We were lucky to catch up with Linda Duverné recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Linda, thanks for joining us today. What was your school or training experience like? Share an anecdote or two that you feel illustrate important aspects or the overall nature of your schooling/training experience.

My introduction to community healing began with my extensive study at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. I continued investing in trauma-informed mental health education post grad. At NYU Gallatin, I concentrated on “Self-Care, Mindfulness, and Ancestral Healing for Haiti’s future.” My concentration investigated the impact of intergenerational trauma and healing within the Haitian diaspora, specifically focusing on Haitian Millennials and Gen Z. I want people reading this to be mindful that the intention and impact of my work is intergenerational and expands beyond Millennials and Gen Z and it is not confined only to my academic concentration. I used Haitian history, Black feminist theory, and the epistemology of Haitian Vodou to understand intergenerational trauma amongst the Haitian diaspora.

My on-going trauma-informed mental health education includes NYU Mindfulness in Higher Education certification, Connection Coalition Trauma Informed Volunteer Training certification, MNDFL Mindfulness Instructor certification, and The Lab of Meditation 200 hour Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher Training.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Linda Duverné and I am a conscious connector of community healing.

Healing myself as a first-generation Haitian American woman to two Haitian immigrant parents has taught me to understand the trauma behind the resilience. In addition to my upbringing in Brooklyn, New York, my trip to Haiti in 2012 established a personal promise I made with myself to my parents’ native country. The promise was to collaborate with the Haitian diaspora to rebuild Haiti. At that time I did not know in what capacity I would be able to support or collaborate with the Haitian diaspora. Now that I am able to contextualize my feelings and experiences, I know I am committed to guiding Haitians and Black people to use their intergenerational wisdom to heal from their intergenerational trauma.

Fast forward to attending New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, I had the opportunity to build my own concentration. I started my college with “Feminism and Caribbean Development”, to “Black Feminism and Haitian Development” and found my way to my final concentration title “Self-Care, Mindfulness, and Ancestral Healing for Haiti’s future.” In addition to creating my concentration that led me to my offerings, I was able to go on a MindfulNYU Retreat to Trinidad and Tobago that gave me peace of mind. Learning more about healing modalities such as meditation has supported me in finding the words for the feelings I have felt growing up.

Through my wellness offerings by the way of meditation and journaling, I consciously connect people to their feelings, seen and unseen, to begin their journey of self-exploration. I have always been a sage in my own right, seemingly always having the right words to say, and actively listening to people when we share space and time together. My ability to do all of this has been refined through my growing sense of self and relationship with God. It is important for me to remind people to understand and trust how we know what we know (embodied knowledge + epistemology), how the body keeps score, and how we have the power to return to our divine self.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Integrity has not only helped build my reputation, it reminds me to remain whole and spirit driven in everything I do and say. Integrity exists beyond building my reputation, it is one of my core values that I honor in my relationship to God, my community, and self. Integrity reminds me to practice my discernment and trust what is not meant for me in all aspects of my life. Lastly, integrity reminds me to live life from knowingness versus belief.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I have to remind myself when my mind wanders from my purpose is not to focus so much on mastery and focus more on the here and now. I grew up as an overachiever who thrived in academic settings but I had to do the inner work to understand that my worth is not based on my academic performance. I am worthy because I exist, that’s it! There were moments where I would catch myself thinking what I was doing was not enough when it was more than enough. What those thoughts showed me was I programmed myself to be an overachiever with everything I do. One thing I have learned and know about mental health/wellness is it is not linear and that is okay. When I have moments when I feel like I need to be doing more than I should, I tell myself that I need to rest, hibernate, restore, and pause because this is for my own sustainability and vitality. I owe it to myself and my honorable Haitian ancestors.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lindaduverne.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linda.duverne/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ lindaduverne

Image Credits
Poochie Collins (for the first 5 images) Love Soulèy (last one)