Along with the longer episodes, Allan and I will share shorter conversations with amazing people we encounter that are working to enable resilient communities around the world.
Stream the episode here, or follow on your favorite streaming service (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc).
I met Torend during DC's inagural climate week. Her personal journey inspires me - but what caught my attention first was how she asked questions and listed to those around her.
Torned has spent a career focused directly on community resilience, whether in her native Louisville, KY or regionally in leadership positions at the US Departments of Energy and the Interior.
She reflects on how to maintain hope and energy in tough jobs operating across challenging environments.
Importantly, she also shares a few ways that she, personally maintains her own energy on a daily basis. We keep hearing in these conversations on resilience about the importance of one's own physical, mental and spiritual health.
Shared Ground is produced by Sean Knierim and Allan Marks. Thanks to Cory Grabow, Kara Poltor, Corey Walles (from The Recording Studio) for your support in launching this effort.
Shared Ground is produced by Sean Knierim and Allan Marks. Thanks to Cory Grabow, Kara Poltor, Corey Walles (from The Recording Studio) for your support in launching this effort.
For more stories of resilience & rebuilding, kindness & generosity: visit shared-ground.com and subscribe to Sean's substack. We invite you to share your own stories of resilience at the Shared Ground website - whether in response to the January fires in LA or other situations.
Follow us at seanknierim.substack.com, Instagram, or wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc).
Episode Transcript
All right, so who are you?
Tored Collins (00:03):
My name is Torin Collins.
I'm a former senior advisor forinfrastructure strategy with
the US Department of theInterior and are currently in
the arena to exploreopportunities in which I can use
my skill sets and all theexperience I have in the
environmental policy space.
Sean Knierim (00:24):
All right.
So, torin, you have beenworking in community resilience
and development for a long time,so how do you stay hopeful
about the future, especiallywith the challenges that we're
facing, that you're personallyfacing and seeing these
communities go through?
But how do you stay hopeful?
Tored Collins (00:38):
Yeah, I stay hopeful because I see the work
that other people are doing andI connect that with the work
that I have been doing in mycareer, not just professionally
but personally.
And as long as there's energyand juice and there are
vibrations and focus for folkslike myself and others doing the
(00:58):
work, that makes me hopeful.
I see people at the local leveland local government.
I see folks at the federallevel.
I see nonprofit entities.
Everyone is doing their partand whether it's as small as or
not to say it's small tominimize it but if it's
something like you know,protesting against what's
happening with our governmentand what's happening to our
(01:21):
institutions, all the way up todrafting policy and legislation,
there's a role for everyone.
So that keeps me motivated, itkeeps me hopeful, it keeps me
optimistic because I know thathistorically, times have been
challenging but there's alwaysbeen a force of folks who have
been able to overcome andcontinue on the journey.
(01:42):
So that keeps me hopeful andresilient to what the future
holds.
Sean Knierim (01:46):
That's a great segue into the next question.
When things get tough, whathelps you keep going?
Any habits, people, places thatmake a difference for you.
Tored Collins (01:55):
Yeah, I have an amazing village of not only
women, but mostly women who arein the space doing this work, so
that keeps me very motivated.
On a personal note, I havewonderful pups, so they keep me
motivated.
What kind of pups?
She's a pit chow, pit chow.
And I have pseudo-adopted mybest friend's little mini
(02:17):
Yorkie-ish dog.
So, yeah, that keeps memotivated, and also just
understanding that there are alot of people that put in work
before me.
So building upon what they'vedone helps me to stay focused,
and sometimes in this arena youdefinitely can't show up for
(02:37):
something when your glass ishalf filled.
Time to like recharge, regroupand really give myself the space
to um, to address some of the,the frustrations I have has been
great, because then I can comeback in stronger and, you know,
more optimistic and more focusedand energized.
Sean Knierim (02:57):
What specifically do you do to fill that cup up
and take care of yourself?
Wow Um cause because we, wehear that all the time.
Yeah, but specific things thatwe can do often are helpful yeah
, I think.
Tored Collins (03:11):
I think one of the the great things about where
we're at in this, in this spaceand time, is that there are so
many different ways in which youcan do that.
Right, I commit, I have a dog,so I, you know, almost have to
walk her daily, but not just inmy neighborhood.
I do this um, fun kind of gamewhere I'm like, where do I want
to?
And I commit, I have a dog, soI, you know, almost have to walk
her daily, but not just in myneighborhood.
(03:32):
I do this fun kind of gamewhere I'm like where do I want
to explore today?
What neighborhood do I want toexplore?
What park do I want to go to?
And it could be as far as goingto Baltimore and exploring a
new area with her, or it couldbe, you know, rock Creek Park,
which is, you know, its ownbeast, if you've ever tried to
go through there.
So taking the time to carve outthree times a day at least to
where I'm out in nature andeveryone says it's so cliche,
but really nature is soimportant- it's actually proven.
Sean Knierim (03:55):
It's right Exactly .
It's proven that it helps.
Tored Collins (03:56):
Neurologically, physically Right and DC is a
very busy city but there arestill a lot of pockets of space
in nature where you candisconnect, regroup, and I do a
lot of that with my dog.
Sometimes it's talking to mymom on the phone when I'm on a
walk, Sometimes it's gettingtogether with a girlfriend and
having, you know, some smallbites or whatever the case may
be.
But that has been critical forme and I really started to
(04:21):
absorb that when I worked inFlorida and I never considered
myself a water woman or water.
I respected water but I didn'tneed to be near water.
But having, like beaches andbays and you know, other spaces
to just sit and think and be atpeace was so incredibly helpful.
Sean Knierim (04:41):
So I thought of being at peace Sounds wonderful.
Thank you so much for making afew minutes to talk with someone
that you did not know beforelunch today, of course.
Tored Collins (04:50):
Thanks so much.
Sean Knierim (04:54):
That was awesome.
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