Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tionna Plummer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Tionna, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

As the founder and CEO of Novaturient Inc. We service children and their families who have experienced childhood trauma. Therapeutic services and resources are necessary in order to overcome traumatic experiences. Through our organization we ensure that the families in low-income communities are receiving these services.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Before graduating from Auburn University, I had to complete an internship. I decided to intern at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. During my internship, I was able to work in the trauma department majority of the time and realized 2 things. 1. All children understand genuine love and care, and they need that in order to heal and feel safe, and 2. Children are experiencing trauma at an alarming rate and children in low-income families begin to normalize these experiences, and feel that it’s parts of life. These realizations were disheartening to me, because children should not have to go through these experiences believing that these situations are supposed to happen to them, or that there is no help and they are worthless. Upon completing my internship, graduating from Auburn, and returning to Atlanta, I decided to found Novaturient Inc. Our mission has always been to raise awareness for the impact childhood trauma can have on children, and providing children and their families with the resources that they need in order to overcome the experiences they’ve endured. We want to help instill the confidence and hope into our children. We want them to know that traumatic experiences do not have to define them or their future, but with assistance they will be able to define their trauma and be an inspiration to many!

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

My best advice is to always be genuine, and allow people to understand your why and their why. Operating a non-profit organization is about ensuring the team is genuinely interested and care about the population and audience that you are tending too. I always tell everyone; this organization isn’t about me or my story, it’s about changing the trajectory of some many children’s lives. Our entire team has their reason for why they want to be part of growing the organization, and that helps to maintain the high morale of each member. When it comes to managing the team, what we do is serious and sometimes heavy, and so we take days and moments to have fun. Whether it’s just with our team enjoying drinks and food out in Atlanta, or by doing fun activities with the children. We definitely just try to balance it all and support one another the best we can. As a leader, I provide check-in opportunities with the members, and ensure everyone feels safe to speak freely and know that their ideas and voices are being heard.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I remember just as a was founding the organization, my ex of 4 years suddenly passed. I had never experienced grief like that before, and remember trying to push myself to accomplish these goals for the children that were in need. However, I really neglected myself and my own healing process. This caused me to make several mistakes and actions that I know I would have never made had I been in a better place mentally. Between trying to put on a face so that others did not know how bad I was hurting, pouring into others, and trying to run from my problems, I created more issues and problems that forced me to have to take a seat and really pour into myself first. I had to hold myself accountable for many things, and see a therapist to really get myself better. I realized that I cannot be what others needed if I wasn’t that person first. Through that, I was able to come out of it stronger than ever and learning even more lessons to help the children and families in our program. I had never experienced grief like that, but now it made me understand and be able to relate to families in a different regard. So although I wish I had not created certain situations for myself and hurt others during that period, learning from it and becoming a better individual for it is how I choose to look at it instead.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/tionnamichelle__
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tionna-plummer-739184b9/
• Other: organization Instagram: @novaturientinc

Image Credits
-Khalil Johnson RDK Studios