Getting to Know Exhale to Inhale’s Executive Director Maggie LaRocca
Helping others has always been a part of Exhale to Inhale’s Executive Director Maggie LaRocca’s story. Inspired by the impact trauma had on both herself and her family growing up, Maggie found herself drawn to the nonprofit space while pursuing her Masters in Clinical Psychology at Columbia University. From there, her career has spanned numerous outlets from working with service members, veterans and their families impacted by combat stress at the Wounded Warrior Project to founding her own non-profit focused consultancy, Purposeful Results.
In July 2020, amidst pandemic lockdowns and uncertainty, Maggie joined the Exhale to Inhale team as Executive Director and has since helped the organization continue supporting and reaching new clients and teachers in need of trauma-informed yoga. With a background in using innovative healing methods to support trauma survivors, Maggie was especially drawn to Exhale to Inhale’s work because of the impact she has seen trauma-informed yoga have on the lives of survivors. While therapy and mental health resources are vital for the healing process of many, trauma-informed yoga has the ability to help survivors in those in-between moments and allows for a deeper understanding and naming of how trauma impacts the body.
It’s no easy task leading Exhale to Inhale, especially during the challenging time of the pandemic, but Maggie’s optimism and deep investment in every client, partner, and employee has been key in providing safety and hope of where and how this organization will continue to grow. In celebration of her one year workiversary, we took a moment to catch up with our ever smiling executive director to learn a bit more about her background, how she stays grounded in this work, and where she’s hoping to grow Exhale to Inhale.
What first inspired your passion for the nonprofit space? What inspired you to start your own consultancy?
Maggie LaRocca: I didn’t really learn about the nonprofit space until later in my career. When getting my Masters in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College at Columbia University, we were having challenges getting individuals to come in for a therapeutic research study. My sense was that it was hard for anyone to try something new like therapy if they didn’t have a personal connection to it previously. That’s when I truly discovered and started appreciating the work of nonprofits as unique relationship-based organizations focused on helping others. I realized that they are also where social change happens and where much of the research that you read about in books becomes reality.
Remembering my own misconceptions about what a nonprofit was, I was motivated to start a consulting practice that took the best parts of a nonprofit, the people and the communities that make them possible, and meshed that with organizational practices and structure that could support greater impact. All that really means is being clear about the shared goals and the responsibilities of each member of the community to support the primary mission of a nonprofit.
What drew you to join ETI as Executive Director?
Maggie LaRocca: When I first learned about Exhale to Inhale, I was initially drawn to having the opportunity to support survivors of trauma again. Much of my career has focused on creative ways to help those impacted by trauma heal, and ETI’s trauma-informed yoga practice is not only effective, but can be accessible to anyone, anywhere after initial training.
What has it been like starting this new role during the pandemic?
Maggie LaRocca: On a personal level, it has been so grounding to be in this role. The Exhale to Inhale community is so special. It is a community of individuals that truly care about one another and support each other. Before I started this role, it had been a while since someone had asked how I was doing and truly paused for the response.
While there have been challenges due to limited resources and constraints on how we can connect and deliver our programming during this time, it has also been invigorating. We have been able to re-imagine how we can be even more accessible as an organization.
What are you excited to bring to this role? What are your goals for the organization moving forward?
Maggie LaRocca: My primary goal is to support the community in carrying out our mission. There is so much passion, energy and talent from our community, and if we can harness that towards a shared vision, our possibilities are endless. I hope that every survivor of sexual assault and domestic violence will have access to trauma-informed yoga to support long-term healing and that every community member will understand how trauma can impact themselves and others. When we all have a chance to have a fuller understanding of ourselves and how our experiences shape our behavior and that of others, perhaps, there is a world where there is no violence towards others. I wish for a world where Exhale to Inhale was no longer needed because there was no individual impacted by sexual or domestic violence.
How do you care for yourself in this line of work?
Maggie LaRocca: While my work is such an important part of my life, I do try to draw boundaries. Self-awareness and self-reflection are ongoing practices that sometimes I am good at and other times, I need to work at with the support of others. I love being active in any way with my husband and three young children who motivate me every day to make the world a better place. That may sound cliché but as a parent, you constantly think of how what you do can impact those around you, especially your children, who are very candid with you!
What isn't in your bio but you believe is a big part of who you are and you'd like people to know?
Maggie LaRocca: My life has been affected in many ways by an early childhood trauma. I have personally seen the long-term, often chronic, impact of trauma on not only individuals, but families and communities. Growing up in a rural town in Illinois, I am also keenly aware of how hard it can be to access mental health resources or other forms of support. While we have made great strides in mental health and wellness, it is still a luxury for many, and it shouldn’t be.
I often think how different things could be if we all understood how our bodies process trauma and the feelings and emotional reactions trauma can produce. Personally, I didn’t know about post-traumatic stress until I was nearly 20 years old. I had lived more than half of my life without being able to name something that shaped who I was as a person. Since then, it has been my goal to help others who have experienced trauma, and I feel that tools like trauma-informed yoga can help so many heal and cope.