71: Advocating for Resilience--Creating Trauma-Informed Communities with Maryann McEvoy

Have you ever marveled at the resilience of those who tirelessly advocate for others, even amidst their own personal adversities?

In this final episode in our series, Advocating for Resilience, Maryann McEvoy offers an unfiltered glimpse into promoting change while navigating the complexities of government systems. We discussed her own personal trauma,  the profound impacts of empathy-driven leadership, the challenges of confronting legal and corporate giants in the fight for human rights, and how our own experiences can inform and revolutionize the way we lead and engage with our teams during difficult times.

We also talk about the building blocks of trauma-informed communities, including the innovative initiatives in Pennsylvania that are a model for fostering healing and resilience from the grassroots level.

The episode is a masterclass on how a single voice, driven by authentic purpose and conviction, can lead to change. And it offers a wealth of insights for anyone looking to cultivate a culture of compassion and resilience within their own lives and organizations.

Maryann McEvoy is the Executive Director at the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of Advocacy and Reform , and elected member of the Executive Steering Council of HEAL PA, a coalition of close to 300 trauma experts within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania working to implement the Trauma Informed PA Plan.

You can connect with Maryann on LinkedIn or on the websit of Heal PA.

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.

Transcript

Maryann McEvoy: 1:14

Step one is knowing what you want to advocate for. And I think we all have very broad visions of what we want as advocates, but identifying tangible things that you want to happen within your community. Right? And then determining who it you have to work with to get that done.

Manya Chylinski: 1:36

Hello, and welcome to Notes on Resilience. I'm your host, Manya Chylinsky. And today, we have another episode in our advocating for resilience series where I speak with Marya nn McEvoy. She is the executive director of the office of advocacy and reform and child advocate for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and she is on the executive steering council of Heel p a, which is a coalition within Pennsylvania working to implement their trauma informed PA plan. And we had a wonderful conversation about her role in the government and how advocacy takes a village, whether your role is in the government or you're an independent advocate. I think you're really gonna learn a lot in this conversation. I know I did. Maryan n, thanks for being here today. I'm so that we've gotten you on as a guest.

Maryann McEvoy: 2:33

Me too. Me too. I've been excited to join you. The day has finally come.

Manya Chylinski: 2:38

I know it has, and our listeners are gonna be glad that it has. And before we dive into advocacy and all of the great work that you're doing, The question I start for everyone is if you could have dinner with a historical figure, who would it be and why?

Maryann McEvoy: 2:55

Okay? So I've actually been asked this question before, which is why I know exactly who I wanna say. And it might seem a little bizarre, but as you guys get to know me, it'll make more sense through the podcast. I don't know if you're familiar with Sarah Good, but Sarah Good was one of the first women to be executed in the Salem Witch trials.

Manya Chylinski: 3:17

Oh, okay.

Maryann McEvoy: 3:18

I would love to hear her story from her perspective and how She was treated by her community and what that felt like, and she was very outspoken. She was very much an advocate. So I'm curious to know, I would just I there are so many questions I would have for her, and how she navigated, just living in those times. And maybe if we spoke in an afterlife, if that this? You know, how did she feel looking back at everything she experienced well? But she had done differently and she was her community to differently.

Manya Chylinski: 3:50

Wow. That is that's a great one. I love that. And like like I say with all of my guests, I wish I could be there, wish I could make it happen, and I could be there so that we could learn this But I love your question that you're thinking of, you know, how does she feel about how she was treated by her community? And I think that gets at the heart of what you and I are gonna be talking about and your advocacy work and you have I think a pretty high powered job as executive director of the office of advocacy and reform and then child advocate for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. That sounds like really serious work.

Maryann McEvoy: 4:32

I take it very seriously. I certainly do. I think coming in to the position when anyone starts a new job. There's a lot of excitement and anticipation and feeling like, oh, we're gonna we're gonna change the world, you know, and and that's good because I believe in ways. We do we do that no matter what job we're in. Right? But I also think that sometimes when people hear that I'm in government, they think you have all the power to do all of this. Right? And man, does it take a village? Right? That expression is there for a reason. There's so many limitations to the power that we have even if we are working within government. And I also think that it depends how we define power. Right? Because there are times where and I love my job. But there are times where I think back when I was working directly in my communities. And I felt maybe more powerful than I feel right now because I was directly working with people and seeing the change that I wanted to be creative. So it all lies in how we define that. Right?

