21. Stories of Resilience with Kerstin Brinson

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The first positive COVID case in Seattle Washington was announced in February 2020.  As the rest of the nation went about their regular lives, Kerstin Brinson - the executive director at Kids Center - felt disbelief and shock as she bore witness to people going about their regular lives while it was already wreaking havoc on her 2 locations. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a leader of</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">50 teachers, over 100 families, and 150 children, she holds great responsibility for their well-being. On top of that,  Kerstin is the wife to Jimmy and mother to Jenna who is 22, and Cassidy who is 6, who both come to the centers every day. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kerstin shares her experiences as the news began to spread throughout America, and even as the pandemic overstayed its welcome. </span></p> <p><strong>She talks about:</strong></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Why her survival instinct are so high and how the muscle memory of survival served her during those critical moments</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">The kind of leadership skills that came in handy as COVID transferred how schools operated</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">How to trust your decision-making capabilities and some of the critical decisions that Kerstin had to make</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Some of the mental health challenges that the pandemic brought forth, and how Kerstin and her team handles them</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Self-care tips that helped Kerstin stay afloat amidst a pandemic that wreaked havoc to the world’s economy</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">The stigma associated with burn