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What is resilience?  When is it useful?  Many of us think of resilience as the ability to “bounce back” from difficult circumstances.  But, do we really want to bounce back from challenging moments?  What does the desire to “bounce back” suggest about the role of difficulty and pain in our lives?  What if, instead, we viewed resilience as something else?

Laura C. Smythe, is University Ombuds at the Iowa State University where she serves graduate and professional students, staff, faculty, and administrators to manage conflict and build respectful, ethical and inclusive cultures.  She works with individuals and entire units and departments on respectful and ethical communication, inclusivity and ethical leadership.  She also serves as Owner/Founder of Communication Connections, LLC and works in that role as an Organizational Culture Diagnostician building upon her years of experience as a mediator, attorney, ombuds, professor, coach and trainer to consult with for-profit and non-profit industries both nationally and internationally.  In this capacity she works with leaders to design ethical and inclusive organizations that value their employees and the communities in which they work.