Community

The Resilience Portfolio Consortium (RPC) is a joint endeavor of the Life Paths Research Center (Sewanee, TN) and the Center for Research on Ending Violence, Rutgers School of Social Work.

About the Resilience Portfolio Consortium

Mission Statement

The Resilience Portfolio Consortium (RPC) is an international community of scholars and policymakers. We work together to advance the science of resilience and psychosocial strengths, with the ultimate aim of informing prevention, intervention, and reducing the global burden of trauma and its consequences. The RPC advocates a portfolio approach to resilience and prevention. The portfolio approach emphasizes the importance of harnessing assets and resources across all levels of the social and physical ecology, focusing on the domains of meaning making, regulatory, and interpersonal strengths. Our work emphasizes the use of multiple methods, promotes scholarly collaboration and mentoring, and engages practitioners and communities. A primary focus of the RPC is developing a global and coordinated approach to identifying key psychosocial strengths (especially understudied or underappreciated strengths) in a broad range of cultural and geographic settings. We are particularly interested in facilitating work in communities that have historically received less scientific investment. The RPC is designed to provide opportunities for scholars seeking mentoring, training, and professional community for their work on preventing and overcoming trauma. 

The creation of the RPC was inspired by the promise of strengths-based approaches–and also by the challenges in shifting to strengths, as seen by the persistence of deficits-based and even victim-blaming approaches to trauma. We recognize the obstacles in keeping up with new work and pushing against longstanding scientific conventions and created the RPC to help scholars move the field forward faster. A key goal of the RPC is to discourage research on resilience that overly focuses on individual characteristics or studies only one strength at a time, because such approaches have limited utility for overcoming trauma and can even become victim-blaming. We also aim to promote global collaborations on this work.

Activities and Resources

The RPC will provide a range of protocols and other supports to promote portfolio-based work on resilience. 

• Scoping Reviews Project. Our first efforts will focus on building scholarly teams who will prepare and publish scoping reviews that focus on a specific region, population, or category of strength. Protocols, examples, and training will be provided to authors.
  • Recommended Scoping Reviews resource:
    • Scoping Reviews – Evidence Synthesis in the Social Sciences – Research Guides at Rutgers University
• Mentoring opportunities. Led by Co-Directors Dr. Sherry Hamby and Dr. Victoria Banyard, there will be numerous opportunities for professional development, including a system for formally recognizing professional progression in scholarship (see below).
• Networking opportunities. Beginning with our first in-person meeting in Nashville, TN, USA on April 19, 2023, there will be many opportunities to meet and form relationships with other scholars with interests in resilience and trauma.
• Protocols for other scholarly endeavors:
  • Qualitative interviews and guides to explore understudied and/or culturally specific strengths.
  • Survey research, to develop tools to assess all elements of the resilience portfolio–trauma, psychosocial strengths, and current functioning) and to provide valid and reliable measures for communities worldwide.
  • Program evaluations and guidance on how to better integrate basic research with prevention and intervention.
• Opportunities to work with others on existing or shared datasets to investigate new strengths-based analyses and hypotheses.

Benefits of Membership

• Members will have access to mentoring across career stages.
• Members will be part of a community of scholars producing strengths-focused science.
• Membership provides professional affiliation and service to help build your own scholarship portfolio and CV.
• Members will have opportunities to collaborate on publications and grants.
• Members will be invited to be part of quarterly RPC online community building, idea exchange, and accountability meet-ups, both in-person and on zoom.
• Members will be offered an affiliation with the Life Paths Research Center.
• Members will be part of a community that will provide opportunities for mentoring and for connecting with scientific teams to partner on scholarly projects.
• Members will be able to access all protocols developed by the RPC.

Levels of Involvement

• Members: All Interested researchers, advocates, and providers can join as Members. There is no fee to join.
• Senior Members: Members who have been the lead author or faculty supervisor on at least one peer-reviewed, portfolio-based journal article or similar professional project (such as developing a curriculum) on resilience are eligible to become Senior Members. Senior Members are expected to remain active in the RPC (including participating in quarterly meetings and collaborating on RPC projects).
• Fellows: Senior Members with substantial contributions to research, policy, or practice using a portfolio approach to resilience or prevention may apply for Fellow status. Fellows are expected to mentor early-career members of the RPC and help recruit others to the RPC.
• Associate Directors: There are limited positions available for those who want to get more involved in the administration of the RPC and shaping of the direction of the RPC. 

Leadership

• The RPC is led by Drs. Sherry Hamby and Victoria Banyard, Co-Directors. 

Meetings

The first in-person meeting of the RPC will be held on April 19, 2023, immediately after ResilienceCon in Nashville, TN, USA.

Please direct questions related to the RPC to Liz Taylor at lifepaths@lifepathsresearch.org.

