Amy Paulson, MS

"Ames" is a social entrepreneur, facilitator, writer, speaker, trauma survivor, and mental health advocate working at the intersection of healing and social justice - helping to disrupt cycles of violence, fear, hate, and injustice, heal individual and collective trauma, build community resilience, and democratize access to healing resources in the Bay Area and around the world.

A survivor of orphan trafficking, child sexual abuse, and transracial, transnational adoption, Ames has been navigating medicalized, traditional, and alternative systems for mental and emotional health for decades - and, as a result, is passionate about de-stigmatizing and de-pathologizing trauma and broadening access to culturally responsive healing resources.

After a 12-year career in corporate finance and accounting, working for over a decade in the U.S. and Europe for Deloitte, SAP, and eBay, Ames co-founded Healing Together in 2011 while serving the non-profit sector as a volunteer, international program manager, finance manager, and board member focusing on projects benefiting orphaned and vulnerable youth and survivors of sexual and gender based violence.

 

She holds a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management with a concentration in Global Studies from Northeastern University, and certifications in Trauma-Informed Interventions (UC Berkeley), and Global Mental Health and Refugee Trauma (Harvard Medical School). She is also a facilitator of Interpersonal Dynamics, aka "T-Groups", at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 
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Ames has published essays on sexual violence, grief, mindfulness and social change, and healing. She recently discovered her love of growing food and has launched Resilient Together Farms, a collective growing and healing space in Miwok lands, in the Central Valley of California. For more, see: Amy's Story or visit amyepaulson.com