Dr. Cecilia Cardesa is a strategist, storyteller, and systems thinker with over two decades of experience working at the intersection of mental health, education, and organizational development. She founded TraumaVenture in 2016 to shift the narratives around trauma and mental health. Through her work as a management consultant, she designs people-centered, hope-rooted programming, training, and ecosystems that move conversations, organizations, and communities toward greater alignment, connection, and resilience.

Cecilia currently serves as the Global CEO of ConTextos, an international storytelling nonprofit and recipient of the 2019 International Prize from the United States Library of Congress Literacy Awards. Whether working with Catholic nuns and women religious in sub-Saharan Africa or leading initiatives within U.S.-based social impact organizations, Cecilia brings global perspective into strategic local action. Her work is animated by a deep commitment to public interest law, trauma-informed practices, and the social impact sector.

Earlier in her career, Dr. Cardesa led the Philadelphia affiliate of Dress for Success Worldwide and served as a senior leader at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, where she helped pilot a national Latine community engagement strategy. She was also Executive Director of Voices Without Borders, Inc., and began her career supporting immigrant and refugee communities through an affiliate of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS).

Cecilia has represented civil society at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) multiple times, including as a Delegate in 2007 and 2013. In 2021, she organized and led a workshop on inclusive leadership and mental health at UNCSW65. In 2022, she returned as lead organizer and moderator for a UNCSW66 event exploring the intersection of environmental sustainability and education.

She has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work, including the Vera Momentum Award from Business Council for Peace (BPeace) for her leadership with start-ups in El Salvador, and the Mandela Washington Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange Award in 2019 for her work in Malawi. Dr. Cardesa currently serves as Board Chair of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute in Boston and has held positions on local and international boards committed to justice, healing, and systemic change.

Education

Dr. Cardesa studied Political Science at Villanova University (2002). Her undergraduate thesis focused on the impact of globalization in international non-governmental organizations. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. The thesis for her master’s at the University of Pennsylvania was on the Role of Storytelling in Social Value Creation. Cecilia’s doctoral dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania looked into Situating Traumatic Memory in Social Value Creation (2014). While in graduate school, Cecilia served as planning committee member for the student-run 2013 Wharton Social Impact Conference.

Dr. Cardesa humbly and proudly began her academic journey in community college.