In the first of our new series, Advocating for Resilience: Empowering Mental Wellness, we talk with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley to explore the transformative power of advocacy and uncover the roots of resilience that have shaped her remarkable journey. Ayanna's narrative is a testament to the strength that emerges when one feels truly seen. Our conversation explores the joy that can be found in policy-making and life itself, as we dissect the critical role of mental wellness advocacy and Ayanna's dedication to amplifying the voices of those closest to the pain.
Navigating the intricate landscape of trauma and mental health is no simple task, yet it's one that requires our immediate attention and action. We discuss the importance of trauma-informed environments, the unwavering support children need, and the responsibilities of public service.
There is immense potential for our communities to thrive through compassion and active engagement. This episode is an invitation and inspiration for those ready to contribute to this essential mission and make a meaningful difference.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) is an activist, a legislator, a survivor, and the first woman of color to be elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Throughout her career, Congresswoman Pressley has fought to ensure that those closest to the pain are closest to the power - driving and informing policymaking.
As Congresswoman for Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District, she has been a champion for justice and healing: reproductive justice, justice for immigrants, consumer justice, justice for seniors, justice for workers, justice for survivors of sexual violence, justice for formerly and currently incarcerated individuals, and healing for those who have experienced trauma. She has also turned her experience living with alopecia into action, becoming a leading voice fighting to raise awareness and support for the alopecia community across the nation.
Congresswoman Pressley currently serves on the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. Prior to being elected to Congress, she served on the Boston City Council for eight years and was the first woman of color elected to the council in its 100-year history.
Go to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp.
Invite Manya to inspire and empower your teams + position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in fostering resilience and trauma sensitivity.
In the first of our new series, Advocating for Resilience: Empowering Mental Wellness, we talk with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley to explore the transformative power of advocacy and uncover the roots of resilience that have shaped her remarkable journey. Ayanna's narrative is a testament to the strength that emerges when one feels truly seen. Our conversation explores the joy that can be found in policy-making and life itself, as we dissect the critical role of mental wellness advocacy and Ayanna's dedication to amplifying the voices of those closest to the pain.
Navigating the intricate landscape of trauma and mental health is no simple task, yet it's one that requires our immediate attention and action. We discuss the importance of trauma-informed environments, the unwavering support children need, and the responsibilities of public service.
There is immense potential for our communities to thrive through compassion and active engagement. This episode is an invitation and inspiration for those ready to contribute to this essential mission and make a meaningful difference.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) is an activist, a legislator, a survivor, and the first woman of color to be elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Throughout her career, Congresswoman Pressley has fought to ensure that those closest to the pain are closest to the power - driving and informing policymaking.
As Congresswoman for Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District, she has been a champion for justice and healing: reproductive justice, justice for immigrants, consumer justice, justice for seniors, justice for workers, justice for survivors of sexual violence, justice for formerly and currently incarcerated individuals, and healing for those who have experienced trauma. She has also turned her experience living with alopecia into action, becoming a leading voice fighting to raise awareness and support for the alopecia community across the nation.
Congresswoman Pressley currently serves on the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. Prior to being elected to Congress, she served on the Boston City Council for eight years and was the first woman of color elected to the council in its 100-year history.
Go to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp.
Invite Manya to inspire and empower your teams + position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in fostering resilience and trauma sensitivity.
No one is voiceless, but too many people are unheard, and so I've really made it a point to use the power of my pen as a lawmaker, to use the power of my letterhead, to use the power of my platform, the power of convening, the power of the movement, the power of the purse, to lift up every voice.
Manya Chylinski:
Welcome to Notes on Resilience. I'm your host, Manya Chylinski. This is our first episode in a new series Advocating for Resilience, Empowering Mental Wellness, and our guest for this episode is Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. She represents the Massachusetts Seventh. She's a former city counselor for the city of Boston and she focuses on listening to the people who are closest to the pain, and she's an incredible advocate for her constituents and for all of us. And we can learn a lot about advocacy from listening to her. Enjoy the episode. Advocacy from listening to her. Enjoy the episode. Listen to Notes on Resilience on Apple Podcasts and subscribe.
Manya Chylinski:
And we'd love for you to leave a review too. And hey, I'm really curious would you recommend this show to a friend? If not, would you be willing to let me know why? Send me an email right now and tell me what's stopping you from recommending Notes on Resilience to your friends. What can I do to make this the kind of show you would recommend to your friends? I want to make a show that people really enjoy and brings value to their lives. You can email me at manya@manyachylinski. com , or fill out the form in the show notes. Thanks. Congresswoman Pressley or Ayanna. How are you today?
