Webinar - Trauma to Transformation: Leading with Compassion

Monday, 5/11/26  |  11 AM - 12 PM

1 hour Social Work CEU

What does it take to lead an organization that transforms lives? According to Carol Klocek, CEO of the Center for Transforming Lives, it starts with understanding trauma from the inside out.

Carol's lived experience of growing up in poverty, shouldering adult responsibilities as a child, working multiple jobs while sleeping on a closet floor, and earning two master's degrees against all odds, gives her unparalleled insight into the systemic barriers facing women and children today. Now leading an organization that disrupts poverty, she has also lived it, escaped it and now dedicates her life to ensuring others can do the same.

In this powerful presentation, Carol shares how personal trauma became the foundation for compassionate, effective leadership. She explores why traditional intervention models fail families trapped in cycles of poverty and trauma, and reveals the principles behind trauma-informed care that actually creates lasting change. Drawing from both her personal journey and her professional expertise leading a $24 million nonprofit, Carol demonstrates how understanding trauma unlocks the path to true transformation.

As CEO of the Center for Transforming Lives since 2009, Carol has built an organization that serves more than 3,000 women and children annually through a comprehensive, evidence-based, two-generation, trauma-informed model. Thanks to housing support, early childhood education, economic mobility services and counseling services that work across generations, parents and children establish security and well-being as a family.

Attendees will learn:

●       How lived experience with trauma creates effective, empathetic leaders

●       Why traditional intervention models fail families and what works instead

●       The core principles of trauma-informed care (and design) and how to implement them

●       How to scale compassionate services while maintaining organizational sustainability

●       The critical connection between addressing trauma and breaking cycles of poverty

●       Real-world strategies for leading two-generation programs that serve whole families