CASA executive director to discuss trust-based relational intervention at SFA humane education speaker series event

The fifth speaker in Stephen F. Austin State University's Montgomery Professorship for Humane Education Speaker Series will be Natalie Thornton, executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates of the Pines and former public high school teacher. She will present "Connected and Compassionate: Humane Education Strategies for Trust-Based Relational Intervention" at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 24 both on Zoom and in person at the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center, Room 212.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- Natalie Thornton, executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates of the Pines and former public high school teacher, will present "Connected and Compassionate: Humane Education Strategies for Trust-Based Relational Intervention" at Stephen F. Austin State University's Montgomery Professorship for Humane Education Speaker Series. The presentation begins at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 24 in the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center, Room 212, and via Zoom.

SFA's Montgomery Professorship for Humane Education was awarded to Dr. Sarah Straub, associate professor of education studies, in October 2020. The professorship was established by the late Charlotte Baker Montgomery in memory of her husband, Roger, to encourage and perpetuate the teaching of humane education in elementary and secondary schools, both public and private, through the support of teacher preparation in humane education. This presentation will be the fifth in the series.

"As we enter the sixth year of the Montgomery Professorship and welcome our fifth invited speaker, I'm especially excited to highlight someone local whose work deeply resonates with our community," Straub said. "Natalie Thornton's insights into trauma-informed education and trust-based relational intervention will offer our preservice teachers and community members practical, compassionate strategies for supporting students both inside and outside the classroom."

Thornton, a champion of trauma-informed education, applies TBRI principles to her advocacy work. She presents nationally on empowering children while representing CASA on community boards and in child welfare initiatives.

In her presentation, Thornton will share her own personal experiences as a public school educator and executive director of a nonprofit organization that provides advocacy for children who suffer from trauma. She will also discuss the biological impacts of trauma on the brain and how those affect children in the classroom. In addition, Thornton will demonstrate how TBRI principles, originally created for families, can also be applied successfully in the classroom.

Those who cannot attend the presentation in person can livestream it via Zoom. Register for the event at gosfa.com/speakerseries_thornton. For more information, contact Straub at [email protected].