Ayanna Pressley:
I'm doing well.
Manya Chylinski:
I'm so grateful that you've created this platform and I'm excited to be with you today. Oh, thank you so much. I'm excited to be with you. And before we dive into the topic of the day, one question I ask all my guests is if you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?
Ayanna Pressley:
You know that's tough. Okay, I'm going to do what most elected officials do, which is answer the question. I want to answer Manya, so I'm going to actually just do like three people. So, because a historic figure to me is my mom, and my mother transitioned after a long battle with leukemia 12 years ago. But, as anyone can attest to, losing a parent, and certainly a mother and I'm an only child it is a permanent heartbreak. So she, to me, is a historic figure, and not only for the role she played in community, but certainly for the formidable way in which she shaped me. So I would love to have dinner with my mom. You know just one more time. But in terms of like conventional historic figures, it would be Maya Angelou. Oh, yeah, yeah, dr Maya Angelou. And the reason why is because, as a child who experienced a fair amount of adverse childhood experiences and trauma, specifically intrafamily childhood sexual abuse, when I read I Know why the Caged Bird Sings. It's the first time that I knew I wasn't alone in the world. So it is not in any way, you know, hyperbole, or I'm not being dramatic, to say that that book and the words of Maya Angelou saved my life and I've just always had this kinship with her.
Ayanna Pressley:
I love poetry.
Ayanna Pressley:
Whenever I need anchoring, when I need clarity, when I need healing, I read her poetry For many years. I hosted a poetry slam in her honor on her birthday, april 4th, and then, finally, I had the distinct privilege of meeting her once when I was a producer for one of the Democratic National Conventions and I outreached to her to be a part of one of my segments and she agreed. And I outreached to her to be a part of one of my segments and she agreed. And I asked her to sign, to autograph something for me and to pen a note. And she only wrote three letters, one word, and it was the word joy. And I thought about this woman, this incredible orator Her presidential inauguration poem On the Pulse of Mourning is also one of my favorites and I said here's this great orator, this wordsmith, this author, and she could have written anything, and she just wrote the words joy with an exclamation point. And so that has really set me on my own path and why I'm so intentional about informing joy in my policy work and in my life.
Manya Chylinski:
Wow, wow. That's so amazing that you got a chance to meet her in real life while she was still with us, and your story is such a testament to the power of feeling seen for the first time.
Ayanna Pressley:
Yes, yeah, you know, it's my hope that that is what I accomplish in my work, as, but it's more important to me that they know trust and believe that I see them, because I truly know the power of that.
Manya Chylinski:
Yes, well, speaking as a former constituent of yours and wishes that I still was a constituent, I can attest to feeling seen through you and your work and your amazing team.
Ayanna Pressley:
Thank you, Manya, and, by the way, you're my constituent for life. I'm never letting you go. So I'm going to claim you, so you have to claim me too.
Manya Chylinski:
I will absolutely claim you. That means the world to me. Well, you know we're here today to talk about advocacy, and advocating for mental wellness in particular, and you know the importance of advocates like yourself and like the rest of us who call your office looking for help in promoting mental wellness and resiliency. So just to get us started, can you just give us a quick overview because I know there's a lot to it but of your personal journey to become an advocate?
Ayanna Pressley:
Well, I'll try to give the abridged version here. You know, I do believe that the people closest to the pain should be the closest to the power driving and informing the policymaking, driving and informing the policymaking. My family is certainly not an anomaly, because of systemic multi-generational trauma that is perpetuated in so many of our families, and so I grew up being raised by a mother who fought fiercely to ensure that I'd be denied, or I would not be denied or deprived any opportunity. However, my mother had many untreated traumas. She was a survivor of sexual assault, domestic violence, the cumulative impact of racism, sexism, microaggressions and certainly the trauma of the destabilization of my father's substance use disorder and his subsequent incarceration. So there were many societal factors that I believe that were created by policy, by scarcity budgets and policy violence that perpetuated violence in our family and in our community. And the more I studied the root causes, the more I came to appreciate the power of policy in creating those depressed dynamics within a household and in a community. And so I ran for the Boston City Council and was elected, becoming the first woman of color, first Black woman to serve on that body. It only took 100 years becoming the first woman of color, first Black woman to serve on that body only took 100 years, and I created a committee which still exists today, which was replicated by several other municipalities in the country, called the Committee on Healthy Women, families and Communities, and it was the first standing policy committee to name the issue of trauma and the purpose of the committee. Many people, when they thought about health, they made it just about the delivery of health care services, and I created this committee to underscore that the individual, the family and the community are inextricably linked and what happens to one adversely should be the business of all of us, of all of us, and so it was.
