Together
we can heal
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We offer educators, human service professionals, and families, creative and compassionate trainings, programs, and products to learn about trauma responsive care, resilience practices, and how we can join one another on the healing journey.
Soul Bird Consulting Welcome Video
We are on a mission to educate, inspire, and deepen the work — through trainings, speaking engagements, programs and consultations.
Our vision is to co-create a world where we no longer shame and blame each other for our survival strategies… but instead, we honor those strategies as a first step in helping people feel safe, seen, and heard.
We do this through trauma-responsive care and resilience trainings, programs, courses, and products.
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MEET OUR TEAM
SARAH BUFFIE, msw, lsw
FOUNDING DIRECTOR AND TRAUMA RESPONSIVE CARE TRAINER
Sarah Buffie is a relational healer, educator, and the visionary founder of Soul Bird Consulting, grounded in the belief that healing happens in relationships—always has, always will. With over 20 years of experience in human services and trauma-responsive care, Sarah has supported thousands of educators, leaders, and caregivers across the country in creating brave, connected spaces where nervous systems can settle and real change can take root.
Holding a Master’s in Social Work with focused studies in Polyvagal Theory, Positive Psychology, and Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness, Sarah blends clinical insight with embodied wisdom. She is also a certified Laughter Yoga Instructor and SAH Method practitioner, integrating body-based healing practices into her work.
Her path has been shaped by service—from AmeriCorps to the Peace Corps—and a lifelong dedication to belonging, regulation, and community healing. At Soul Bird, she leads through the lens of her 5 Core Convictions of Trauma-Responsive Care, and hosts the Trauma is Real podcast—a space for truth-telling, unlearning, and collective care.
Sarah believes that small shifts spark big transformation—a practice Soul Bird calls the 5% Change—and invites others into a journey of slowing down, reconnecting, and showing up fully for ourselves and each other.
Welcome. You belong here.
GLENNA REYES
ADMINISTRATIVE & CONTINUNG EDUCATION DIRECTOR
Glenna Reyes combines her passion for organization, creativity, and community impact in her role at Soul Bird. With a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Portland State University, she brings over 15 years of experience in early childhood education, administrative leadership, and working with individuals with developmental disabilities.
Her career has included roles as a preschool director, instructional assistant, and bilingual educator, where she cultivated inclusive and intentional learning environments. Glenna has also supported individuals with developmental disabilities by designing tailored educational plans, fostering safe and nurturing spaces, and collaborating with teams to meet diverse needs. At Soul Bird, she coordinates logistics, manages operations, and ensures high-quality training for attendees.
Known for her attention to detail and problem-solving skills, Glenna is dedicated to creating efficient and joyful workspaces that inspire collaboration and growth. She values connecting with diverse communities and tailoring solutions to meet unique needs. Outside of work, Glenna enjoys traveling and exploring new cultures, embracing her passion for lifelong learning.
C. DANAE RIGGS
TRAUMA SPECIALIST, RESILIENCE WORKER, FACILITATOR AND CONSULTANT
Danae brings 26+ years of human services experience to her leadership with a purpose-driven focus to love and live in a way that promotes equity, justice, empathy, forgiveness, and wholehearted healing.
Danae brings experience in mental health related direct services, non-profit program development & management, organizational & personal leadership development, with a key focus on advancing & educating leaders in their own fields through coaching, & the facilitation of continued education & training. Danae is the founder of Humans Being Human Consulting, LLC. and has been serving in the field of Resilience Based, Trauma Responsive Care for 6+ years of late. Danae is a lead consultant with Soul Bird Consulting, as well as Finding Hope Consulting and serves with multiple projects in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) & Community Supports Incorporated (CSI), Safe Families, Strong Communities, and the Southwestern Ohio Council of Governments. Additionally, Danae enjoys serving youth in multi-system work with Ohio Job and Family Services (OJFS), and additional governmental agencies throughout the state of Ohio. Danae also finds humble pride in being a Doula, in both birth and death circles and brings her passion for loving humans deeply to all she does as a consultant, a mother, a partner, and a community citizen. Danae was recently awarded Provider of the Year by the Clermont County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
Amy Rebekah Chavez
MA, SEP | SOUL BIRD CONSULTANT
Amy’s journey in trauma-informed leadership is a holistic synthesis of personal, professional, and academic exploration. With over two decades of experience as a licensed massage therapist, childbirth educator, birth doula, yoga teacher, community herbalist, and group facilitator, Amy has been steadfast in supporting trauma healing through the body and fostering collective resilience. She holds advanced trauma education in Somatic Trauma Resolution, Somatic Experience, Neuro Affective Relational Model, and the Community Resilience Model.
Amy is currently pursuing her PhD in Leadership and Change at Antioch University, focusing on trauma-informed care as a vehicle for systems change and leadership. Her research emphasizes health and human services, perinatal care systems, and addressing historical, generational, and systemic trauma through an embodied, abolitionist lens. She has pioneered initiatives such as the T.R.I.B.E. pilot project, supporting trauma-informed practices for perinatal care providers.
As founder of ReStoryative Somatics, LLC, Amy offers trauma-informed training, facilitation, and consulting for diverse professionals. Passionate about cultivating self-regulation and co-regulation as leadership practices, she brings warmth, humor, and compassion to her work. Amy continues to advocate for individual and collective healing, empowering those who support others in navigating trauma with resilience and care.
KATE LOHMEYER
EDUCATOR WELLNESS ADVOCATE | SOUL BIRD CONSULTANT
With over 20 years in education, Kate Lohmeyer brings a heart-forward, wellness-centered approach to teaching and leadership. She spent 18 years as a Health and PE teacher, creating dynamic, interdisciplinary experiences for middle and high schoolers, while also supporting learners from kindergarten through college.
Holding an MSE in Exercise Science, Kate’s work centers on the brain-body connection and how well-being shapes academic success. In 2022, she became Assistant Principal at Rosa Parks Elementary, where her leadership focuses on building healthy school communities by supporting staff wellness and student growth.
Kate is passionate about reimagining learning spaces as places of care and connection. Through Soul Bird, she now expands her impact by coaching and consulting with schools to foster resilience, belonging, and holistic well-being.
WHAT OUR CLIENTS ARE SAYING:
“I haven’t stopped talking about your training since I took it. I literally tell anyone who will listen to me. I feel as though it honestly altered the way I view the world. Thank you for your work and all that you do.”
- Training Attendee
“This information was entirely new to me, and I feel that having this new perspective on trauma can really help me be effective with my clients.” - Educator
“I work with traumatized youth often labeled as ‘behavior problems.’ This training will help me bring tools to my co-workers to identify the trauma underneath rather than get angry with the behavior.” - Human Service Professional
“My 2 granddaughters have experienced trauma – and I have tried so hard to help them. This gave me info on what is going on inside them, and what else I can do to help.” - Family Member
Why Soul Bird?
We started our work in 2016 with one goal: build empathy. And we understand that unpacking the impact of trauma, racism and other forms of oppression is a lifelong process.
In many traditions, birds are seen as signs of what’s to come. It is believed that a Sielulintu, or Soul Bird, carries the soul during birth or death; it “protects the soul at its most vulnerable.” We know that understanding trauma and its impacts on the brain, body, and our larger society is difficult. It takes vulnerability to see with a new perspective.
That’s why all of our trainings are designed to hold space for everyone’s story to be heard. So that, wherever you are on your journey, we provide support and create brave space that builds the connections and curiosity necessary to make positive sustainable change.