The Birds of a Feather Flock works with nonprofits, associations, and other social-impact organizations to design and deliver customized programs and consulting engagements that support organizational needs and advance meaningful, lasting change. We bring together seasoned experts whose values, expertise, and approach align deeply and with whom I have built real trust over many years.
Our work spans a range of interconnected areas: building inclusive, healthy organizational cultures; systems change and root-cause strategy; trauma-informed organizational development; institutional courage and accountability; capacity building for boards and leadership teams; and tailored learning experiences on diversity, belonging, and the conditions that allow all people to thrive.
We tailor every engagement to your organization’s specific needs, goals, and context, drawing from an established body of work or building something entirely new. These are not referrals. They are working partnerships. When you engage a Birds of a Feather collaboration, you get professionals who show up together, with complementary expertise and a shared commitment to your mission.
We design our programming with the recognition that real learning happens through rich, applied experience, the kind that expands knowledge, shifts thinking, and creates space to practice. Every learning engagement includes action-planning opportunities, so participants leave with concrete next steps they can actually use. We also offer coaching, policy and program assessment, and follow-up services to support organizations as they implement new practices and build cultures where everyone can contribute fully.
Learning engagements are tailored to fit your needs, the content and your organization’s goals shape the format. Reach out to start a conversation about what would serve you best.
Building internal cultures that reflect trauma-informed values at every level
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I am a survivor advocate, educator, and prevention-education specialist, and I bring lived experience, frontline advocacy, and a deep commitment to survivor-centered change to every engagement. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse who completed the civil litigation process and has spoken publicly in legislative and advocacy spaces, I understand firsthand how systems can both harm and heal, and what meaningful, survivor-informed change actually requires.
My advocacy spans federal and state legislative engagement, prevention education, and survivor delegation work. I have lobbied members of Congress, advocated in state legislative spaces including recent work in Sacramento on statute-of-limitations reform, and contributed to national policy efforts including the U.S. National Blueprint to End Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents. I serve on the Prevention Advisory Board at Childhelp, and I bring a survivor’s perspective to policy review, coalition work, and systems change.
Alongside my advocacy, I am an educator, curriculum designer, and children’s book author and illustrator. A former elementary teacher, I co-founded Wildhaven Publishing, where I write and illustrate trauma-informed, developmentally grounded curricula that teach young children about consent, boundaries, and body safety. This work reflects one of my core convictions: that prevention must begin early and brought to children with care.
Born in Guatemala and bilingual in English and Spanish, I also offer translation of trauma-informed materials so that Spanish-speaking communities have genuine, culturally grounded access to this work, along with strengths in facilitation, public speaking, and communication.
What draws me to the flock is the chance to pair my lived experience and frontline advocacy with the deep organizational and systems expertise of my partners, ensuring that survivor voice is not a formality, but the foundation.
Systems implementation that moves strategy into sustained action
Workforce and organizational wellness, resilience, retention, and healthy workplace culture
Strategic planning, leadership alignment, facilitation, and capacity building
Grant strategy and proposal development connected to implementation and sustainability
Evidence-based training in suicide intervention, mental health awareness, resilience, and posttraumatic growth
Large scale initiative development and cross-sector partnership coordination
Program design, technical assistance, evaluation, and continuous improvement
Practical insight into governance, psychological safety, institutional wellbeing, and organizational health
I am a systems implementation strategist and the Founder and President of Strategic Empowerment Consulting, where I help organizations build the workforce their mission depends on, strengthen organizational health and resilience, and sustain their impact through strategic growth and implementation. My work spans nonprofits, public agencies, healthcare and behavioral health organizations, higher education institutions, public safety agencies, and private-sector employers. For more than two decades, I have helped leaders move complex work from vision to action—clarifying what needs to happen, bringing the right people together, securing resources, and building practical implementation plans so promising ideas do not stall or depend on a single champion.