Ayanna Pressley:
In doing that committee work, I convened some seven hearings on trauma and the many ways in which it manifests community-based trauma, domestic violence, sexual assault, the marathon bombing. One of the most powerful hearings that I did in that time was a hearing called Family Voices, where we heard from some 300 families impacted by gun violence, and it was a listening-only hearing which is not a customary procedure in any governing body. Usually community comes to testify and then experts and elected officials counter to whatever you offer. Sometimes they try to talk people out of their own experiences. Sometimes they talk people try to talk people out of their own experiences, which is why I wanted to be a listening only hearing, and so for some four hours we listened to these 300 plus families directly impacted by gun violence and just had to actively listen and take it in, and I had a number of policy recommendations to come out of that that hearing.
Ayanna Pressley:
So my work on trauma really began, based in my own lived experiences, again as a survivor of sexual abuse, of campus sexual assault, someone who has experienced clinical depression, suicide ideation these are all things that I lived with. And then I took that lived experience and championed mental health and wellness and well-being in my role in the city council and now in Congress. That through line continues. In fact, on the Oversight and Reform Committee I convened the first ever hearing on childhood trauma. So that work continues to show up. I have a trauma informed legislative agenda. I have a trauma-informed legislative agenda and I think I was the only city councilor to have an aide dedicated to that work and that has remained true in my time in Congress as well.
Manya Chylinski:
Yes, that is so important. I'm glad you brought up the term trauma-informed and you know, one of the reasons that I picked up the phone and called your office is because I knew about the work you had done in the city and as a congresswoman on the concept of trauma. I knew that that was something that was important to you and that you would hear me when I said this is what's going on, can you help? So you know, as a congresswoman, you play a really important role in shaping mental health and trauma related policies and legislation. So how do you approach advocacy efforts that come to you from constituents or from advocacy groups?
Ayanna Pressley:
Well, as I said, I believe the people closest to the pain should be the closest to the power driving and informing the policymaking. And so I seek to practice something I characterize as cooperative governing, without conferring with those most proximate to an issue. And by being proximate one it keeps me honest and uncomfortable, so I never grow complacent. It allows me to have a vantage point to understand the intersectionalities, the complexities and nuance of that issue, but also to harness and cultivate the best solutions. And I think you know our relationship and our cooperative governing is one such example where, by your outreach to our office, it really shows the power of one, especially if you have an organizational culture that is committed to actively listening to constituents, reading every email, every correspondence and then working together to figure out how best we can tackle that. You know my job is to problem solve, is to lighten the load, to alleviate hardship. So it's cooperative governing and that does mean you know sometimes five more meetings and 20 more phone calls and you know a hundred more emails, but I think in the end the outcomes are changed and improved over time through the process of cooperative governing. You know again now, on the federal level, every issue that I've done in the trauma space has been one that has been approached in that way, whether it's the Post Disaster Mental Health Act. Again, I'm so grateful to you for reaching out to my office and that over that two-year period we were able to put something together that ultimately was signed into law.
Ayanna Pressley:
I just hit my five-year milestone in Congress and I'm asked often about those things that I'm proudest of in the last five years, and our bill and I really do consider it to be our bill being signed into law by President Biden is one of the things that I'm proudest of, along with that Committee on Oversight Reform first-time hearing on childhood trauma and then, more recently, in my role as the policy co-chair for the Democratic Women's Caucus, we convened a very powerful hearing on mental health in girls, which we know all of those numbers around anxiety, depression, suicide, ideation have only been compounded by the impacts of the pandemic, which, as we started to do the work of recovery, I continue to advocate for a White House summit on community-based responses to trauma.
Ayanna Pressley:
I did, from the beginning, believe that trauma would be the second pandemic. I believe we're still very much in it and that our recovery can't just be focused on an economic one. It has to include a psychological one as well, and so we did a hearing that was a shadow hearing is what it's called, because Democrats are not in the majority, so when we do a hearing, since we can't control the hearing schedule, it's called a shadow hearing. So we convened one of those, and that was very powerful. And then, more recently, just as of last week, I was a part of a hearing on the role of artificial intelligence and the ways in which it is creating very harmful content targeted towards girls.