Manya Chylinski: 5:39

Yes. It does. And I think that's so interesting to think about because I feel that way too thinking that, okay, you're in government. You are the one who's shaping the real change to the system, but maybe that isn't exactly true. Not you are. You're not the only one. And maybe, is it more difficult to be shaping change from within the system?

Maryann McEvoy: 6:03

Well, you know what? I don't think it's more or less difficult. I think it's the difficulty is making sure that we're building networks of individuals who are collaborating to create a shared vision and a shared desire for change. Right? That's where the power comes in. The power isn't numbers. So we can want to do as much as we want to do at a state level without the support of our voters, without the support of the constituents all over Pennsylvania, we won't make a lot of movement, nor would we know what movement we need to make because we need to know what's happening in our communities and look the same across the state and what looks different and how do we properly address those concerns that our constituents are having.

Manya Chylinski: 6:50

And I appreciate your point and it's something some of the other advocates have made in this series that it takes a village. And It is wonderful to have to be a person who has the energy and the desire to make the change. And that is necessary, but we can't do it as individuals that we have to come together with others who are looking to make change as well. Yeah. So I appreciate that that reminder. It's something that just it personally as an advocate. It is definitely something I need to remind myself I can kind of start going in one direction because this is what I wanna do and start to have to realize, oh, yeah. No. I need some help on this.

Maryann McEvoy: 7:32

Yeah. You are the key players that you need that have the ability to make certain changes.

Manya Chylinski: 7:37

Right. That's a very important piece. And before we dive more into your work and as an advocate, I just would love to hear about your personal journey. What brought you to this kind of work and why is it so important to you?

Maryann McEvoy: 7:53

So I think that to a point, I was just born this way. I was born with this fire to stand up for people who I felt were not standing up for themselves for whatever reason that may be. And my parents laugh when they tell stories of me as a little girl, but they're very much who I still am today when I received with some of them. And then I remember, you know, as I grew up starting to understand more of the pain that was being experienced in the world and feeling like there has to be something I can do? What could I do to try to make things better? Specifically, I can remember a specific moment. Of seeing a new story on the television. It was Princess Diana was in Africa. She's providing some type of aid. And programming to children. And I was asking my I was very young, but I was asking my mom what was she doing, why did Why didn't they have houses? Why didn't they have food? And just learning that this world was so much bigger than this little house that I was living in and wanting to catch and heal all of that pain in in those little hands that I had. Right? And then that really just continued to spark that, oh, I need to do something. I want to make some type of a positive change. I want to help people. And I found a little ways to do that even as a child. Eventually, it continued to blossom. You know, I became a special education teacher, and I wanted to learn more about how to be a disabilities rights activist. And I had my own mental health struggles and a panic disorder. By the time I was fourteen, I was diagnosed with panic disorder, was very debilitating for me actually until I got the right type of treatment and support that I needed. But part of that support that I received was a school psychologist connecting me with our special education program and saying I think that you'd be a wonderful volunteer in this place. And I got to know the students, I got to know the teachers, and I found a little it felt like home. So early on in my career, I ended up being a special education teacher. I moved into kind of independent advocacy. I would call it, I was volunteering different summers in different countries. I went to Tanzania. I went to a number of different places and hope to build programs that were inclusive for children who had disabilities, whether they were physical or emotional disabilities. Oh, wow. Yeah. And then when I returned home, I decided I wanted to continue to know to learn more about how to develop programs that would support horrible people, not necessarily just individuals with disabilities, but women and children. Because I really saw the difference in treatment for women and children in some of the marginalized countries that I was in Mhmm. And that I wanted to make a difference there. During that time, when I was getting my master's degree, I experienced my own trauma. I was in a very abusive relationship it was physically abusive and sexually abusive, and I did not recognize that for some time because I was in a relationship I didn't really understand that sexual abuse was truly sexual abuse. That's what it was because it felt like that was my boyfriend. And it took a lot of time to learn and understanding trauma because that was part of my core studies and all of that to to really propel me forward and wanting to advocate for all vulnerable populations and to make sure that people kind of came to this realization and this light bulb moment that I had. What is trauma? What does it look like? Not just for people who work in the programs that I was working for working with, but also myself, personal sleep because it didn't occur to me that I may have experienced my own trauma. Right? So that just continued to spark that passion of wanting to heal pain and wanting to advocate for people who did not have always have a seat at the table. Right? So I continued through my master's program. I worked with the United Nations for some time focusing on programs that prevented human trafficking and eventually decided when my program my master's program was complete to move back to Pennsylvania. I started my family, and then my wonderful husband, I started my family, and that's what kind of brought me back to this more local focus. Advocacy. It's state state focused advocacy.

