Episode #74: Cendie Stanford - Trauma Informed Educators Network Podcast
Unapologetic Disrupter for Good PodcastShow Notes
Cendie Stanford is a “Triple Eagle” scholar, becoming a first-generation college graduate to earn two Master's Degrees, one BA Degree, and a business certificate from the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University. A Texas native & former public school educator, she is extremely passionate about Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) education and trauma awareness. Cendie’s Stanford has lived experiences with childhood adversities, most of which were experienced in zip code 79403. Unaware that her childhood adversities played a role in how she responded to stressors in her career as an educator, relationships, and even parenting, she sought the why.
With two decades of experience working in the public education sector, Cendie traded in her classroom keys to secure a business license to spread the message of ACEs in corners of the world that needed to hear it most. Living with the consequences of childhood wounds for over four decades, Cendie took a leap of faith to start ACEs Matter as a not-for-profit organization because she believed everyone deserved access to this science. Cendie says, “Seeing adults who are struggling due to the templates from their childhood and seeing children being reared in similar environments motivate her to work harder at this vision for ACEs Matter.”
Since 2021, Cendie has made several public appearances discussing the impacts of ACEs as a lived experience survivor in underserved and professional communities. Her long-term goals include empowering Title 1 schools and communities with research-backed practices that aid in nurturing the neurons of students, parents, and educators affected by adverse childhood experiences. Cendie serves as a mentor for youth and rising education entrepreneurs. She has also conducted over 10,000 hours of professional development training and over 150 hours of online interviews.
More from Unapologetic Disrupter for Good Podcast
Ginger Healy, LCSW, brings more than 25 years of experience in trauma and attachment. She began her career as a child abuse investigator and hospital social worker before becoming a school therapist. For 15 years, she served as a social services supervisor at an international adoption agency, deepening her expertise in developmental trauma and attachment.
Julie Kurtz, M.S., LMFT is a renowned author and national speaker specializing in trauma-responsive, social-emotional, and resilience-building skills, particularly within educational settings ranging from early childhood to 12th grade. As the Founder and CEO of the Center for Optimal Brain Integration®, Julie is dedicated to amplifying the voices of those who have experienced toxic or traumatic stress, empowering both children and adults, and nurturing humane beings through intentional social-emotional learning and resilience strategies.
Beth Tyson, MA, is a childhood trauma therapist, children’s book author, and founder of Beth Tyson Trauma Consulting. She creates trauma-informed training, curriculum, and tools to help prevent and heal childhood trauma. She serves as the co-chair of the Pennsylvania Child Abuse Prevention team, volunteers as a CASA, but most importantly, she is a mom who is trying her best to break the cycle of trauma in her family.
Dr. Michael Gaskell is an author, speaker and principal in East Brunswick. He models the pursuit of lifelong learning as he mentors new principals through the New Jersey Leaders to Leaders (L2L) program. An NJPSA Stars recipient, presents on AI in the Classroom, at NJPSA/FEA and at Rutgers, has been published in over 6 dozen education journals and blogs, including ASCD Smartbrief, Tech & Learning, Education Post, eSchoolNews, NASSP, Edtech, currently writes a monthly column for ASCD Smartbrief, and made the most-read section of ASCD Smartbrief. Mike presents at national conferences, including the Learning and the Brain conference, November 2021; FETC January 2022,, January 2023 January 2024, January 2025, & 2026, CEC January 2023, NJCEC 2024 & 2023and ISTE June 2023. He has been on numerous podcasts including Larry Ferlazzo’s Education Week Classroom Q&A. Mike has published three books: Radical Principals, Leading Schools Through Trauma and Microstrategy Magic. Dr. Gaskell supports instructional excellence and student success for all.
Season 2: Episode 1 - Co-Founder of INHABIT, Sean is a leader in breathwork, visualization, and mindset training, dedicated to guiding individuals toward their highest potential. With a mission to elevate human consciousness and performance, Sean has personally trained over 9,000 remarkable individuals in INHABIT breath methodologies—from elite athletes and visionary entrepreneurs to inspired artists and passionate educators.