Manya Chylinski:
I'm glad to hear that you're working on that, and that's so important for our girls and all the young people to be sort of trying to stop the cycle earlier on in the process, if we can? What are the unique challenges or strategies when you're advocating for a topic like trauma or mental health issues?
Ayanna Pressley:
When I first was elected, I often said I wanted to be a voice for the voiceless. But now, at the ripe old age of 50, I know better than to say such a thing. No one is voiceless, but too many people are unheard, and so I've really made it a point to use the power of my pen as a lawmaker, to use the power of my letterhead, to use the power of my platform, the power of convening, the power of convening the power of the movement, the power of the purse, to lift up every voice. And that includes those who have experienced trauma psychologically, physically, sexually, domestically, being robbed of a loved one due to community-based violence, or experiencing neglect, and much, much more. So there are so many different forms of trauma, and for some it is more acutely presenting and for others it's more latent.
Ayanna Pressley:
We certainly see that in our schools, and that's why, since my time on the city council, I've advocated for a trauma-informed learning environment and for those social-emotional wellness supports. A traumatized child certainly has a compromised readiness to learn. Poverty is traumatic, food insecurity is traumatic, community-based violence, domestic violence, displacement, being unhoused you know, all of those things are traumatic. Our kids are increasingly carrying so much trauma in their backpacks as they cross the thresholds into our learning communities every day. So, in terms of strategies, it's just about the understanding that there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach, and so it's about curating a response to each of those various traumas and making sure that those services are accessible and available to everyone, and that it is not limited or dictated by race, income or zip code. So I learned how best to support those in their healing by cooperatively governing, by actively listening to those closest to the pain, right.
Manya Chylinski:
Absolutely Wow. So your job in Congress is to navigate for your constituents in the Massachusetts 7th, but you are creating laws for everyone, right? Are those two different ways of thinking or just two pieces of the same cloth?
Ayanna Pressley:
Yeah, I think they're two pieces of the same cloth. Yeah, I think they're two pieces of the same cloth. I mean, first and foremost, representing the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District, the district that is vibrant, diverse, dynamic, one of the most unequal in the country and arguably one of the more progressive. I see our district the district rather, since you're no longer my constituent officially, but I see the district as an incredible, you know, petri dish, if you will, to pilot things and to scale them up and take them other places. So you know, I do also bring that micro lens and approach, particularly having served on the municipal level but on the federal level. Now, looking at these things on the macro and understanding the role that federal policy has played in creating a number of inequities and disparities and injustices, I do see it as two pieces of the same cloth.
Ayanna Pressley:
And so the marathon bombing is something that happened in our district and your overture to our office was about you, but it wasn't just about you, right?
Ayanna Pressley:
And so, now that Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act is law, and survivors of natural disasters or terrorist attacks like the Boston Marathon bombing, who are often left with grappling lasting trauma that impacts their mental health and most of them, you know, can't access critical mental health services offered by the federal government because of you, manya.
Ayanna Pressley:
The Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act, signed into law by President Biden, expands that eligibility so survivors of various types of disasters can access the mental health supports and services, the psychological first aid, that they need. And so if you had not brought to our attention that loophole, you know, regarding an emergency declaration and I don't want to get you know too wonky here regarding an emergency declaration, and I don't want to get you know too wonky here, I'll leave that to you, Manya, but I just want your audience to know again the power of one. That's why it is two pieces of the same cloth in terms of my representing the district but also recognizing those things that can serve and be to the benefit of a nation. And that is certainly true for legislation that was only made possible because you emailed our office.
Manya Chylinski:
Well, thank you for saying that, and you know, as you were saying, that I am so proud and so amazed about the work that we did together. But I will tell you that, as an advocate, it is still a little difficult for me to get my head around the fact that you and your team and I made this change that's impacting hundreds, if not thousands, of people going forward into the future. How do you get your head around all of the good things that you're doing for Massachusetts and the country?
Ayanna Pressley:
I don't, honestly. I call my team the A-team, which is for Ayanna. My first name is spelled with an A, but I think it's also because we're very type A, very driven, and it's something I'm constantly reminding my team to lift your head up and take stock, and sort of a collective audit of the impact we're having on the good work we have done. But we actually don't pause very often because there are so many challenges and so many people depending on us to stand in the gap. And when you're governing in the current climate we are in now, oftentimes your greatest victory is not what you advance, but it's what you stop from happening, you know. So we have to be both in a defensive and offensive position. So I'm very humbled to be in a position to do this work every day.
Ayanna Pressley:
I don't really give myself that many days off, you know, mentally or otherwise, because those that seek to create harm, they're certainly not taking any days off.