Manya Chylinski: 12:31

Right. Wow. That

Maryann McEvoy: 12:34

was a lot. That was a lot.

Manya Chylinski: 12:37

You know, it's what it's not a lot in that you took too long to tell your story. It's a lot in that you have done a lot of really good work. Even from from childhood, you've been focused on this in so amazing. Well, thank you for sharing that. And you have you are now in a position where you maybe can amplify those that work and the voices that, you know, that come to you to make change. And what are some ways that somebody who wants to be an advocate or who is an advocate and is looking for their village? What are some ways that they can collaborate with officials like yourself or the policy makers and to create meaningful change.

Maryann McEvoy: 13:30

So I think that step one is knowing what you want to advocate for. And I think we all have very broad visions of what we want as advocates, but identifying tangible things that you want to happen within your community. Right? And then determining who it it determining who it is that you have to work with to get that done. So if there is a loophole in a law that you've been recognizing that's affecting you or people who you work with, and it needs to be filled. Contacting your house representative or your senator and explaining to them the unintended consequence within that legislative ablation that they may not even realize is there. Right? So first knowing, specifically, what do you want to do? Yeah. And I'm sure it will fall. You'll have a number of specific things that you want to do that are gonna fall under your umbrella, your vision, and your mission, right, as an advocate. But when you identify the specific things you wanna do, reach out to the people who can make that act that change and guide them in how to do that. Mhmm. They need your expertise. Right? And there are other things that can be done. I mean, maybe you are not a voting age yet. You know, or I spoke about this really being part of who I was even from my early childhood. And I remember in middle school or it was middle school or it was early high school. It might have been a freshman in high school. I had learned about the human rights abuses that were happening in Myanmar. And I was just I was so riled up over this. Right? And I decided I looked up and I I recognized that there was one specific oil company, which I'm not gonna let you know. But there was one specific oil company that was really creating a lot of the human rights abuses that were occurring because they were digging for pipeline in that specific town. And I was like, well, somebody and everybody needs to know here not to get gas at this place. Now I'm much older, so I realize we're talking oil companies. But at that point, at that point in life, I was like, we can't get back here. We're not gonna do that. I'm gonna ride my bike. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do this. And I decided I'm gonna create a pamphlet that tells people what's happening in this other country. I'm gonna have pictures of the people who are being affected and real data and information of what's happening. And then I'm also gonna have bullet points of different things that they can do to avoid getting gas from this company. Right. I love it. I printed this all out and my father God love him. Help me print everything, make sure it look nice. I got it all folded up, but I had all these pamphlets ready. And I went and I stood at that darn gas station and I just handed out handsets. And I just taught people, and a lot of people are like, wow, this is crazy. I didn't know that. Thank you. You know? And moved on. Now the owner of the gas station was not very happy with me. And he said, you really gotta make a difference. Why don't you go to school and learn how to do this stuff? I said, well, I am going to do But for today, I'm right here. And I remember the police coming and being like, she's not doing anything wrong. She's not on your property. Like, she's just educating people. My brothers were so embarrassed because they were in a car and their friends were like, is that your sister and they start?

Manya Chylinski: 16:56

Oh, you are a force to be reckoned with.

Maryann McEvoy: 17:00

You can make a difference no matter what age you are in big ways and in small ways. Right? Just be true to who you are, and don't be scared of confrontation because like I said, if you're advocating for something somebody's not gonna be happy with you, that gas station manager was not thrilled with me on that day. But I was okay with that.

Manya Chylinski: 17:21

Right. I think that's an important reminder, you know. And in fact, if I'm thinking if you if somebody isn't upset about what you're doing, maybe you're not actually advocating for anything.

Maryann McEvoy: 17:33

Yeah.

Manya Chylinski: 17:33

You're or for change. I mean, you're not advocating for something to change because Yeah. We're we don't like to make change. You know, and you are part of something that I just love that trauma informed Pennsylvania. Plan. And then you're part of Hill PA, which is that coalition Yeah. To implement this trauma informed culture, I guess, across this city.

Maryann McEvoy: 17:56

Yeah.

