Today we’d like to introduce you to Becky Haas. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Known for her contagious enthusiasm, Becky Haas is an international advocate, trainer, and organizational coach on using a trauma-informed approach, the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study, and creating trauma-informed resilient communities. In 2012, at 54 years old, she found herself out of work after her long-time grant-funded job at East Tennessee State University ended unexpectedly.
A person of faith, Becky trusted that God had more ahead for her life and decided until she knew the next step, along with caring for her family, would take time for Bible study and prayer. In December 2012, she accepted the role as the Director of a grant-funded crime prevention program for the Johnson City Police Department.
As Director, her role was to create community collaboration for examining the causal factors of crime and then work together to address these factors. This program resulted in 19 programs provided by 35 local agencies. They are credited for reducing drug-related and violent crime in a historic crime neighborhood by 40% and creating the first probation program of its kind in Tennessee, which for program graduates, reduces their rate of recidivism from 48% to 21%. At the end of the grant in 2016, this probation program was acquired by the Tennessee Department of Corrections, and it now serves as a state model for reducing recidivism. It is being replicated by TDOC across the state.
She also assisted in strengthening relationships between police and the community, including culturally diverse populations, which resulted in launching the first annual Martin Luther King, Jr. unity march in 2015. Under her leadership, these crime prevention efforts were awarded the Outstanding Criminal Justice Program of the Year for the Southern region by the National Criminal Justice Association in 2014, and the U.S. Department of Justice acknowledged the program as a success story.
While working for the police, she learned about the role childhood trauma has as a significant risk factor for later-life disparities, including addiction. Motivated to “train her town” with this knowledge, she set out with the help of an East Tennessee State University Psychology Professor, Dr. Andi Clements, and receiving technical assistance from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in three years trained over 4,000 professionals in trauma-informed care all while still doing her “crime reduction day job” at the police department. This effort led to becoming a pioneer in creating trauma-informed communities. The Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recognized the work she led in Northeast Tennessee in 2018 as a model for other cities to follow. Following this recognition, she was recruited by a regional healthcare system as their first trauma-informed administrator. There, she was tasked with training healthcare staff in multiple hospitals and developing training for a wide cross-sector of professionals in rural Appalachia. In this role, she was instrumental in raising awareness of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) as a social determinant of poor health and addiction throughout Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee.
In 2019, she co-authored the Building a Trauma Informed System of Care toolkit for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services with Dr. Andi Clements, detailing a blueprint for creating community resilience. This toolkit was published and recommended as a “practical tool” in Johns Hopkins, Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action. Becky served in this healthcare role for 18 months and at the onset of COVID-19 she took a leap of faith launching her own consulting company. Becky is the author of several sector-specific professional development trainings, with two receiving statewide accreditations in Tennessee as evidence-based training. In 2022, she partnered with Emory & Henry College to develop and record before a live audience of educators, Creating Trauma-Informed Resilient Schools – A Toolkit for School Professionals. Among other professionals in trauma-informed education and consulting, she is uniquely distinguished for her work training police officers and others in the justice system to understand trauma. She co-authored an article, “Increasing Empathy Through Trauma-Informed Policing,” based on her 3-hour POST-Trauma-Informed Policing Training, which received publication in the International Association of Chiefs of Police Magazine in October 2021 and 2023, she was invited to record a two-hour version of this training for the National Police Virtual Academy and will be released in their catalog of law enforcement trainings in 2024.
In 2020, Becky co-founded the Global Resiliency Accelerator, which now meets quarterly and has grown to have participants from 14 countries. Since launching her consulting work in 2020, she has been a keynote speaker and provided workshops nationally and internationally.
A few of these have included the San Antonio Department of Public Health Trauma Informed Care Consortium, University Health of Texas Trauma-Informed Institute, Delaware State Police Department, Smyth County Virginia School District, Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, Sutter County California Public Health Department, Tennessee Department of Public Health, Head Starts of Durham North Carolina, Clay County North Carolina School District, Virginia Department of Justice, the Tennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance, Texas Department of Juvenile Justice, Correctional Management Institute of Texas, National Association of School Resource Officers, Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Ohio Department of Education, Academy of Social Justice in the UK, Georgia Medical School at Augusta University, and training for Anthem Health team members across the state of Florida.
In 2023, Becky provided services in 11 states, traveling to eight in person. As the demand for this work grows, Becky is also sought out as an organizational trainer and coach, having recently finished a long-term contract with the Sullivan County Regional Health Department to help them move from trauma-aware to trauma-competent. In August of 2023, she received a contract with the Cumberland County School District to consult with them as they moved all of their twelve campuses to become informed. A qualified subject matter expert, she was certified by the SAMHSA Gains Center as a trauma-informed care trainer in 2017. She earned her professional certification in Trauma and Resilience from Florida State University. Becky has completed trust-based relational intervention (TBRI) courses and trauma-informed classrooms from Texas Christian University and programs from Starr Commonwealth. She is a certified Law Enforcement Crisis Intervention Team member and completed specialty training from the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement – National Association of Chiefs of Police.
She is a founding member of East Tennessee State University Ballad Health Strong Brain Institute (SBI). Among several duties is serving on a team as part of a five-year grant from the Tennessee Department of Public Health awarded to the SBI to create a Better Workplaces Tennessee designation. She serves on the Expert Advisory Board for Pathways to Resilience and Navigate 360. She has been ordained since 1996, completed ministerial training at Rhema Bible Training Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1979, and authored her first book, Your City is Waiting on You, in 2017.
Becky was the recipient of numerous personal awards, including a regional YWCA Women’s Tribute Award as a Transformational Woman in 2019, the Anita Steiner Award from Goodwill Industries for implementing job skill training into the reentry community, and was inducted into the Social Work Honor Society at King University for her above and beyond contributions which embody the heart and mission of the Social Work profession. In March of 2022, Becky received the prestigious Friends of Children award from the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, recognizing her as a state and national leader in implementing and supporting trauma-informed services and communities. Becky profoundly understands the importance for every professional sector to have intimate knowledge of healthy early childhood development and the potential for early adversity to disrupt that healthy development. An avid cyclist, Becky is married to Jonathan, and together, their greatest joys are their two sons, David and Christopher, and their growing families.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Finding myself out of work in 2012 at 54 was a hurdle. As I mentioned, I trusted God had more for me. Then, after going to work for the Johnson City Police Department as Director of a Crime Prevention program (having no previous crime prevention experience), I felt like my career path was “shot out of a cannon.” Such amazing things began to happen!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might need to become more familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
Being a heart-centered leader is something I believe that sets me apart. As a mother and then grandmother while working for the police, it was eye-opening to see how many children are growing up in hard places. Of course, as a child, no one picks where they are born. There I learned that those growing up in surroundings of poverty, abuse, historical racism, addiction, witnessing domestic violence or community violence, by having at least one nurturing, caring adult who is a regular part of their life can change their life trajectory. This motivated me to advocate and educate communities on becoming more resilient.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I think as I’ve experienced success beyond what I’d ever imagined over the last 10 years, staying true to myself and who I am is important. When I’m asked to share my story, I’m always quick to include that I looked to God for help when I was unemployed, and very discouraged at such a late age. Though I’ve worked hard since 2012, I would never take credit for bringing myself to this place alone nor for the size of favorable doors that open to me now as a consultant, which are of my own doing.
Pricing:
- For services contact me at Becky@beckyhaas.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://BeckyHaas.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckyhaas/
