WORK WITH DR. DONNA

Equipping organizations, faith communities, agencies, and systems with trauma-informed, gender-responsive strategies that support women’s healing, voice, identity restoration, and long-term transformation.

Dr. Donna Rixey partners with organizations, faith communities, agencies, and service systems to strengthen how they understand, support, and respond to women impacted by trauma, violence, systemic barriers, and justice involvement. Her work equips leaders and communities to move beyond surface-level responses and engage more deeply with women's lived realities, with greater awareness, compassion, and responsibility.

Bridging psychology, justice, and faith, Dr. Donna integrates clinical psychology, expertise in criminal justice systems, trauma-informed advocacy, and the ARISE Method™ framework to create healing-centered environments where women can reclaim their identity, strengthen their voices, and emerge whole, heard, and free.

TRAININGS & WORKSHOPS

Interactive, trauma-informed learning experiences designed to build awareness, skill, and confidence in supporting women impacted by trauma, violence, systemic barriers, and justice involvement.

Participants leave with practical tools they can immediately apply in their roles, organizations, ministries, and communities to strengthen engagement, improve responsiveness, and support women with greater clarity, compassion, and trauma-informed understanding.

THE DETAILS

Topics may include:

Strengthening trauma-informed engagement with women
Understanding identity, shame, and voice restoration
Supporting justice-impacted women with dignity and awareness
Applying gender-responsive practices in programs and services
Recognizing vicarious trauma and secondary trauma in helping roles
Understanding the impact of domestic violence and intimate partner violence
Integrating the ARISE Method™ into group facilitation and reflection
Creating healing-centered approaches in faith and community settings

Audience:

Service providers, correctional and reentry professionals, advocates, ministry leaders, educators, faith communities, and community-based organizations.

CONSULTING & ADVOCACY

Strategic consultation designed to help organizations, agencies, and community partners align policies, programs, and practices with trauma-informed, gender-responsive, and healing-centered approaches. This work supports systems in strengthening how they engage, serve, and advocate for women impacted by trauma, violence, systemic barriers, and justice involvement.

Through consulting and advocacy support, Dr. Donna helps leaders identify gaps, strengthen responsiveness, and develop strategies that promote dignity, accountability, healing, and long-term impact.

THE DETAILS

Engagement may include:

Reviewing programs, policies, and practices through a trauma-informed and gender-responsive lens
Strengthening organizational alignment with healing-centered and restorative approaches
Developing staff training strategies that support practical implementation
Supporting advocacy initiatives focused on women impacted by trauma, violence, and justice involvement
Building cross-sector partnerships and community collaboration
Advising on Illinois-focused justice and domestic violence awareness initiatives
Identifying gaps in service delivery, engagement, and systems response

SPEAKING & KEYNOTES

Applause, audience and laughing with business woman in convention center for seminar or wo

Dr. Donna delivers transformational presentations that integrate clinical insight, trauma-informed understanding, criminal justice systems expertise, faith-informed empowerment, and lived awareness of trauma to inspire healing, identity restoration, systems awareness, and intentional action.

Her speaking experiences are designed for conferences, organizations, faith communities, advocacy initiatives, and women’s leadership spaces seeking meaningful, trauma-informed conversations that move beyond inspiration into reflection, understanding, and practical application.

Audiences leave with deeper awareness, strengthened language, and actionable insight for supporting women impacted by trauma, violence, systemic barriers, and justice involvement.

THE DETAILS

Signature Speaking Topics:

The Intersectionality of Trauma, Guilt, and Shame
God in the Secret Places: Healing What We Learned to Hide
Beyond the Label: Rewriting the Narrative for Justice-Impacted Women
The Invisible Weight of Trauma: What Women Carry and What Organizations Must Change
The ARISE Method™: A Framework for Women’s Healing and Empowerment
The Woman Before You: A Gender-Responsive Framework That Honors Her Story
Seeing Her Fully: The Art of Trauma-Informed, Gender-Responsive Connection
Breaking the House Rule: Centering Children’s Voices When Vicarious Trauma Goes Unseen

WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS

Structured, facilitated group and cohort experiences grounded in the ARISE Method™, trauma-informed reflection, identity restoration, and women’s empowerment.

These programs create intentional spaces for women to process lived experiences, reclaim identity beyond trauma, strengthen their voices, and practice embodied growth in supportive community.

Programs may be offered in community, organizational, justice-impacted, reentry, faith-based, and women’s leadership settings.

THE DETAILS

Dr. Donna works with organizations and communities supporting:

Justice-impacted women
Women carrying complex trauma histories
Reentry and correctional populations
Survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence
Faith-based women’s ministries
Community and behavioral health programs
Women seeking healing, identity restoration, and purpose-filled growth

Partner with Women Emerge® to bring structured, trauma-informed, empowerment-centered programming to women ready to heal, reclaim their voices, and emerge whole, heard, and free.