Manya Chylinski: 17:57

And I'd love to learn a little bit more about that because talk about a village and making change. Yeah. That is I think, an amazing effort. And

Maryann McEvoy: 18:07

I would still say we're in our infancy stages. I mean, we've been doing this for five years now, but there's still so much to do because when we're talking about culture change, we're talking about really getting deep into our communities and not just changing regulatory processes, doing check the box type of work. We're talking about having ongoing conversations about products stress because and I'd like to say that over the word trauma because trauma has become such a buzz word. And some people immediately say, I don't talk about I don't talk about this anymore. Right?

Manya Chylinski: 18:41

Yeah.

Maryann McEvoy: 18:42

Okay. Then let's talk brain science. And what trauma is, and it's chronic stress. And that looks different across populations. Right? Our marginalized populations are experiencing trauma levels that are different but having incredible impact on them physically and psychologically, but anybody can recognize the impact that chronic stress is having on them as an individual. We all experience it. Right? We all experience it at some point. And sometimes it's as simple as you're in a very toxic work environment. Well, what happens when you're in a very toxic work environment and you come home to your children you're screaming, you're stressed, you don't have you can't keep yourself calm to be able to deal with the complex problems that might arise and being apparent. Right? There's a ripple effect there. You yell. They yell. You're creating even think about not just coming home to children. Let's say you're a you're just driving down the road. We talk about road rage all the time. That stands from chronic stress. People are driving and they're so amped up by the stress that they've been experiencing, how do we get people to take a breath and realize, okay, I need to practice my own well-being, my own healing, I need to take a breath so that I'm not bleeding on people who didn't cut me.

Manya Chylinski: 20:01

Right. Well, you know, I first read about trauma informed PA a little while ago and a few years ago and decided that we need to have that here in Massachusetts. We need to have a trauma informed MA. We might as well just copy the whole program. And I have been putting out feelers, trying to figure out what are we already doing and can I would love to create this statewide framework like you guys have? So I'm just saying that right now on the podcast because I want people to know that's that's where I'm heading and I'm reaching out to people to try to figure out how we can make that happen.

Maryann McEvoy: 20:35

Oh, yeah. I love yeah. Our started within our governor's office but others movements don't have to start at that high state level. Right? At the end of the day, what we're the most important work that we're doing is we're creating local coalitions in each of our counties. We have sixty seven counties. We have forty four local coalitions now.

Manya Chylinski: 20:57

Yeah.

Maryann McEvoy: 20:57

And they're helping them build up, like, what resources do they provide? What how often do they get together? Talk about their processes and procedures within their counties, how can they different systems integrate their work so that they're promoting healing and preventing child abuse and child neglect. Right? These are all the conversations that have to be have it, have to be had across all your communities. So there's a lot of coordination involved? Yes. And it helps to have a state level entity that can help convene those conversations. But, man, it could be a nonprofit that has representation throughout the whole state. Yes. So because I started letting me know, I'd love to help.

Manya Chylinski: 21:33

Okay. Well, you heard it here first folks. We're gonna make this happen. But I have started to recognize, you know, we have so many people on the ground who are doing such good work. And I've started to be identifying some of the groups that I can identify. And I realize, you know, we there are people doing this work. And so how do we kind of organize them in and force multiply the work that they're doing. So people aren't duplicating effort when that's not necessary.

Maryann McEvoy: 22:03

And So And whatever you say earlier, there's power and numbers. Right?

Manya Chylinski: 22:07

So there is

Maryann McEvoy: 22:09

Yeah. Getting everyone together and on the same page, to move in the same direction is what it's all about?

Manya Chylinski: 22:15

Yes. And, you know, you mentioned that that you'll p a and trauma informed p a are kind of in their infancy. But how does it feel things are moving? Do you feel like you guys are you seeing change?

Maryann McEvoy: 22:29

Yeah. I mean, just sitting on a Zoom meeting and recognizing that we have the majority of our counties. There are teams in forty four of our sixty seven counties that are aligning with the work that we're doing that are utilizing our resources that are starting to get their hands dirty in changing the cultures within their counties or even the townships within their counties, you know, that's extremely rewarding Mhmm. To to see and to be a part of. I mean, they're doing the work in their communities, but just knowing that they have the backbone of the support system of this statewide entity really helps keep it's funny. It helps keep them moving, but it also helps keep us moving Mhmm. Because we feel connected to them. Yeah. So it's a beautiful thing.

Manya Chylinski: 23:18

Yes. Well, and it's back to what you started with that it takes a village. And this is a way to

Maryann McEvoy: 23:24

Yeah.

Manya Chylinski: 23:24

Kind of organize that village to all be moving in

Maryann McEvoy: 23:27

the same direction.