Adeyinka Adeoye, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital
Becci Akin, University of Kansas
Janie Ames, Strengthening Indiana Families/Indiana University
Tia Andersen, University of South Carolina
Gifty Ashirifi, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Victoria Banyard, Rutgers University – School of Social Work
Xenia Barnes, Capella University
Tab Battle, Independent Scholar
Oznur Bayar, Hacettepe University
Juan Benavides, Ohio State University
Rebecca Bosetti, University of Nevada Las Vegas
Emily Bosk, Rutgers
Jessamyn Bowling, UNC Charlotte
Loretta Brady, Saint Anselm College Community Resilience & Social Equity Lab
Matthew Brooks, Manchester Metropolitan University
Jordan Catlett, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Shih-Ying Chang, University of Illinois Chicago
Raina Chhajer, Indian Institute of Management Indore, India
Shelby Clark, University of Kentucky
Lisa Colón, Cleveland State University
Sara Conley, Cleveland State University
Patricia Correia-Santos, University of Minho
Meghan Crabtree, Colorado State University / Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research
Jonathan Davis, Samford University
Rebecca Davis, Rutgers University School of Social Work
Jacqueline De Puy, freelance
Elizabeth de Wetter, The University of the South
Douglas DeMoulin, Saint Anselm College Community Resilience & Social Equity Lab
Arielle Deutsch, Avera Research Institute
Sara Durbin, State of North Dakota
Jacquelynn Duron, Rutgers University School of Social Work
Michael Edwards, Eastern Judicial Circuit (GA) District Attorney’s Office/Phoenix 50 Consulting LLC
Katie Edwards, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jenna Elliot, Indiana University School of Social Work
Alexis Ellsworth-Kopkowski, University of New Mexico
Victor Esparza, University of the South
Mahsa Fallahi, University of Tehran
Zoë Firth, King’s
Holly Foster, Texas A&M University
Ben Freer, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Adrian Gale, Rutgers University School of Social Work
Nili Gesser, University of North Dakota
Lindsay Gezinski, University of Utah
Glenn Given, Saint Anselm College Community Resilience & Social Equity Lab
Ayse Guler, University of Kentucky
Gail-Ann Guy-Cupid, University of the Virgin Islands
Matthew Hagler, Francis Marion University
Sherry Hamby, University of the South; Life Paths
Rebecca Hamer, CRESR, Sheffield Hallam University
Era Hamiti, University of Prishtina
Brittany Hampton, University of Mississippi
Ashly Hanna, University of North Dakota
Rachel Hanebutt, Vanderbilt University
Sheila Hanson, University of North Dakota
Megan Haselschwerdt, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Amanda Hasselle, University of Memphis
Victoria Helm, Cleveland State University
Mona Herrington, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Melanie Hetzel-Riggin, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
Sunghyun Hong, University of Michigan
Skyler Hopfauf, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Kathryn Howell, The University of Memphis
Martha Ishiekwene, Georgia State University
Elaine Jackson , Georgia State University
Mallika Jade, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Vickie Johnson, H.O.R.S.E.S
Lisa Jones, University of New Hampshire
James Jurgensen, Accenture
Camilla Kalthoff, The University of the South
Mehak Kapoor, Washington & Lee University
Kaltrina Kelmendi, Department of Psychology, University of Prishtina, Kosova
Shaina Kumar, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, UNC Charlotte
Linda Lawless, PTI
Veronique LeBlanc, University of New Hampshire
Seungjin Lee, EWHA WOMANS UNIVERSITY
Debra Leggett, Walden University
Sophie Leontopoulou, University of Ioannina, Greece
Danielle Littman, University of Utah
Eunice Magalhães, ISCTE
Esther Malm, Murray State University
Angie Malorni, Rutgers University
E. Susana Mariscal, Indiana University School of Social Work
Paula Martins, University of Minho
Yvonne Mbewe, University of Connecticut
Mike McCabe, Nipissing University
Cindy McDougall, Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health
Erica McIntosh, California Baptist University
Nicole McKenna, Rutgers University
Rosie McMahan, MA Mentoring Partnership
Cecilia Mengo, The Ohio State University College of Social Work
Samson Mhizha, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
Elizabeth Miller, School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh
Audrey Miller, University of Houston
Hasina Mohyuddin, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University
Carmen Monico, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Deborah Moon, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh
Brooke Morgan, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
Lena Obara, Rutgers University
Julia O’Connor, University of Central Florida
Michele R. Parkhill, Oakland University
Sarah Parmenter, The Ohio State University
NIraly Patel, University of Arizona
Waverly Patterson, University of South Dakota
Tori Paukgana, SRPMIC Youth Services
Fei Pei, Syracuse University
Noemí Pereda, University of Barcelona
Selena Piercy, The University of the South
Sebastian Prandoni, Joint MSW NC A&T and UNC-G
Katie Querna, St Cloud State University
Spenser Radtke, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Genie Raff, Ilene Serlin’s Assistant
Rebecca Rampe, The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Kristen Ravi, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Travis Ray, Naval Health Research Center
Kristina Ray-Bennett, Indiana University
Nicole Reed, University of Colorado
Dennis Relojo-Howell, Psychreg and University of Edinburgh
Michelle-Ann Rhoden Neita, University of Illinois Chicago
Danielle Rousseau, Boston University
Chiara Sabina, Rutgers University – School of Social Work
Marlena Salters, Georgia State University
Michael Schoemann, Oakland University
Katie Schultz, University of Michigan
Ilene Serlin, Self-employed
Asma Shamim, University of Toronto
Tricia Sherman, Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters
Katie Shires, Washington University in St. Louis
Karla Shockley McCarthy, The Ohio State University
Jennifer Silcox, King’s University College at Western University
Trinity Smartt, University of the South
Shireen Sokar, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Heather Storer, University of Louisville
Heather Taussig, University of Denver and Kempe Center
Elizabeth Taylor, Oakland University & Life Paths Research Center
Sean Taylor, Oakland University
Hayley Tessier, Notre Dame
Antara Thakur, University of Mumbai
Camie Tomlinson, Virginia Commonwealth University
Preciouse Trujillo, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Rivka Tuval-Mashiach, Bar-Ilan University
Gene Tyon, Indigenous
Ariel Valdes, Saint Anselm College Community Resilience & Social Equity Lab
Olivia Varney-Chang, University of Michigan
Maritza Vasquez Reyes, University of Connecticut
Jessica Wagner, University of Central Lancashire/Birmingham City University UK
Xiafei Wang, Syracuse University
Dora Watkins, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Marcela Weber, South Central MIRECC, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
Esther Weiner, Jefferson Center
Lisa Wilson, University of North Dakota
Michelle Wright, DePaul University
Yitong Xin, The Ohio State University
Yanfeng Xu, University of South Carolina
Ruth Yeo-Peterson, Center for Victims of Torture
Susan Yoon, Ohio State University
Nicole Yuan, University of Arizona
Pamela Zapata-Sepúlveda, Universidad de Tarapacá
Melissa Zephier Olson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

