Women To Watch Awards 2026 honors Dr. Lisa Y. Collins

Lisa Y. Collins, Ed. D., is a respected healing leader, life coach, STAR Trauma Practitioner, author, playwright, and Assistant Professor whose work centers on healing trauma at the individual, organizational, and collective levels. Her scholarship and practice focus on understanding trauma through personal analysis, embodied awareness, and transformational

learning that restores connection, meaning, and joy.

Dr. Collins’ consulting and facilitation span nonprofit and for-profit sectors, including local and national educational systems, the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, and the National Park Service. She supports leaders and organizations in cultivating trauma-informed, equity-centered cultures that foster resilience, belonging, and sustainable change.

She is the author of Love of Light: A Guide to Peace and Oneness, which explores consciousness, self-awareness, and practical tools for peaceful living. Her latest book, The Truth About Trauma (Llewellyn Worldwide, June 8, 2025), offers readers pathways to identify and interrupt unhealthy trauma responses through learning, discovery, and reflection—inviting a return to joy and wholeness.

As a playwright and filmmaker, Dr. Collins’ work has been produced in New York and Portland. Her acclaimed short film Be Careful What You Ask For serves as a catalyst for racial healing dialogue and has been accepted into multiple film festivals. Her TEDx talk, Healing From Racial Trauma, chronicles the healing modalities that emerged from her research and lived experience.

Dr. Collins also collaborates with The Shift Network and Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology’s Healing Summit, contributing to programs such as How Energy Medicine Can Open Up Business Success and Trauma Healing for Peaceful Living. Across all her work, she draws upon her spiritual gifts as an intuitive, writer, and healer—honoring

the intersectionality of humankind and creating space for acceptance, connection, and oneness in a world deeply in need of healing.