Balancing the Scales

As the school year begins, everyone on campus—students, faculty, and staff alike—is carrying stress, trauma, and exhaustion into the classroom. Today’s educators are asked to create emotionally safe spaces while often feeling depleted themselves. How do we balance the needs of students with our own capacity? This dynamic session integrates the science of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) with the realities of faculty burnout and compassion fatigue. Dr. Stacey Patton will help participants:

  • Understand how trauma shows up in student behavior, engagement, and learning.

  • Recognize signs of burnout and emotional exhaustion in themselves and colleagues.

  • Explore the neuroscience of stress and regulation—for both students and educators.

  • Learn practical, trauma-informed strategies to foster safety, mindfulness, and connection in the classroom.

  • Try simple, sustainable practices—breathing resets, boundaries, micro-rituals—that restore presence and protect wellbeing.

Event starts in...

  • 00 Days
  • 00 Hours
  • 00 Minutes
  • 00 Seconds
Register Now

Meet Your Presenter

Dr. Stacey Patton

Speaker Dr. Stacey Patton

Dr. Stacey Patton is an award-winning journalist, historian, child advocate, and nationally recognized speaker whose work sits at the intersection of race, trauma, education, and media. Known for her powerful storytelling and evidence-based insight, Dr. Patton delivers dynamic talks that challenge audiences to rethink how childhood adversity, especially abuse, neglect, and systemic inequality, shapes learning, behavior, and public life. A professor of journalism at Howard University and research associate at Morgan State University’s Institute for Urban Research, she blends cutting-edge research in neuroscience, mental health, and trauma with lived experience as a former foster youth and survivor of abuse. Her talks equip educators, leaders, and institutions with tools for building trauma-informed, emotionally intelligent learning environments. Dr. Patton is the author of That Mean Old Yesterday, Spare the Kids, and the forthcoming Strung Up: The Lynching of Black Children and Teenagers in America. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, BBC, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and more. She’s been a featured commentator on CNN, MSNBC, Democracy Now!, and CBS. She is also the creator of When You Hit Me, a 3D animation app educating users on the neurological impact of stress and childhood trauma. A recipient of numerous honors for her journalism and advocacy including William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Scripps Howard Foundation, Education Writers Association, and the National Association of Black Journalists, Dr. Patton is a catalyst for cultural reckoning and systemic change, offering unforgettable talks that blend deep expertise with lived experience, sparking reflection, dialogue, and action. To learn more about Dr. Stacey Patton or bring her to speak, visit: https://www.speakoutnow.org/speakers/stacey-patton

The Spark Series

Ideas That Move Us

The Spark Series highlights visionary speakers who ignite minds and hearts. Each event offers ideas and inspiration, and a glimpse of the impact they can bring to your campus or community. For booking inquiries, contact [email protected]
Register