Kathy Redman

Back in 1862 a strong woman by the name of Ida B. Wells was born. Just after graduating college she was to purchase a 1st class train ticket for a trip to her first job - teaching in Memphis, TN. The train conductor threw her off the train because she wouldn't accept his decision that she couldn't sit in 1st class even though she held a ticket. The story says she bit him during the altercation. Livid over this injustice, she went on to co-own a local black-owned publication, "The Free Speech and Headlight" where, through her writing, she challenged the norms on race and chastised people for not standing up for themselves. Further on she would help found the NACW and NAACP. She turned her anger into action - a solid mental health move.

Tomorrow I'll be attending Cultural Competency training which I'm really looking forward to. It's being provided by the Native American Community Services organization and taught by the amazing Pete Hill. Can't wait!

Kathy Whitworth is a woman of resilience. She was the first woman to earn $1 million on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour in 1981. She then lost her retirement savings when her investment company declared bankruptcy. She gathered herself together and put her energy into golf clinics and writing to recoup her losses.

Today, back in 1994, is the day when Judith Rodin became the first female president of an ivy league institution - University of PA. She was also the first graduate of the University of PA to serve as president. During her time there she doubled the school's research funding and tripled the size of its endowment. She left in 2004. And then since being first suited her well enough, she did it again when in 2005 when she became the first woman to serve as president of the Rockefeller Foundation. There she lead its mission of promoting well-being and humanity throughout the world. Being first takes perseverance, endurance, passion, a thick skin and a whole lot of other traits to handle the journey. I wonder how she nurtured her mental health.

On this day in 1903, Ruth Wakefield, the inventor of the Toll House Cookie was born. Her recipe for the Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie was the first chocolate chip cookie recipe to be printed and distributed in 1938. She eventually made an arrangement with Nestle allowing the company to utilize her recipe if they paid her one dollar and supplied her with Nestle chocolate for baking for a lifetime. Thank you, Ruth for contributing to mental health wellness for all the years since you baked and all the years since.

Community Resiliency Model The Community Resiliency Model (CRM) trains community members to not only help themselves but to help others within their wider social network. The primary focus of this skills-based, stabilization program is to re-set the natural balance of the nervous system. The goal is to help to create trauma-informed and resiliency-focused communities that share a common understanding of the impact of trauma and chronic stress on the nervous system and how resiliency can be restored or increased using this skills-based approach.