VSGN ANTI-RACISM COMMITTEE AND MISSION
To advance mental health, overall well-being, and economic justice for populations and communities harmed by systemic racism.
VSGN ANTI-RACISM COMMITTEE GOALS
To identify and invest in high impact approaches that serve communities affected by systemic racism. Also, to engage stakeholders and develop meaningful relationships with and provide financial support to those affected by economic disparities.
Dr. Martha Morgan, I am trained as a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT). I have both a masters and PhD in MFT. Currently I teach full-time at UMass Global in the MA psychology program. I am also part of Good Human Work group practice where I see clients via telehealth. I have been connected to Satir for several years and really appreciate the perspective the Satir Growth Model provides me in working with students in the classroom, interns and clients. I appreciate the opportunity to encourage growth in people I serve. As the Satir Growth Model is my primary therapeutic home I appreciate the opportunity to serve the Satir community by participating on the subcommittee. It’s wonderful to know that Satir Global is invested in combating systemic racism and I am honored to be part of this important work.
The Rev. Madison T. Shockley II is the pastor of the Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad, CA. He brings to Pilgrim Church a wealth of experience from his work in the religious, political, non-profit, and media environments. Madison was called to Pilgrim Church in 2004.
Along with performing his pastoral duties with Pilgrim, Madison serves on the board of Trustees of the Union Theological Seminary in New York City and the board of directors of Compassion and Choices. He also writes commentary for various online and print outlets. To read some of Madison’s articles, click here.
He holds the Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York City and has done advanced graduate work at Claremont Graduate University in New Testament Studies. He is married to Gayle P. Shockley née Welch, and they are the parents of five adult children.
Pat Bragg is skilled in peacemaking and counselling. A counsellor , mediator and a teacher for 40 years, her qualifications include degrees in Counselling and Education, certificates in teaching and school administration, certificate in using and training in the Satir Model, Coaching and Training, Life Skills Coaching, negotiation, mediation and child protection mediation. Pat has provided thousands of hours of training nationally and internationally in Canada, Turkey, Dubai , Latvia and Bahrain as well as providing direct service to clients in Canada and abroad.
Pat is a board member of the Virginia Satir Global Network, president of the Satir Institute Society of the Yukon, Canada and Chief Executive Officer of Northern Focus Counselling and Support Services.
Miriam Freeman, PhD, MSW finds great joy in her life in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, USA. She was a social worker for 43 years, retiring in 2012. For about 30 of those years she was a professor in social work programs teaching BSW, MSW and PhD students and is now Distinguished Professor Emerita at the University of South Carolina, College of Social Work. Miriam met and trained with Virginia Satir, Jean McLendon, Hugh Gratz and Margarita Suarez in 1987 at the Process I Community in Crested Butte, CO. She returned to Crested Butte in 1988 for Process II and trained with Maria Gomori, John Banmen, and Jane Gerber and has additional training with Jean McLendon, Laura Dodson and Sharon Loeschen. She created and for many years taught a course on the Satir Model for MSW students and researched, presented, and published on Satir-based practice. She is currently a Certified Coaching and Mentoring Specialist and Trainer with Satir Global and a member of the Satir Anti-Racism Learning Community and the Satir Combatting Systemic Racism Advisory Committee.
Neil Norris Jr, BA, MLS – Co-Founder of Athcorp Inc. & XZEVN® Solutions is a trained legal researcher, Satir practitioner and possesses over 20 years of higher education experience working with underserved and underrepresented HS and college students. As a first-generation college graduate, he learned that effective communication and meaningful engagement were critical for successful outcomes. A successful entrepreneur, Neil has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland, a Master of Legal Studies from West Virginia University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Social Work at the University of Southern California.
Lysandra Chan currently resides in Vancouver B.C., on the traditional, unceded and occupied territories of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. Lysandra graduated with a Masters of Counselling Psychology from Adler University, Vancouver Campus, in 2017, and is currently a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) through the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC). Lysandra works as a Program Coordinator for Seniors program at Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House and is a contract Trauma Counsellor for the Empow3r Program for Kiwassa Neighbourhood House. She first learned about Satir Therapy when she started her grad school back in 2014 and has pursued her Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy Level 1 in 2015 through the Satir Institute of the Pacific. Lysandra was inspired and felt truly connected with the principles of this therapy. She continued to connect with the Satir Institute of the Pacific to engage with people around the world and to attend workshops and conferences related to Satir. Lysandra learned about the formation of the Anti-Racism Committee for VSGN back in 2020 and was excited to be part of the committee to work with like-minded people to make a difference. In March 2022, Lysandra has become a Board member for the Satir Institute of the Pacific. In her spare time, Lysandra likes to connect to nature through hikes and enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Hilda Richards Bio from Teachers College Columbia University Repeatedly breaking the color line made Hilda Richards even more passionate about helping others to learn. Hilda Richards“You meet life’s challenges with a deep breath and move forward,” says Hilda Richards (Ed.D. ’76, M.Ed. ’65). As a young woman, Richards was informed by St. John’s School of Nursing in St. Louis that she could attend only by saying she was Hispanic rather than African American. Instead, Richards transferred in after two years of high academic achievement, becoming the school’s first black graduate. She subsequently earned five degrees from four universities and capped a trailblazing career as Chancellor of Indiana University Northwest.
“When you fight for what you want, you become passionate,” says Richards, now 79.
Richards earned her M.Ed. in Nursing Education from TC, which she chose for its academic excellence and racial diversity. “I so loved my time at TC that I returned nearly a decade later for my doctorate,” she says. In between, she helped to open City Hospital’s psychiatric unit and Harlem Rehabilitation Hospital. Back at TC, she worked full time at CUNY’s Medgar Evers College. Eventually she was appointed associate dean and designed the school’s nursing program. She later became Ohio University’s first black, female academic dean and then Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, at both institutions hiring more women and people of color as faculty and administrators. She was a board member of The Virginia Satir Global Network.
Before retiring in the early 2000s, Richards served as the National Black Nurses Association’s President and Journal Editor. Today she’s on the board of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and an active hospice volunteer. “Education is among the greatest things you can achieve,” she says. “It’s important to give back to others who pursue it.” — KELSEY ROGALEWICZ
Maggie Gitu holds an MAMFT and has received additional training in Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy and Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy. She also holds a Master’s in Music (vocal performance). Maggie lives in Nairobi Kenya from where she runs her private practice as a Marriage, Family and Sex Therapist. She also wrote a sex column for two and a half years in one of Kenya’s national newspapers, in addition to appearing on multiple TV, radio and podcast interviews as an expert on sexual and mental health. As a direct result of Amy Cooper’s racist behavior in New York and the public murder of George Floyd, Maggie has become more overtly vocal and active in antiracism. She believes that the time to effect positive change against racism and for equity is in the here and now. It is her intention to contribute to positive change in Kenya and around the world. She is honored to serve on the VSGN Board and hopes to meaningfully contribute the work that VSGN is able to do now and in the future.