Social Justice Speaker Series Presents
From Bias to Belonging: Trauma-Informed, Values-Aligned Leadership Across Systems
Presenter: Karen DuBois-Walton, Ph.D.
Date & Time: Â Thursday, February 19th, 2026 from 7:00PM – 8:00PM Eastern Time
Location: Live Via Zoom (Zoom Link: Emailed with ticket)
Zoom will require name and email address to enter the webinar.
Cost:
FREE to attend
FREE CE for CPA Members (Log into account to access discount!)
$15.00 CE Processing Fee for Non-members
Continuing Education: Â Eligible for 1 CE
Abstract:
This presentation reflects on a cross-sector career spanning clinical psychology, public housing, philanthropy, and community leadership development to examine how bias operates within systems—and how it can be actively disrupted. Drawing on clinical work with traumatized children and families at the Yale Child Study Center, housing justice leadership at Elm City Communities, and current work as President and CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the speaker explores how structural inequities, racialized trauma, and implicit bias shape outcomes across housing, health, and civic life.
The presentation introduces practical frameworks for redressing bias, including trauma-informed systems change, equity-centered philanthropy, values-aligned leadership development through the Graustein Community Leadership Program, and community-rooted practices such as CFGNH’s Ways of Being and The Vineyard Project’s Community Agreements. Participants will be invited to consider how psychologists—as clinicians, researchers, leaders, and advocates—can move beyond bias awareness toward building cultures of belonging, healing, and accountability within institutions and communities.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Analyze how bias operates across clinical, housing, and philanthropic systems and identify at least three mechanisms through which structural bias contributes to trauma and inequitable outcomes.
2. Apply trauma-informed and values-aligned leadership principles to design one concrete strategy for interrupting bias within their own organizational or professional context.
3. Evaluate the role of community-defined agreements and equity-centered institutional practices in promoting belonging, psychological safety, and accountability across systems.
Research Citations
AlegrĂa, M., Alvarez, K., Ishikawa, R. Z., DiMarzio, K., & McPeck, S. (2021). Removing obstacles to eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in behavioral health care. Health Affairs, 40(3), 404–412. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00898
Bailey, Z. D., Feldman, J. M., & Bassett, M. T. (2021). How structural racism works—Racist policies as a root cause of U.S. racial health inequities. New England Journal of Medicine, 384(8), 768–773. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMms2025396
DeCandia, C. J., Guarino, K., & Clervil, R. (2020). Trauma-informed approaches to housing and homelessness services. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, 29(2), 89–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2020.1730157
Presenter Biography
Karen DuBois-Walton, Ph.D. is a visionary leader dedicated to empowering communities through education, advocacy, and equitable development. With a distinguished career spanning the realms of academia, public service, and non-profit and philanthropic leadership, she has emerged as a tireless champion for equity, social justice, access and opportunity. She serves as the President and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven overseeing assets of approximately $700 million and directing impactful strategies for community engagement and investments leading to greater equity and opportunity in the twenty-town region.
Dr. DuBois-Walton holds advanced degrees in clinical psychology, complemented by a wealth of hands-on experience in government, non-profit and philanthropy. Her academic background, combined with her passion for social justice, informs her advocacy efforts and shapes her innovative solutions to complex societal challenges.
Dr. DuBois-Walton’s leadership has garnered recognition and accolades from peers and organizations across the country. She earned her BA from Yale University and a MA and Ph.D. from Boston University. She resides in New Haven with her family.
Post-Webinar Evaluation Form:
Post-webinar evaluation form will be provided during the event and must be completed to receive a Continuing Education (CE) certificate.
Closed Captions:Â Live audio captions are accessible for this event. If you need additional disability-related accommodations, please contact us by email us at info@connpsych.org or by phone (860) 404-0333. Requests should be made at least two weeks in advance of workshop date.
Refund Policy: Participants may direct questions to CPA by email at info@connpsych.org or by phone at (860) 404-0333. Registrants may cancel and receive a full refund up to two-weeks in advance of workshop date. Â An administrative fee of $30 will be charged for cancellation of registration within two weeks of the workshop date (Social Justice events will not be charged an administrative fee). Please note, no refunds will be granted within 24 hours of workshop date.
Continuing Education Approval:
The Connecticut Psychological Association (CPA) is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to offer continuing education for psychologists. CPA maintains responsibility for the program and its content. CPA will issue certificates of completion. APA CE rules require that we only issue credits to those who attend the entire workshop. Those logging into the Zoom webinar more than 15 minutes late or logging off before the entire workshop is completed will not receive CE credits (i.e., partial CE credit will not be issued).
CPA GRIEVANCE POLICY:
The Connecticut Psychological Association (CPA) is fully committed to conducting all activities in strict conformance with the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists. The CPA will comply with all legal and ethical guidelines for non-discrimination in promotional activities, program content, and in the treatment of CE participants.  While the CPA strives to assure fair treatment for all participants and to anticipate problems before they occur, occasionally grievances may be filed. In cases where a participant files a written or oral grievance, the following actions are taken:
If the grievance concerns the content of the workshop, a CPA representative will mediate and will be the final arbitrator. If the participant requests action, the CPA will either provide a credit for a subsequent CE offering or provide a partial or full refund of the CE fee already paid. Â Actions involving a credit or a refund will require a written note documenting the grievance for record-keeping purposes. The aggrieved individual need not sign the note. If the grievance specifically concerns the CPA, the CPA will attempt to arbitrate.
Direct correspondence to: The Connecticut Psychological Association, P.O. Box #1167, Old Saybrook, CT 06475 or by email to executivedirector@connpsych.org.
