October 2025
Hello Mindbridge community,
October continues to be a busy month for our team! The Mindbridge Institute is preparing for our upcoming “Understanding Populism and Extremism” session focused on digital spaces. Our Healing Racial Trauma Initiative (HRTI) team begins their Community Circle sessions this month - and there’s still time for BIPOC Mainers to sign up! The Research and Evaluation Department (RED) is also continuing their vital work connecting scientific inquiry with meaningful social change.
This month also brought new episodes of the Mindbridge Podcast: Where Science Meets Human Rights! This month, we explored the topics of reproductive justice and housing insecurity. We hope you're able to give those episodes a listen, join the conversation, and see how you can apply bridge science to human rights in your own life! Every share, listen, and donation helps us make a difference - visit our website to learn more and get involved!
Onward,
The Mindbridge Team
Join Us On Thursday, October 23rd!
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Join us to gain science-based methods and tools for co-creating a world where our actions honor our common human rights and dignity.
Fuel Community, Joy & Resilience is for all of us who feel challenged in a world where disinformation, systemic gaslighting, and power abuse try to normalize human rights violations.
Whether you're actively engaged in your community, working with human rights, or simply curious to learn more, this session offers practical tools to transform daily frustrations into empowering actions
Session Details:
60-minute interactive session
Optional 30-minute Q&A
Access to session recordings and resources
Check Out Our Psychology Today Blog!
Across cities and towns in the U.S., shelter is increasingly out of reach (Harvard, 2025). The nation is currently short at least two million homes (deRitis et al., 2025), and many individuals with roofs over their heads are at risk of becoming unhoused; half of renters nationwide are cost-burdened by rent, and a quarter spend at least 50 percent of their income on rent. These numbers are even higher for racially marginalized households (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024).
Understanding Populism & Extremism: Echo Chambers, Algorithms, & Individualism
October 30 | 2:00–3:00 PM EST
This session looks at how personalized content, online echo chambers, and cultural values around individualism shape what we believe and how we see each other.
We’ll also reflect on how our digital identities are shaped, and what that means for connection, responsibility, and social change.
Everyone is welcome, all on a pay-what-you-can scale, because learning belongs to all of us.
I Am A Human Rights Defender
Joe Saunders
Human rights defenders seek the promotion and protection of civil and political rights
as well as the promotion, protection and realization of economic, social + cultural rights.
- OHCHR
As Equality Florida’s Senior Political Director, Joe leads the policy and political programs for the country’s largest state-based LGBTQ rights organization.
An award-winning progressive leader, Joe’s skills live at the intersection of strategic communications, policy, elections and movement building.
A student of the movement for LGBTQ rights, Joe began his career in progressive politics as an activist at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Since then he has led ballot measure campaigns to preserve LGBTQ protections, won local policy campaigns protecting millions of Floridians from discrimination, and held senior roles in the fight to win marriage equality in FL.
In 2012, Joe was elected to the Florida House of Representatives becoming the first LGBTQ state lawmaker in Florida to take the oath of office. As a state representative, Joe served as the lead sponsor of the “Competitive Workforce Act”, legislation that would finally ban discrimination against LGBTQ Floridians.
Following his tenure in the Florida House, Saunders joined the staff of the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization. In this role he managed legislative and election programs in fourteen states, holding leadership positions in civil rights campaigns across the Southern U.S.
In 2016, Joe served on the leadership team for the Turn Out North Carolina coalition, the successful effort in North Carolina to defeat anti-LGBTQ incumbent Gov. Pat McCrory - a champion of the notoriously anti-LGBTQ HB 2. In 2017, Joe worked across the pond as the Director of GOTV Programs for U.K. Parliament candidate Simon Hughes - a former United Kingdom Minister of Justice and openly LGBT candidate.
A nationally recognized progressive leader and strategist, in 2016 Joe was honored by Out Magazine as part of the “Out 100” list of national LGBTQ leaders and is a regular commentator in national and state press outlets.
“This year I celebrated my twentieth year working in the movement for LGBTQ rights and freedom. We’ve made so much progress, progress that we now have to defend. It’s been the privilege of my life to work alongside so many talented and brave advocates committed to making the world better. Let’s all keep fighting until every young person is protected and every family is respected.”
I Am A Human Rights Defender
Tameshia Sexton
Human rights defenders seek the promotion and protection of civil and political rights
as well as the promotion, protection and realization of economic, social + cultural rights.
- OHCHR
Innovative and passionate about helping others position themselves for greatness, Tameshia Sexton (aka Mesh Monroe) is a dynamic leader and community advocate dedicated to empowering children, families and communities.
With a strong background in mentorship, coaching, and professional development, she has made a profound impact in her community by fostering holistic growth and personal development.
Tameshia is a domestic violence advocate, supporting survivors and providing tools for rebuilding their lives in addition to her mentorship work with school age students teaching valuable life skills and building self-confidence.
As a certified life coach, she mentors and coaches individuals on accountability, goal setting, and personal development
With multiple awards and recognition for her impact as a mentor, trainer, and community advocate - Mesh Monroe’s long-term vision is to leave a lasting legacy that enhances the well being of children, families and communities through life coaching, peer support, and targeted case management.
