Trauma Prevention & Community Building — The Elephant and Willow Project

About The Elephant and Willow Project

Founded in 2025, The Elephant and Willow Project is a Michigan-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to preventing trauma and building community through education and relational development.

What Makes Us Different:

→ Prevention-first (not crisis response)

→ Accessible to all (every paid one funds a free one)

→ Resource-grounded (built from research)

→ Relational focus (systems, not just individuals)

Donate Here

🌿 Our Story

The Elephant & Willow Project was born out of a simple but powerful truth: healing and equity are inseparable. For decades, our founder, Jodee Gibson, witnessed a pattern of trauma quietly disrupting people's agency, the very core of how people see themselves and their capacity to thrive. From classrooms to corporate boardrooms, from families to communities, she saw the same pattern repeating: when individuals lose their sense of agency, systems reinforce that loss, leaving entire groups feeling unseen, unheard, and unable to thrive.

E&W was built to interrupt this pattern.

Like an elephant, we carry wisdom, strength, and the ability to build tender, matriarchal communities.
Like the willow, we bend, adapt, and grow even through the roughest of storms.

Together, these symbols represent the heart of our mission: to restore self-agency, to prevent and heal trauma, and to build equity in every layer of our communities.

What began as one girl’s lived experience and later became decades of professional practice → is now a growing movement.

Rooted in Compassion | Driven by Research | Committed to Systemic Change

Our Timeline

Building Momentum

Fall 2025

Vision Acted Upon: Founder Jodee Gibson refined the vision by creating a dedicated space for systemic change, designed for those who have traditionally lacked access to essential resources. Her decades of experience in psychology, coaching, and leadership inspired this mission.
Name & Identity Chosen: The Elephant & Willow Project was born symbolizing an intentional, nurturing, matriarchal community that honors the often forced flexibility and strength we embody.
Potential Board Conversations: Intentional discussions with leaders, educators, and professionals agreed that we could make change.

Present
Day

2026

Board of Directors Seated: A committed group of leaders and advocates now guides our work.
First Grant Received: The Ethel & James Flinn Foundation awarded our first grant.
First Trainings Delivered: Community trainings began in Wayne County, bringing prevention-first education to the people who need it most.
Foundations Training Launched: Preventing Burnout | Understanding and Healing Developmental Trauma is now available for schools, early childhood programs, community mental health agencies, and family-serving organizations.
One = Two Model Introduced: Every organization that invests in a training funds a donated training for an under-resourced community.

Where We’re Headed

2027

First Donated Trainings: One = Two in action, with free trainings delivered to under-resourced communities.
Growing Community: Expanding connection circles and community-based healing, so prevention lives where people live.
Deeper Partnerships: Collaborating with schools, early childhood programs, and community mental health agencies across Michigan.
First Annual Campaign: Inviting supporters to help us grow access to prevention-first education.
Measuring What Matters: Gathering participant feedback and outcomes to strengthen and share our impact.

How It
Started

Early 2025

Vision Sparked: Founder Jodee Gibson began shaping the idea for a nonprofit dedicated to preventing trauma and building communities, inspired by decades of work in psychology, coaching, and leadership.
General Idea Surfaces: The idea was born out of the need to close a gaping hole in mental health - individually and systemically.
Initial Community Conversations: Early discussions with parents, educators, and mental health professionals confirmed the need for advocacy that creates awareness around trauma-prevention and the importance of building healthy communities. This in itself creates systemic change.