Butler Staff Spotlight - Ashley Brock-Baca
Dr. Ashley Brock-Baca has worked for almost two decades in the areas and intersections of behavioral health, early childhood, child welfare, juvenile justice, healthcare and education. Dr. Brock-Baca’s initial interest in developmental psychology began with studying how children’s life experiences, including trauma, shape a child’s developmental trajectory. At the Butler Institute for Families, Dr. Brock-Baca devotes her talents to creating spaces for systemic change through intervention development, research and workforce efforts across the country.
Currently, Dr. Brock-Baca serves as director of the Center for Equity and Resilience in Trauma Responsive Organizations (CERTRO). CERTRO is a four-year Category II grant funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration through the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). This center provides several free training courses on topics including strengthening resilience, trauma-informed supervision and historical and cultural trauma. Dr. Brock-Baca is also a facilitator of the NCTSN’s Core Curriculum in Child Trauma, which is offered through the CERTRO program as well. Dr. Brock-Baca views CERTRO as a program designed to support staff “to grow personally, perhaps adopt new beliefs and values, and develop skills that are aligned with a trauma-responsive, healing-centered lens. Through the training series, the participants gain knowledge and awareness, and with additional skills acquired through coaching and communities of practice, they will be able to make what they have learned personally meaningful and put it into practice.”
CERTRO has several focus areas including synchronous virtual training courses, developmental coaching and communities of practice. The training courses are rooted in foundations from the NCTSN. The developmental coaching helps staff grow personally and professionally, while peer-learning, facilitated group sessions provide real-time feedback and skills that the workforce can use in their day-to-day practice. The CERTRO program also offers layered support and individual technical support for agency leaders. It is Dr. Brock-Baca’s hope that the agencies that participate in CERTRO will improve their ability to support their workforce and better respond to the needs of children, youth and families with a trauma-responsive, equity-centered lens. This will, in turn, build a stronger system of care for children, youth and families with complex needs.
CERTRO launched its first cohort of agencies in May 2023. If you or your agency is interested in hearing more about CERTRO’s offerings, including interest in participating in the 2024 agency cohort, please reach out to Dr. Ashley Brock-Baca at Ashley.brock-baca@du.edu.
For more information, visit NCTSI - Center for Equity and Resilience in Trauma Responsive Organizations | Social Work (du.edu)
