TEAM
EDUCATING , ENGAGING ,EMPOWERING
Carol J. Matthews-Shifflett
Carol Jean Matthews-Shifflett, Owner and CEO of The Sojourner Group. She has been a passionate activist supporting survivors of violence and abuse for more than 13 years. Throughout her career, Carol has focused on the often ignored and unmet needs of the American Black woman and child impacted by violence.
To support the mission of the Sojourner Group Carol’s focus is education and awareness. She has screened three (3) documentaries with one being virtual. (The Rape of Recy Taylor, Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools, and “Resilience.” Each event hosted over 100 community members and was followed by engaging conversations. She created and facilitated several education and training opportunities to broaden and deepen advocates and community members understanding of the American Black survivors’ experience through a historical context. Trainings included The Naked Truth for 96 registered directors, social workers, and advocates as part of the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault Education Series. She created an 8-week Healthy Masculinity conversation webinar series, ‘How Spaces Define Masculinity,’ with an average of 20 participants per webinar and 14 overall panelists. Carol has also developed a self-directed online course, ‘Fathers and Daughters Building Bridges ~ Investing in Our Daughters,’ that will be release in 2021. Created for all ethnic groups, this course is designed to build healthy relationships between fathers and daughters that focus on skills to develop wholesome and honest communication.
Carol started her work in this field as the Volunteer and Donations Coordinator for the YWCA of Salt Lake approximately 13 years ago. Her experience inspired her to pursue a Master of Arts from Westminster Colleges School of Education in Community Leadership after earning her BA in Anthropology, with a focus on culture. From there she served a short term as the Prevention Coordinator for the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault (UCASA) before moving on to the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault DV/SA Unit at the University of Maryland, Prince George’s Hospital as an advocate.
Carol currently serves on the Board of the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Racial Equity in Racial Justice Commission for the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office.
Sherry Long
Certified Social Worker ~ BS in Psychology
Sherry is a Social Worker who earned her BS in Psychology. She has dedicated her career to clients with various mental health issues. Ms. Long serves as the primary facilitator for Utah’s Sistah Circle of The Sojourner Group. She currently serves as a Social Worker for Journey of Hope. For over 25 years she devoted her passion to clients at Valley Mental Health (Valley Behavioral Health). Ms. Long has worked with patients struggling with Serious Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI), had a large clientele of patients while managing the Drug and Alcohol unit; while specifically concentrating on women and children’s issues.
In addition, Ms. Long contributed as both leader and co-leader in this unit. Throughout her career, Ms. Long played a key role in developing innovated programs, assisted with establishing policies and procedures, and advocated for clients. She has worked with community partners and agencies, setting up team meetings to help clients coordinate services and resources. She laid out treatment plans, safety plans, and trained peer leaders while supervising them to ensure that patients were receiving proper care.
She has run aftercare groups, helped with vocational rehab, case management (intensive) assisted with housing assignments, and was both motivational and inspirational in helping clients see their best potential. She has prepared clients for speaking engagements to tell their stories at high schools, the Boys and Girls Clubs, on college campuses, etc. Ms. Long’s life’s work is committed to providing the best care possible to those working towards a healthier way of living.
We are beyond thrilled to announce the first-ever awardees of the #NewPatternUT grant!
As many of you may remember, this past summer, with the generous support of the Community Foundation of Utah, we teamed up with three other community and business leaders – Utah Black Chamber, Beta Boom and Sorenson Impact – to launch #NewPatternUT, a collaborative grant and mentorship program for Black, women-owned businesses in Utah. Designed to combat the disparity in funding for Black-owned businesses, who have also been especially hard-hit by COVID-19, the grant program provides both immediate capital and ongoing holistic support designed to ensure more equitable access to the larger fundraising and business ecosystem for Black women.
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