PRE-CALL Empower your Leadership – Practices for a Culture of Radical Care

Maria Leister is a dynamic leader deeply committed to social justice and trauma-informed care. As the COO of the Pocket Project, she oversees operations with precision and compassion. Maria also serves as the Director of Community Development of Displaced Populations at the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, where her expertise in working with marginalized communities shines. With a background in law, including directing Harvard Law School’s Harvard Defenders program, Maria has tirelessly advocated for those facing legal challenges. Her experience in US immigration law and direct legal advocacy underscores her dedication to serving the most vulnerable. Maria is driven by a belief in ethically creating impact that preserves and restores human dignity.

Kosha Joubert serves as CEO of the Pocket Project. She holds an MSc in Organisational Development, is an international facilitator, author, coach and consultant, and has worked extensively in the fields of sustainable development, curriculum development and intercultural collaboration. Kosha grew up in South Africa under Apartheid and has been dedicated to the healing of divides and collective trauma ever since. Kosha has received the Dadi Janki Award for engaging spirituality in life and work and the One World Award for her work with the Global Ecovillage Network. She serves as host and mentor on Thomas’ online courses, co-moderated two Celebrate Life Festivals and was a co-host of the 2019 and 2020 Online Summit on Collective Trauma.​

Matthew Green is a journalist working to show how an understanding of collective trauma can help solve the climate crisis. After working for years as an international correspondent for the Financial Times and Reuters, covering conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, he returned to Britain to write Aftershock, a book about military veterans and their families finding new ways to heal from the psychological scars of war. Since then he has focused on reporting on climate change, and is now global investigations editor at nonprofit climate news service DeSmog. He was a host of the Collective Trauma Summit 2022 and writes the Resonant World newsletter on healing collective trauma.