Radical Healing for Internal, Interpersonal, and Institutional Transformation with Tessa Hicks Peterson

This Imagining America Teaching & Learning Circle Study Group is an intimate space for IA members to learn from leaders and peers in the IA network taking on the challenging and hopeful work of institutional culture change. This month’s Study Group features Tessa Hicks Peterson. 

Many in the world today suffer from traumas of violence, neglect, and abuse as well as injustices borne of prejudice and discrimination. Likewise, many have inherited or cultivated tools and practices for extraordinary resilience. Furthermore, many of those most directly impacted are called to work on the very issues that have harmed them most. Thus, there is a critical need for healing as a pillar of our work for change– both internally and in the external systems in which we operate. Radical healing will help bolster not only our own capacity for wellness, joy, and compassion, but also make our work for social change more sustainable, resilient, and effectiveness. In this workshop, we will explore concepts, tools and practices for greater healing in our work for personal and social change.

Tessa Hicks Peterson is a scholar activist, teacher, and community-builder. She is the Assistant Vice President of Community Engagement and Associate Professor of Urban Studies at Pitzer College. She has a Masters and PhD in Cultural Studies from Claremont Graduate University and a BA in Psychology from UC Santa Cruz. Tessa teaches classes and facilitates trainings on issues ranging from anti-bias education and social justice to empowerment through movement, mindfulness, and art. Her current scholarship centers on transformative movement organizing and healing justice, community-based education and research, and prison education and abolition. She has over 20 years of experience as a practitioner of Afro-Brazilian dance and yoga. Her ultimate work in the world is to engage with, teach about, learn from and better connect healing*arts*education*justice.

UC Santa Cruz is an IA member. Anyone with a ucsc.edu email can register including students, faculty, and staff. Select University of California, Santa Cruz from the drop down member list.