ResComm is a listserv for the community of resilience professionals. ResComm welcomes posts on all topics related to resilience, including strengths, social justice, other protective factors, adversity, prevention, intervention, and information on programs and program evaluations related to these issues. You can also ask questions, look for collaborators, or make announcements that might be of interest. We also welcome posts sharing news of the community of professionals who are devoted to reducing the burden of trauma and opportunities that may be of interest to this community.

If you have a Google account, ResComm can be reached at Google Groups via this link: https://groups.google.com/a/lifepathsresearch.org/g/rescomm.

If you do not have a Google account, a ResComm subscription will be provided by sending an email with “Subscribe” in the subject line to lifepaths@lifepathsresearch.org.

All posts must abide by the Inclusiveness Policy of Life Paths Research Center:

We would be glad to have you join our community and hope you will find it helpful.

POWR-L is a listserv for people interested in the psychology of women and gender. POWR-L welcomes discussion of current topics, research, teaching strategies, and practice issues related to the psychology of women and gender. You are welcome to publicize relevant conferences, job announcements, calls for papers, publications, and other related material. You can also ask questions and look for collaborators.  We also welcome posts sharing news of the community of professionals who are devoted to reducing gender and related biases and opportunities that may be of interest to this community.  

Life Paths Research Center has become the institutional host for this list after many years at the University of Rhode Island under the sponsorship of Kat Quina.

If you have a Google account, POWR-L can be reached at Google Groups via this link:
https://groups.google.com/u/2/a/lifepathsresearch.org/g/powr-l

If you do not have a Google account, a POWR-L subscription will be provided by sending an email with “Subscribe” in the subject line to lifepaths@lifepathsresearch.org.

All posts must abide by the Inclusiveness Policy of Life Paths Research Center:

We would be glad to have you join our community and hope you will find it helpful.

In these “webchats” (not just a webinar), we will host some of our favorite thinkers and activists, who will be interviewed by a panel of colleagues and students. These promise to be wide—ranging discussions of research, practice, and professional development. The panelists are encouraged to develop questions on any topic related to our guest expert’s knowledge and professional experience.

The webchats are offered at no cost, but we encourage donations to support the work of Life Paths to reduce the burden of trauma, promote thriving, and help us sustain staff hours during the pandemic.

Links to upcoming web chats will be available prior to the chat.

The purpose of the Mindful Writing group is to help you work on your writing an important task, but one that often feels less urgent than all emails, meetings, and other demands. A classic “nudge” for this dilemma is to schedule some writing time on your calendar.

The mindful writing group offers a bonus on top of that–a chance to enjoy fellowship with scholars with similar interests and to take a few minutes to practice mindfulness in community.

The 2-hour group begins with a check-in, where each person shares a writing and a mindfulness goal, followed by a brief mindfulness exercise. Then, 90 minutes of writing time, followed by a checkout and another brief mindfulness session to send you on in a good way.

We welcome first-timers as well as regulars.

Monday times are:
12:00 – 2:00 Pacific
1:00 – 3:00 Mountain
2:00 – 4:00 Central
3:00 – 5:00 Eastern

Thursday times are:
7:00 – 9:00 Pacific
8:00 – 10:00 Mountain
9:00 – 11:00 Central
10:00 – 12:00 Eastern

The Zoom link is:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88175346598?pwd=aWF1SzRiZWRoSEpoK0Q0dkRwODVMZz09

(Note to regulars: the link has changed!)

Hope to see you there!