I have built and led large scale initiatives addressing child welfare and domestic violence, family support, violence prevention, first responder behavioral health, suicide prevention, and workforce resilience. My current work includes helping guide implementation of the Florida Fire Service Zero Suicide Framework, translating research and evidence into leadership practices, training, peer support, access to care, postvention, and continuous improvement. I have also secured more than $10 million in competitive funding and managed complex multimillion-dollar initiatives, giving me experience supporting the full life of a project: from concept and partnership development through funding, implementation, accountability, and sustainability.
Alongside my systems work, I am a trainer, facilitator, grant strategist, and program developer. I have designed and delivered more than 400 trainings and am certified to provide Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, Mental Health Awareness, and Struggle Well Posttraumatic Growth training. I do not view training as the finish line. I help organizations connect learning to leadership engagement, workplace practices, implementation plans, and sustainable systems of support.
What draws me to The Flock is the opportunity to pair my implementation, workforce wellness, leadership, and grant-development experience with the deep trauma-informed, safeguarding, governance, legal, clinical, and systems-change expertise of my partners. Together, we help organizations identify what needs to change, build a realistic path forward, and carry that work through implementation so both the organization and the people within it can thrive.
Julie Ann Rivers-Cochran, MSW, (she/her) is Founder and CEO of Blackbird Consulting. She brings a trauma-informed foundation rooted in social work and more than 25 years of progressive leadership in community impact, systems-change strategy, coalition building, and institutional accountability to every partnership.
She began her career providing direct services and crisis advocacy at domestic violence and sexual assault programs and has since led large, complex organizations at the state and national level — including as Vice President of Programs & Planning at the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Project Director at the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health, and founding Executive Director of The Athlete Survivors’ Assist, where she cultivated international partnerships with FIFA, the IOC, and the World Players Association and served as Co-creator and Vice Chair of the FIFA Foundation’s YourSide Independent Panel.
She has secured and stewarded tens of millions of dollars in federal grants from OVW, CDC, and OVC; designed the State of Florida’s Trauma-Informed Project; and presented at international and national conferences including the FIFA Safeguarding Summit, IOC Safeguarding Summit, SafeSport International, and the National Sexual Assault Conference. She is a published chapter author (2025) and a recognized national TTA provider.
As a survivor of childhood trauma, Julie Ann is a fierce advocate whose personal experience with the impact of sexual assault and domestic violence has translated into a lifelong commitment to listening to survivors while holding perpetrators and the systems that support them accountable.
I am a licensed mental health counselor, executive leader, survivor advocate, and trauma-informed systems strategist, and I bring clinical expertise, organizational leadership, and a deep commitment to safety, healing, and resilience to every engagement. Throughout my career, I have worked alongside survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other forms of interpersonal trauma, supporting individuals and communities navigating some of the most complex and high-risk circumstances. My work has shown me both the profound impact of trauma and the importance of building systems that promote dignity, recovery, and long-term well-being.
My experience spans public-sector, nonprofit, and community-based behavioral health systems, where I have led programs, developed policy, supervised multidisciplinary teams, and built collaborative responses to violence and trauma. I have worked extensively in crisis intervention, complex case management, advocacy, prevention, and organizational development. As a senior leader, I have helped shape agency strategy, staff development initiatives, community partnerships, and service delivery models designed to improve outcomes for survivors and vulnerable populations.
Alongside my leadership and clinical work, I am a trainer, facilitator, and public speaker. I develop and deliver professional education on domestic violence, trauma-informed care, leadership, survivor-centered practices, and coordinated community response. My work includes authoring training manuals, developing multimedia educational content, and contributing to statewide domestic violence fatality review efforts aimed at strengthening community safety and accountability systems.
I am also the founder and owner of PositiveSum Counseling & Consulting, where I provide counseling, consultation, training, and organizational development services grounded in evidence-based and trauma-informed practices. In addition, I am the Founding Director of InnerStrides Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to trauma-informed mental health support, survivor advocacy, psychoeducation, and community-based healing services for individuals impacted by domestic violence, sexual violence, and chronic trauma. Through this work, I remain committed to reducing barriers to care and increasing opportunities for recovery and resilience.
