Community Resilience Initiative

At a Community Public Health conference in 2007, Dr. Robert Anda challenged individuals by saying, “Go home and make something happen”. Teri Barila did just that – with the help of Annett Bovent and Mark Brown, the Community Resilience Initiative (CRI) was born. Together with local community members, CRI started as a grassroots movement to inform its local community about the negative health effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) if left unaddressed. 

Over a decade later, CRI is now a nonprofit organization conducting trauma-informed training online and in person, across the continent. CRI is recognized as a leader in trauma-informed training and offers several levels of training based on Knowledge, Insight, Strategies and Structures (K.I.S.S.), its blueprint for building community capacity. 

The Community Resilience Initiative has three primary tenants that inform our work: training, community engagement, and products.

Our trainings are informed by the newest trauma and resilience science. We offer over 20 courses, all of which begin with the foundational knowledge of how trauma impacts the brain. Our courses teach various resilience strategies that can promote healing. CRI's signature training series provide a certification of completion to show that our attendees have demonstrated competency in trauma-informed practices. Training can be in-person, online, or on-demand, depending on the needs of the participants. CRI's offerings include:

• Course 1 - Trauma Informed (certified)
• Course 2 - Trauma Supportive (certified)
• Course 3 - Trauma Practitioners (certified)
• CRI Training of Trainers
• Trauma-Informed Leadership
• And many more!

Check out our current training offerings through our Course Catalog on our website, or our on-demand offerings through The Learning Center.

A key component of CRI's business model, our community engagement work is focused on fostering a trauma-informed community of practice. Our Director of Community Engagement is based in Walla Walla, Washington State and works with health professionals, nonprofit agencies, private businesses, schools, and local government to provide consulting and strategies for implementing trauma-informed practices. This type of outreach and consultation is generally free for participants and focused on providing workshops and information to show the community of practice that resilience trumps ACEs. We also work with organizations around the country as they form and hone their own communities of practice.

The final tenant of CRI's nonprofit business model is to provide products that help people understand how their brains work and strategies to build resilience. Our founder, Teri Barila, has spent more than a decade creating child-friendly workbooks, games, and materials to help people understand how stress affects their brains - and how to develop strategies to become a resilient person. CRI's products are available in both English and Spanish, and are appropriate for kids and adults alike. All of our products are available through website.