Manya Chylinski: 23:28

The similar direction. Yeah. Yeah. So amazing.

Maryann McEvoy: 23:31

Yeah.

Manya Chylinski: 23:32

So we have getting close to the end, but I, of course, wanna talk to you for about five more hours. But one thing, you know, I'd love to get your input on, you know, how do you take care of yourself as an advocate? Because this work can be emotional and it can be difficult and in some cases it's personal. So how do you maintain your health when you're doing this work?

Maryann McEvoy: 23:58

I I try to cut myself from Slack every now and then. I think that the answer most people would expect to hear is, like, I do yoga. I eat right. I do things. And and I do. I actually love yoga. My husband would tell you, he's like, where are you probably at the yoga studio because I don't know where you are. But the truth of the matter is, I'm like, I'm gonna give you an example. The past two weeks have been really hard emotional weeks for me as an advocate. Because like we said before, you're always if you're doing your job right, you're always gonna be upsetting someone. Mhmm. It's not it doesn't feel good to not be like Everybody wants to be liked by everyone. Right?

Manya Chylinski: 24:35

Yeah.

Maryann McEvoy: 24:36

You start to question yourself and you start to beat yourself up even if you're fired, man. And letting yourself be sad. Sometimes. And letting yourself take a day to lay on the couch and eat cold dominoes at ten AM. You know? Like, it's a jokey. You're you're human. Do it. You know? Trade the high heels for some fuzzy socks and let yourself take a breather. Mhmm. And maybe that does look like going to yoga, but maybe it doesn't. Mhmm. Maybe it looks like eating a cookie. Like who cares? You know, let yourself do what your body is telling you to do in moderation. Right? You're not gonna do that every single day. You wanna take care of your health and your well-being. But just listen listen to your heart and listen to your mind and your body and trust yourself because you know what you need on the inside. And then when you're ready, snap yourself out of it. And remember that you're a boss and you're gonna get stuff done.

Manya Chylinski: 25:27

Yeah.

Maryann McEvoy: 25:28

Even though it feels like you're never gonna be able to make a huge change you wanna make, you're gonna make a little change, and that's gonna have a ripple effect.

Manya Chylinski: 25:35

That's such an important reminder. I think so many of us envision this really big change, and that's great. And that keeps us moving. Yeah. But we might not ever see that really big change. Right. But we'll see the little changes.

Maryann McEvoy: 25:49

Yeah. Yeah. I think one of the most powerful things that I'll do in my life will have nothing to do with my job. I think it will be teaching my kids that they're loved unconditionally and have all themselves unconditionally. Mhmm. That's the most powerful thing that we can sometimes do. Yeah. You know?

Manya Chylinski: 26:06

Absolutely. Well, before we wrap up, I'm just curious, what is giving you hope right now?

Maryann McEvoy: 26:13

What is giving me hope? The sunshine that keeps coming out every day. We are officially in spring and mandated I need to make it to spring this year. I don't know if anybody else feels that way. Yeah. That's that's what gives me hope is just knowing that tomorrow's always gonna come. Mhmm. And there's gonna be more opportunities. To do great things.

Manya Chylinski: 26:35

Yeah. Oh, I think that's so great. Maryann, thank you so much for chatting with me today. And how can people reach you or learn more about the work that you're doing?

Maryann McEvoy: 26:45

Oh, well, find me on LinkedIn for sure. If you're on LinkedIn, if you're not on LinkedIn, they can go to HealPA. org. We have info at as the email address if they had any questions I wanted to reach out. That way, they are more welcome more than welcome to do that. But, yeah, I'm an open book. So they wanna connect on LinkedIn and see what I'm up to. I I welcome that.

Manya Chylinski: 27:10

Oh, that sounds great. I'll put that info in the show notes to make it easier for people to find you. Barian, thank you so much for chatting with me today. This has been I've been really looking forward to this conversation and it did not disappoint.

Maryann McEvoy: 27:23

Well, thank you. It's been wonderful to be here with you. Thanks for having me.

Manya Chylinski: 27:28

Alright. Thanks, everyone, for listening. Bye bye. 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 a bit of science y compassion and trauma sensitive leadership to build strategies to enable teams to thrive and be engaged amidst difficulty in turmoil. If this is something you want to learn more about, visit my website www. manyachylinski. com. Email me at manya@manyachylinski. com or stop by my social media on LinkedIn and Twitter. Thanks so much.