What draws me to collaborative change efforts is the opportunity to bridge frontline service experience, clinical expertise, and systems-level leadership. I believe meaningful change occurs when survivor voices, professional knowledge, and community partnerships come together to create safer, healthier, and more responsive systems.
I am from the Pueblo of Laguna, located 50 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and I am an enrolled Tribal member of the Pueblo of Laguna. I am the daughter of Elliott and Lucinda Solimon of Laguna Pueblo.
Over the last ten years, I have worked with the Laguna Department of Education, where I directed Partners for Success, Laguna Acoma Connections, and the PoL Direct Education Scholarship. In 2020, under my leadership, Partners for Success was awarded Program of the Year by the U.S. Department of Labor, and I also served as Interim Superintendent during the 2022-23 academic year.
My work in the Native American community centers on American Indian education, Native financial literacy, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and domestic violence, and I have worked across nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and foundations nationwide to address and dismantle the systemic oppression of Black, Indigenous, and people of color everywhere.
I hold a Master’s and Bachelor’s in Public Administration from Barry University in Miami, FL. I have more than 23 years of experience in Public Law 102-477, Section 166 Programs, I have worked as a BIE Superintendent, Director, Supervisor, Grant Reviewer, and Financial Literacy Instructor, with expertise spanning Vocational Rehabilitation, the National Indian Education Association, the National Indian Child Welfare Act, the Florida Indian Youth Program, sexual violence and domestic violence committees, and the Florida Covering Kids and Families Statewide Coalition.
As a Native American public speaker, effective communicator, and active listener, I bring a community-rooted, relationship-driven approach to every partnership, and I’m always looking for opportunities to grow, learn, and expand what’s possible for the communities I serve.
I am an advocate, attorney, systems change analyst, trauma-informed expert, and preventionist dedicated to creating a world where all people can thrive. I bring systems governance know-how, legal advocacy perspectives, and technical expertise in systems change, grounded in a trauma-informed approach that centers the experiences of those most marginalized. With over 25 years of working in survivor-centered advocacy in the ending gender-based violence movement, I know firsthand the challenges, cadence, and opportunities to shift society for positive impact while supporting those most impacted in a trauma-informed way.
My work extends to the local, state, federal and international landscape. I have advocated for and co-written state and federal legislation, provided workshops and tools development for international organizations, and represented survivor-centered approaches with decision makers, electeds, and governing bodies. For the past four years, I have worked closely with national and international sports systems to improve sexual misconduct and abuse safeguarding, including work with the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, US Center for SafeSport, and Sports Rights Alliance.
I am deeply connected to prevention approaches that engage communities and center solutions that are meaningful and sustainable. In 2019, I founded Pivot Advocacy, PC to provide consulting services that have ranged from developing prevention curricula for incarcerated youth to facilitating and spearheading state funding formula reforms for direct services for survivors of sexual assault. I work closely with my partners to understand the landscape of concerns, assess the needs, strengths, and challenges, and then move to thoughtful solution building. I also work with the Close to Home Collective, LLC to build up community prevention projects that engage and organize community members to end sexual violence.
Curiosity and open-mindness are central to my work. I approach each project with a desire to learn more and the humility to listen closely. I believe solutions are out there and the pathway is through trauma-informed approaches that center transparency, choice, and collaboration. What is critical to my work is the opportunity to create the conditions for thriving for all.
What brings me to the flock is the chance to make a wide-scale impact and build sustainable solutions in communities to interrupt and end all forms of violence. Working with the flock gives me a chance to advance trauma-informed approaches that center survivors’ voices. With the varied expertise of the flock, I know we provide both the tailored experience and the impactful service needed to create lasting change.
This partnership brings together nearly six decades of combined experience at the intersection of gender-based violence, trauma-informed practice, systems change, and institutional accountability. Julie Ann and Emily share a foundational conviction: that ending violence requires not just changing individual behavior, but transforming the institutions, systems, and cultures that allow harm to persist.
Together, Julie Ann and Emily pair organizational leadership expertise with deep legal and policy acumen — a combination that is rare, and powerful.
