you must have completed “The Science Behind the Series.”
** Completing this course, Neuro-Tasking and Neuro-Accountability fulfills the criteria for the third tier of the Certified Trauma-Informed Leadership Series.
$50
Neuro Tasking
On-Demand
This session was pre-recorded as a virtual instructor-led course on August 19, 2024.
Being a leader isn’t just about steering the ship; it’s also about making sure your crew knows how to avoid icebergs, battle storms, and read the darn map! “Neuro Tasking” is a dynamic leadership training session designed to unlock the secrets of the brain’s role in task management and goal achievement within the workplace.
* Before enrolling in this course, you must have completed “The Science Behind the Series.”
** Completing this course, Neuro-Insight and Neuro-Accountability fulfills the criteria for the third tier of the Certified Trauma-Informed Leadership Series.
$50
Neuro Accountability
On-Demand
This session was pre-recorded as a virtual instructor-led course on September 4, 2024.
Accountability is like a traffic light at a busy intersection, without it, there will be an accident. “Neuro Accountability” is a sophisticated leadership training session dedicated to cultivating a culture of accountability within the workplace.
* Before enrolling in this course, you must have completed “The Science Behind the Series.”
** Completing this course, Neuro-Insight and Neuro-Tasking fulfills the criteria for the third tier of the Certified Trauma-Informed Leadership Series.
Community Resilience Initiative is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Contact Us
- 509-720-7609
- info@criresilient.org
- PO Box 3237 | Walla Walla, WA | 99362