About braverie

braverie equips educational leaders with the tools to create trauma-informed, human-first learning environments.

“The bravest leadership is trauma-informed and healing-invested.”
; Julia Rose M. Polk, Founder
Cross-Discipline Learning Innovator of the Year - 2024 Corporate Impact Education & Training Awards

Founded With a Mission

braverie was born from a deep commitment to creating safer schools and communities. Trauma isn’t just a concept—it’s a reality that shapes development, learning and lives. Our mission is to help teams move from reactive systems to compassionate, biologically-respectful and responsive environments that foster safety, connection, and true healing.

Trauma-Informed Training & Care

Our Founder

MISSION

Early Days - TNP Scholars

Helping over 3,000+ educators create safer, more responsive school cultures.

Let me introduce myself!

For our second evolution (we were originally Trauma Camp for Teachers), our Founder asked a friend: What word best captures trauma work? Without hesitation, she answered: "Bravery... this is the bravest work anyone can do." And in that moment, braverie was born. Trauma work demands courage—the courage to show up, hold space, and put relationships before rules. At braverie, we honor that bravery in every training, every resource, every conversation, and every school we serve.

Why It's Called braverie?

Supporting individual teachers wasn’t enough—real change required a shift at the systems level. So Julia Rose began helping schools and districts reimagine their entire approach to education. braverie expanded from working solely with educators to partnering with entire institutions, helping leaders implement trauma-informed change at scale. Today, braverie continues to push forward, ensuring that every classroom becomes a place of healing, not harm.

Braverie began early in its founder’s career as a trauma therapist working in treatment centers and community agencies. A pattern quickly emerged—every client, whether struggling with PTSD, mood disorders, addiction, or codependency, was dealing with the ripple effects of early childhood trauma. It became clear to her that true healing had to start much earlier.

The Growth Story of braverie

Recognizing that teachers are often the first responders to childhood trauma, Julia Rose shifted her focus to equipping educators with the tools to recognize and respond to trauma in ways that foster safety and connection in their classrooms. Over the years, individual teachers were empowered to transform their teaching, proving that a single trauma-informed educator could change a child’s entire trajectory. But to create widespread impact, a larger approach was necessary.

braverie was created for those who dare to change the way schools and communities show up for children and one another. It challenges outdated systems, pushes for healing-centered schools, and empowers leaders to make real, lasting change. Countless educators and districts have already adopted its approach—and this is only the beginning.

Core Values

WHAT DRIVES OUR WORK

At the root of this work is a deep respect for the developmental and biological needs of human beings. This is partnered by a deep respect for the adults who care for, guide and work with them every day… and who were once children themselves.

Respect

What allows humans to do the daring, bold, courageous things in this world? Support. We want to support educators in their bravery. Offering ongoing support is what will bridge the conceptual idea of trauma with the actual practice and engagement of trauma-responsive care.

Support

Laughter is truly the best medicine. Being able to laugh at ourselves and find humor in the sometimes unbelievable antics we humans are capable of is an essential ingredient in doing the work we do. We pride ourselves on fostering laughter where we can, as it is a universal language that we all speak.

Humor

Understanding our work through the lens of compassion allows us to connect with each other in the face of very difficult life experiences— even ones we don’t fully understand. Compassionate camaraderie is what will guide us through these challenges and help us do this work together.

Julia Rose M. Polk, LMFT

A trauma therapist and trainer for over a decade, Julia Rose has delivered trauma-informed care in therapeutic preschools, adolescent treatment centers, dual-diagnosis facilities, local mental health agencies and a private practice. She specializes in child trauma, child-parent mental health, relational trauma and trauma-related codependency. Her professional training includes Pia Mellody’s Developmental Immaturity Model and Dr. Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model, both of which are integrated into her core trainings.