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About Us
The Collective Healing Initiative (CHI) is a learning project that fosters a network dedicated to the wellness and healing of Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color. By prioritizing culturally-affirming practices, we hope to support the important work of healing from complex and historical trauma, including sexual violence.
We created this initiative in 2018 under the name “Groundswell”. We renamed ourselves the Collective Healing Initiative in 2019 and have since grown to include projects and programs such as the Community Healing Series, the Healer Anthology, and Tea Time.
This website is a place to find programs, resources, and events that may best serve healers, individuals who are looking for culturally grounded forms of healing, and activists who work for justice against sexual violence.
We Believe
In moving at the speed of trust
In cultivating spaces for the healing power of connection
In the wisdom and practices of our ancestors
That healing is political
That grassroots organizations and collectives can drive community healing and wellness
That not everything is for everybody
That healing isn’t a simple step by step process
That harm experienced by entire communities should be healed in communal spaces
In honoring the origins and purpose of healing modalities and to share/carry them in a good way
Meet the Team
Amelia Romo Olivas
Learning and Evaluation Specialist
aromo@taasa.org
Amelia is a auteka paguame (waterbird) clan woman of the Tap Pilam Nation from my ancestral lands of Yanawana (San Antonio, TX). Healing justice
Alexis Hinojosa
Primary Prevention Specialist
ahinojosa@taasa.org
I’m a first-generation Tejana who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley who is passionate about spirituality and healing. I believe representation, visibility, and storytelling are essential to nurturing community and empowerment in all spaces.
Denise Loya
Access and Inclusion Manager
*Bilingual English/Spanish
I am a Chicana born and raised in El Paso, Texas, aka El Chuco, the birthplace of pachucos. The border city I will always call home has shaped the way I understand and exist in this world, and ultimately how I approach my life and my work. I come from a place that is ni de aqui ni de alla.
Karen Limón
I’m a Chicana raised in Eagle Pass, Texas. My culture and identities as a daughter of immigrants, sister, and aunt deeply influence how I walk in life and my work, centering community care and healing justice.
Maya Pilgrim
I am Filipina/European American feminist. I reside in the “in-betweens” and over multiple checkboxes. I embrace complications and seek stories previously hidden in search of more whole truths in aid of healing and liberation. I live with a child, partner, dog, and numerous plants. I’d like to dance more.
Redeem Francis
Summer 2021 Intern
I am a black woman and first-generation American with Jamaican heritage. I believe that representation is the key to creating spaces that affirm and support survivors and that social change begins when communities are built around holistic healing.
Shelli Collins
Program Support Specialist
I am the black feminist who genuinely attempts to walk through life with love and understanding. I am deeply rooted in the work to liberate society, especially the segment of society that looks like me.
Virginia Rueda
Program Support Specialist
*Bilingual English/Spanish
I am a first-generation Latina, born in El Paso and raised deeply in Mexican culture. Embracing who I am and where I come from has helped me to deepen my understanding of all my identities that I so much love.