How one woman is making a difference around the globe.

Brenda Hershey is the founder and Executive Director of TRY Global, a 501(c)3 nonprofit on which I serve as a member of the board. TRY is an acronym for Trauma Recovery Yoga and provides accessible, science-based mental health and trauma recovery practices through Trauma Recovery Yoga (TRY), breath work, and meditation to build resilience and empower individuals and communities globally. TRY serves a wide array of individuals, including survivors of genocide, orphans, refugees, elderly individuals, people with disabilities and veterans.

Brenda was born and raised in rural Darke County Ohio. She later studied International Relations and Arabic at Wright State University and attained certification in Trauma Recovery Yoga (TRY). After college, Brenda worked on humanitarian projects around the world including in the Middle East.

Through her work, Brenda encountered at-risk individuals living in poverty and experiencing war. She observed that these people often carried the burdens of the trauma they suffered and had limited, if any, options for treatment. She set out to develop a model to replicate and expand the TRY program to vulnerable populations around the globe.

TRY Global was officially founded by Brenda Hershey in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2021. TRY has conducted trainings and programs in countries that include Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Ukraine. In the United States, the TRY method has been utilized to support veterans suffering from PTSD.

I’m proud to know Brenda Hershey as both a colleague and friend. As a woman and as a leader, Brenda is charting a new chapter in history that promises increased well-being for at-risk people around the world.