Trauma‑Informed Visibility Starts Here.

The Connection Lab supports survivor‑led orgs, cities, and mission‑driven partners in designing communications, memorials, and public moments that create dignity, not distance.

Worked in 200+ communities, guided 500+ leaders, and co‑designed visibility strategies after crisis, loss, and systemic violence

Choose Your Connection Lab Path

Each offering centers trauma-informed strategy and survivor-led design, without spectacle or harm.

Survivor-Led Org Development Lab

Helping new organizations rooted in lived experience build with power and care.

  • Co-creating trauma-informed initiatives designed with and for survivors, frontline teams, and communities in crisis. From concept to activation, we bring structure to the healing process.

  • Nonprofits, coalitions, foundations, and support centers doing direct work with communities impacted by violence, grief, or trauma.

  • A clear, survivor-rooted strategy. Program plans, team alignment, and the tools to lead with care, not just deliver services.

    • Strategic naming, brand, and mission design

    • Language coaching for public/funder storytelling

    • Advisory on dignity-forward leadership + partnership

Voice + Visibility Lab

Design trauma-informed communications that amplify without retraumatizing.

  • Support around messaging, storytelling, and language that centers dignity and emotional safety. From speaker coaching to comms audits, we help shape stories with care.

  • Orgs sharing survivor stories, planning campaigns, public messaging, or preparing for media/remembrances after trauma.

  • Ethical storytelling tools, trauma-informed messaging strategies, and the confidence to speak with purpose, not pressure.

    • Messaging and language audits

    • Media prep + narrative coaching

    • Communications planning for high-sensitivity moments

Memorial + Milestone Design Lab

Create a dignified, community-centered reflection after a tragedy.

  • Designing trauma-informed experiences of collective grief, year-marks, vigils, and remembrance events that honor without retraumatizing.

  • Communities, agencies, or organizations supporting those impacted by tragedy, especially around anniversaries or high-profile events.

  • Guidance on event structure, language, and ritual. Support that helps you create safe, meaningful spaces for public healing.

    • Year-mark or vigil planning

    • Rituals, space design, and visual symbolism

    • Optional facilitation or healing partner coordination

Our work has supported over 200 communities across the U.S., including cities, school districts, survivor coalitions, and justice-focused nonprofits.

We help clients:

Build

public trust

through aligned messaging.

Reduce

retraumatization

in media + events.

Create

moments of meaning

that support healing,

not just visibility.

3x

Faster

Message Alignment

Across

Comms and Leadership Teams

75%

of Survivor Leaders

said they

felt more

“in control of the narrative”

post-engagement

72%

Increase

in Event

Participation when

Healing-Centered

Framing Was Used

The Lab Results Are in.

What you need to know:

  • Survivor-led orgs, city officials, comms teams, DEI/CSR leads, and justice-based nonprofits after crisis or disruption.

  • No. It’s strategy, story, ritual, and care—delivered through design thinking and lived experience.

  • Yes—many clients use Connection alongside the Healing or Infrastructure Lab.

  • Strategy sessions, templates, facilitated messaging or design sprints, and optional co-facilitation for events.

You don’t need a media strategy. You need a care strategy.

Whether you’re navigating public storytelling, organizing a one-year memorial, or trying to build a new org in the spotlight, the Connection Lab can help.

Design with care, not guesswork.

Start with a Free Resource

Whether you’re building a peer-led support space, running a small nonprofit, or advising on public memorials, trauma-informed practice is essential and often misunderstood.

The JG CoLab Starter Kit gives you simple, actionable tools to help you lead with care. From trust-building prompts to organizational wellness checklists, this resource is a significant first step toward embedding compassion into every layer of your work.

It’s not a clinical guide, and it’s not meant to be. It’s a starting point built by people who’ve been in the work, designed for teams ready to lead with empathy.