Ayanna Pressley:
So you know, I'm very motivated, very compelled and I feel a radical love for the human family and, you know, because of that, a radical sense of responsibility.
Ayanna Pressley:
But, Manya, I will say that I do very much push mental health and well-being within my organization. That's something that I keep turning over in my mind for first responders, for political staff, for social workers, for healthcare personnel, for anyone doing the work of healing it's how do we heal the healers? Yes, and you know, just because you're passionate about something or it's your heart's work, it doesn't mean that you're not, along the way, erasing your own humanity while censoring everyone else's, and so that is something that I'm constantly talking to my staff about. They're all much younger than me and you know I have those conversations with them often and have really sought to create an environment where people can be transparent about what they need. I have unlimited personal time off with no questions, because I want to support people in their mental health. I have aides who have said they can't take a meeting because they have a therapy appointment, so we've created a very welcoming, safe and transparent environment in that regard, and it is something that I am proud of.
Manya Chylinski:
Absolutely. I think the job you and your team do is a very difficult job. So I have known, I've heard about how well you treat your employees and how important being trauma-informed is to you in your own work and in your own office. So I'm so glad to hear that you're sort of walking the walk, as they say. And, ayanna, we're getting close to the end of our time, although you know I could talk to you forever but I'm wondering do you have some advice for people who are listening about how they can engage with their elected representatives and advocate for mental health or trauma-related issues?
Ayanna Pressley:
Yes, my advice is that you're an expert. You know you're an expert in your degrees or in your lived experience and it matters and it needs to be heard, and just know that there is power in your advocacy. Just know that there is power in your advocacy. Elected officials, their staff members themselves, do read emails and letters and do keep an accounting of phone calls, and so just know that your voice needs to be heard. It is important, and that you are qualified to make a political contribution, simply by way of your own lived experience, and to please continue to raise your voice, even when you can feel like you're screaming into the wind and you worry that it's falling on ears that are resistant to really hear.
Ayanna Pressley:
That actually is not true. That is not true. So please do email your elected officials, call your elected officials, engage with them, with us at town halls or coffees, and it doesn't matter. I wish that everyone was registered to vote or was able to vote, but it doesn't matter if you have voted for that person or not, if you're a voting age or not. We have an accountability to you and I really do believe that we do not elect saviors. I'll say that as a voter, we don't elect saviors, but we do elect partners, and so, if you think about it in that way, you know, part of partnership is accessibility, part of partnership is accountability, so you needn't shrink or play small or be intimidated by or reluctant to lobby, agitate, demonstrate, demand things of your elected officials.
Manya Chylinski:
Yes, wow, thank you. That's great advice, because I do think one of the things that can be intimidating is thinking well, my story isn't big enough, it's not important enough, it doesn't count. My voice isn't loud enough because it's just me. I don't have a crowd behind me, so I appreciate you sharing that. And, before we go Ayana, do you have any final thoughts you want to share with our listeners?
Ayanna Pressley:
I guess I would just say, especially for those who do this work every day whether you are a social worker or a therapist or doing something in the mental or behavioral health space, whether you're a first responder or healthcare professional, and whether you're an OBGYN I mean anyone doing the work of healing to just you know you're committed to doing the work of change, but please do hold space for yourself and comparable space. Be just as committed to your own radical healing and, in the words of Maya Angelou, your own radical joy. Just close it out by saying Manya, when I held that listening only hearing on the Boston City Council, which ultimately became the groundwork for my two bills in Congress counseling, not criminalization, and also the Strong Support for Children Act I asked a psychologist there what is the chief combatant to trauma and their response was to inform joy. So that's my homework for everyone.
Manya Chylinski:
Wow, Ayanna. Thank you so much for sharing that story and your story of your advocacy work and your policy work. Thank you so much for being here today. I really appreciate it.
Ayanna Pressley:
Thank you for having me See you soon, see ya.
Manya Chylinski:
Thank you for listening. I hope you got as much out of this conversation as I did. So if you'd like to learn more about me, Manya Chylinski, I work with organizations to help understand how to create environments where people can thrive after difficult life experiences, and I do this through talks and consulting. I'm a survivor of mass violence and I use my experience to help leaders learn about resiliency, compassion and trauma-sensitive leadership to build strategies to enable teams to thrive and be engaged amidst difficulty and turmoil. If this is something you want to learn more about, visit my website, www. manyachylinskicom, or email me at manya@ manyachylinski. com, or stop by my social media on LinkedIn and Twitter. Thanks so much.
