Upcoming Trainings:
March 2, 2024, 1-4pm at the WDRC office

Cost: Free!
Thanks to funding from Project Neighborly at the Whatcom Community Foundation.

As human beings, regardless of race, class, gender, or myriad other differences among us, we each need safety, connection, respect, and to be heard.

This workshop inspires and empowers participants to grow and engage in activities that:
- Honor human diversity
- Promote cultural self-awareness and understanding
- Engage in cross-cultural learning activities to gain in-depth knowledge of the history and culture of ethnic and cultural groups
- Examine historical and institutional power of the “isms” - racism, sexism, classism, etc.

Instructor - Julie Mauermann has worked in the early childhood education field for 30 years, implementing programming in public school, community college, and public library settings with a focus on lifting up equity and increasing inclusion of all young children and their families. Julie works at the Bellingham Library as a children’s library specialist, and also works as an equity and early childhood consultant. She is a senior trainer for the REACH Center and is dedicated to reflective and shared learning to address inequity.

Instructor - Heather Jefferson is a Lummi Nation member, a mother and grandmother, and an educator who is committed to providing high quality education with humility and grace. She brings a wealth of experience from over 30 years of working in classrooms with students from Pre-K through adult professionals. For the past 8 years, she has been supporting local schools and social agencies with training and facilitation on ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and REACH (Respecting Ethnic and Cultural Heritage).

Instructor - Masa DeLara is a facilitator, trainer, and educator in the areas of early childhood education, culture and diversity awareness, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), resilience, and trauma informed environments. She is a senior trainer for the REACH (Respecting Ethnic and Cultural Heritage) Center in partnership with Western Washington University, and is a certified NEAR (Neurobiology, Epigenetics, ACEs, Resilience) trainer in Washington State. Masa has a deep commitment to equity, inclusion, and social justice.

About REACH

For more than 30 years the REACH Center, a nationally-recognized non-profit organization, has positioned itself as one of the most respected establishments to provide cultural diversity services. The Center specializes in providing these services to agencies throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. The REACH Center is able to carry out its work through the utilization of its cadre of nationally certified trainers. There are over 250 nationally certified REACH trainers located throughout the United States and Australia who have established records in public speaking, group facilitation, program and curriculum development, as well as conducted research and training in the area of multicultural education and ethnic history