April 2025
Dear Friends and Supporters,
As spring unfolds, we’re reminded of both the beauty of renewal and the weight of the moment we’re in. Around the world, and in our own communities, we continue to witness the growing impacts of political division, environmental crises, and the urgent call for justice and human rights.
At Mindbridge, we believe that understanding the “why” behind these shifts is essential to meaningful change. That’s why this month, we’re offering a free public webinar, Understanding Populism and Extremism, to explore the psychological and societal forces behind polarization, radicalization, and authoritarianism. These insights help us not only understand how we got here, but also how we move forward. Across our programs, whether it’s HRTI’s Culturally Responsive Therapy Training Series, the Mindbridge Institute’s educational sessions, or the courageous work of local human rights defenders, we’re committed to turning awareness into action.
Thank you for being part of this work with us. Your support helps transform these collective challenges into possibilities for healing, justice, and growth.
In community and solidarity,
- The Mindbridge Team
I Am A Human Rights Defender
Gia Drew
Human rights defenders seek the promotion and protection of civil and political rights
as well as the promotion, protection and realization of economic, social + cultural rights.
- OHCHR
Gia Drew (she/her) is the Executive Director at EqualityMaine, whose mission is to protect and advance full equality for LGBTQ+ Mainers by creating an inclusive and intersectional movement through political action, community building, education, and collaboration.
Gia has been with EqualityMaine since 2012 and currently serves on several boards, including as board chair of Equality Federation, a national organization, building power in a network of state-based LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, as well as as a trustee for Maine Health Access Foundation, the state’s largest private nonprofit health care foundation dedicated to promoting access to quality health care.
Gia is a recognized community activist and political leader here in Maine as well as a powerful voice for trans rights across the country. She previously served on the Maine advisory board for the US Commission on Civil Rights, board president for Maine Transgender Network, and was a high school teacher and coach for 20 years. During her time in education, Gia transitioned on the job, becoming the first out transgender public school teacher in Maine and one of the first trans high school athletic coaches in the country. Born in Boston, Gia has called Maine home for 25 years.
“I am inspired by people and their stories, especially the idiosyncratic nature of life. My work inspires me everyday, because I get to work with such wonderful, passionate, and smart people, and I’m also inspired the ongoing challenge of representing Maine’s LGBTQ+ community in the best way I can, and with that challenge I see my role as an honor, that compels me to think not just about me, but about humanity more broadly. I also believe in inviting more people into the conversation, so when I’m done with the chapter in my life, I can feel that I’ve done not only my best, but also know that the movement here in Maine is in capable hands.”
April Program Recap
At the Institute, we’re mirroring the change of seasons and the blossoming of spring with new relationships taking root and familiar ones finding fresh growth. As always, we’re grateful for the clients we work with and the opportunity to grow alongside them, continually updating our internal practices and trainings to reflect the evolving needs of the communities we serve.
This month also marks the second of our 2025 free public courses: Understanding Populism and Extremism. The course creates space to explore America’s current political landscape and the neuropsychological dynamics that enable authoritarianism to expand and take root in the mainstream. If you are interested in joining us this upcoming Tuesday, April 22 from 12-1 pm or Wednesday, April 23 from 6-7 pm, please see our website to sign up!
We’re already hard at work developing our next round of public courses, which will center on understanding fear, navigating conflict, and cultivating collective strength—with actionable steps to build resilience in uncertain times. Keep an eye out for our late spring offerings! Alongside our public offerings, we regularly partner with organizations and teams to design custom engagements that meet the moment. If your group is navigating change, challenge, or growth, we’d love to connect and support your needs in this ever-changing landscape.
This month, the RED team was highly engaged with expanding our team and our scientific contributions! The RED team prepared for the launch of a major consortium in collaboration with the Mindbridge Institute while also developing some new Countering Extremism Directive (CED) project areas with the goal of enhancing our ability to counter extremist principles using evidence-based methods.
With an eye on grant submission at the start of summer, our new CED aim will follow Mindbridge’s mission by using psychology and neuroscience to understand larger trends in susceptibility to extremist ideology between groups.
With this volume of research and engagement, we have also kept an eye on our team’s needs. Despite unexpected challenges and an increasing workload, we are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to expand! We are currently in the process of recruiting a Research Assistant. As our department grows, it is our goal to continue to pursue new and exciting science that will help change our world for the better.
This past month has been pretty busy for HRTI, with our launch of the Culturally Responsive Therapy 11-part Training Series which has quickly approached its half way mark April 15th with pretty good turn out in numbers and engagement! We have explored countless topics from defining racial trauma to understanding the impacts of cultural humility, racial identity, social determinants and much more. With the opportunity to close off each session practicing ways in which to incorporate various techniques including validation, broaching techniques, and identifying cultural ruptures within client-therapist relationships.
We also are approaching the end of our Advisory Committee, so there are a lot of shifts and ideas that will be occurring there to keep this committee going. We have been exploring ways in which to (1) enhance trust and engagement throughout the community and (2) use community input and feedback toward programming.
Since we are approaching an end in May, we are looking to have a second wave or session of this committee to prolong this space. This second wave will run from June 2025 through November 2025, still meeting monthly with $50 compensation remaining the same. We hope to continue to grow this network to 5-8 members.
Contact: info@mindbridgecenter.org
Happenings & Events
Upcoming Days of Observance:
4/1: Arab American Heritage Month
April marks the beginning of Arab-American heritage month. This year’s theme, selected by the Arab America Foundation, is “Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future”.
In 2022, Congress, the U.S. Department of State, and 45 state governors issued proclamations commemorating April as National Arab American Heritage Month. Additionally, the following states have passed permanent legislation designating the month of April as NAAHM: Illinois; Oregon; Virginia; Indiana (Senate), and California.
4/7: International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwandan Genocide
The United Nations reflects on April 7th as the start of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, which lasted for 100-days until mid-July of 1994. This day is meant as a moment of reflection and education in order to help prevent future acts of genocide worldwide.
4/21: World Creativity and Innovation Day
April 21st celebrates the role of artistic expression and creativity for problem-solving initiatives! Human development and progress toward human rights for all requires innovative and adaptable approaches.
4/22: Earth Day
Earth day is recognized on April 22nd as a call to action for environmental justice. Human rights are heavily intertwined with environmental justice, as social justice depends heavily on the success of both initiatives.