Program Recap
Throughout our work, the Institute has the privilege of learning from inspiring human rights defenders every day. We recently collaborated with a cohort of legal professionals to deliver one of our cornerstone workshops, The Neuropsychology of Implicit Bias.
One participant reflected on the experience:
"I appreciated that it was an actual workshop. I think asking people to participate does seem awkward at first, especially a bunch of attorneys who may have not been expecting it, but I had really good conversations about age-related biases … Applying the bias workshop to law practice was very useful and felt worth my time"
Reflections like these remind us why creating space for dialogue and growth is so essential- and why it is an essential part of all our workshops.
As we continue our ongoing programming, we’re thrilled to announce that Dr. Christine Brugh, our Scientific Content Expert, will be presenting our next public course on October 30th. We hope you’ll be part of it- learn more here and sign up to join us!
By uplifting the voices of those who have not had the opportunity to speak in the past, new insights and valuable information can be gained to change perspectives, hearts, and minds. This month, Mindbridge RED would like to acknowledge a research technique that supports this endeavor.
One method, to this end, is to gather information through the use of qualitative data. Qualitative data captures people’s lived experiences, through words, images, and observations, as compared to numbers gathered from quantitative data. Over the last month, the RED team discussed the importance of capturing robust, but distinctly succinct, qualitative data through avenues such as in-depth interviews and focus groups with each of our ongoing collaboration partners.
Key research parameters like protecting the anonymity of participants so they can share personal truths, allowing the contextually rich subjectivity of one’s lived experiences to manifest through visual mediums, or simply using listening-first analyses can add immeasurable detail to forward-thinking teams.
Too often, such methods and the rich insights they offer into the lived experiences of those we study are overlooked in favor of more rapid, bigger-picture quantitative approaches. As the field continues to bridge neuropsychology and human rights, we encourage researchers to explore qualitative approaches that bring participants’ stories and voices to the forefront. These methods can transform data into dialogue — connecting scientific inquiry with meaningful social change.
As we bring in October here at the Healing Racial Trauma Initiative we are excited to meet our Community Circle members at our first session next Monday at 3:00pm! And it’s not too late to sign-up, we are still accepting participants feel free to learn more and sign-up here!
Join us for our no-cost community conversation running from October through early-December. We will unpack racial trauma, as we explore and celebrate heritage, culture and identity. So if you are BIPOC, 18+ and Maine-based or raised - sign-up! And don’t hesitate to reach out at healing@mindbridgecenter.org with any additional questions.
Our next Advisory Committee meeting is around the corner, as we explore ideas for building and further developing HRTI programming. Our September meeting introduced topics and research that helped guide our Community Circle development process as well!
“We miss far too many opportunities to affirm people, which, ironically, is the most important when they may seem least worthy of affirmation: when they’re threatened, stressed, or defensive.”
“We far too often fail to account for how situations in real life have also been crafted, intentionally or not, to confer advantages on some and disadvantages on others.”
Happenings & Events
Upcoming Days of Observance:
10/1: Domestic Violence Awareness Month
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month - a time to recognize that domestic violence is a serious human rights violation affecting millions worldwide. Human rights begin at home — and the fight to end domestic violence should be rooted in compassion and trauma-informed support services.
10/2: International Day of Non-Violence
The International Day of Non-Violence recognizes the birthday of Indian civil rights leader Mahatma Gandhi every October 2nd. In spite of all the violence facing our world today, his contributions to peaceful means of resistance implores us to remember the importance of pursuing justice and freedom for all through non-violence.
10/10: World Mental Health Day
World Mental Health Day is celebrated on October 10th by the World Health Organization (WHO). As a human rights organization focused on the direct application of psychology and neuroscience, Mindbridge recognizes the importance of mental health on personal and societal well-beingwellbeing. In fact, Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for their health and well-being - and that includes mental health!
At Mindbridge, this is why the work of our Mental Health and Resiliency Department is so vital. Our Healing Racial Trauma Initiative (HRTI) envisions a future in which racial trauma is recognized as a core human rights issue. Rooted in community, science, and justice, HRTI seeks to illuminate and address the pain and trauma of direct and indirect manifestations of violence within systems of racialized oppression. As part of Mindbridge’s Mental Health and Resiliency Department, HRTI works with clinicians, community practitioners, and human rights defenders to deepen understandings of racial trauma, strengthen culturally-congruent care, and build the foundation for long-term collective healing.
10/13: Indigenous Peoples Day
Here we celebrate the vibrant cultures, histories, and resilience of Indigenous communities, including the Wabanaki nation here in Maine which includes the Maliseet, Micmac, Penobscot, and Passamaquoddy tribes. Indigenous people’s connection to their land, rich cultural traditions, and dedication to conservation efforts are essential - and it is our duty to honor their legacy and right to sovereignty.
10/17: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
Observed globally on October 17th, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty aims to raise awareness and confront the root causes of poverty and injustice. Poverty is often perpetuated by social exclusion, discrimination, and systemic barriers - making it all the more vital to build societies where everyone can live with dignity, equality, and opportunity.
10/24: United Nations Day
United Nations Day, celebrated on October 24th, serves as a reminder of the work still needed to protect the rights and dignity of all people. While the UN has made strides in addressing global challenges, millions still live without basic freedoms or protections. Human rights aren’t just ideals - they are urgent, ongoing struggles to be addressed.