Dr. Jen Clifden
Educator | Relationship Researcher | Retention Specialist
"While The Light You Cast training addresses the very personal needs of avoiding educator burnout and coping with stress, it finds its way into improving our relationships with everyone we encounter on our mission to teach.
Self-love as the cornerstone of racial justice seems simple, cutting edge, and essential all at once."
Minneapolis Public High School Teacher
When caregivers are internally resourced and anchored in purpose,
equity becomes embodied rather than imposed.
The Light You Cast™ curriculum recognizes that educational caregiver dispositions are not fixed personality traits; they are dynamic, relational capacities that can be intentionally cultivated.
Aligned in the core principles of Street Data that center lived experience, elevate marginalized voices, and treat human stories as legitimate and essential forms of data, we move beyond deficit-driven metrics to honor the wisdom already present in educators, students, and communities. Through a growing body of data-informed mindfulness-based interventions and strategic somatic body-healing practices, we train and support the development of essential habits of mind that allow educators and school staff to embody equity from the inside out.
Self-Awareness | Perspective | Integrity | Truth Telling | Unconditional Positive Regard
Embodied equity emerges when educators learn to regulate their nervous systems, metabolize stress into meaning, and align their internal state with their external commitments to justice so that equity is not merely a policy or intention, but a lived, practiced, and co-regulated experience within classrooms and school communities.
Meet the Co-Creators
For over a decade, Dr. Nuhu Sims and Dr. Jen Clifden have collaborated and co-taught at the intersection of inner health and social transformation.
Together, they raise awareness around the powerful connection between Soul Justice—the cultivation of inner well-being and self-awareness—and Embodied equity that emerges from a deep relationship with one’s own inner diversity.
Their work invites educators and leaders to recognize that sustainable justice begins within, and that equity becomes lived practice when individuals are aligned, regulated, and rooted in authentic self-understanding.
Dr. Nuhu Sims
Restorative Practice Lead
Minnesota Department of Education
Dr. Jen Clifden
Founder
Present Well-Being LLC
Program Coordinator University of Minnesota - Minnesota Grow Your Own Teachers Program
Discover this module inside The Light You Cast™ ON-DEMAND Training
where Jen and Nuhu illuminate how burnout prevention and equity work are not separate efforts, but deeply interconnected practices.
"Thank you very much for your incredible workshop today. My staff were engaged, inspired, and felt a sense of healing and restoration.
This training has helped change the mindset of my staff from surviving to striving. Jennifer and Nuhu created a space for my staff to heal, care, and restore their love for teaching."
Saint Paul Public School Administrator
We draw from the sciences of
Trauma-Responsive
Approaches
CASEL Social Emotional Learning
Competencies
Nervous System Health
Practices
Stress Metabolization
Interventions
Culturally Responsive Teaching
Practices
Healing Centered Engagement
Principles
Restorative Practice
Approaches
Mindfulness
Interventions
The Light You Cast™ | ON-DEMAND
Choice-Based, Self-Paced, Ongoing Support and PD
Are you looking for a comprehensive, engaging, transformative, and fully ONLINE and self-paced teacher mental health and SEL well-being research-backed curriculum?
The Light You Cast™ | ON-DEMAND is a flexible, fully online professional development experience designed for the realities of early-career teaching. New teachers can engage the 8 module video-based training when they want, how they want (phone or desktop device), and as often as they need, building relational resilience and mental health capacity at their own pace while earning 4.5 Continuing Education Clock Hours in mental health, relationship science, and social-emotional (SEL) competencies.
26,000 +
views of video content
19,000 +
hours of engagement
7,000 +
school staff impacted
25 +
school districts served
SELF-PACED | Eight self-paced modules (35 minutes each) translate the latest science on mental health, stress metabolization, and nervous system regulation for new teachers into quick, practical tools for real-time relief and renewal.
LOW-BURDEN, HIGH-IMPACT | Offered through the district as an optional, on-going professional learning pathway for new teachers (and the mentors who support them).
INSTANT & SUSTAINED | A sustained, instantly accessible resource educators can return to (over and over again) during high-stress moments, key transition points, and the most demanding phases of the school year.
RETENTION FOCUSED | Supports retention and relational effectiveness Strengthens teacher well-being, presence, and connection over time—key factors in teacher sustainability and effectiveness.
CEU CLOCK HOURS | Participants earn 4.5 clock hours of professional development in SEL, mental health, and stress management while building daily practices that support long-term health and impact.
COMMUNITIES of PRACTICE | Optional in-person or online The Light You Cast Communities of Practice designed to foster shared reflection, co-regulation, and collective growth; helping early-career educators stay grounded, connected, and supported as they navigate the realities of teaching together.
Let's Connect!
Book a Free (and enjoyable) Consultation
I would love to chat!
We can schedule a 15 - 45 minute discovery conversation where I learn more about your needs and desires, and how we can bring burnout prevention and embodied equity support to your staff.
This is a no obligation, no risk discovery conversation.
What educators are saying after engaging The Light You Cast
in-person and on-demand trainings
I believe...
“I can re-story a threat to be a challenge.”
“My perception of a situation creates my feelings in that present moment. What I am feeling directly influences what I say and do. I should go into each moment knowing that I have a deep well of kindness, calmness and caring to bring to that next moment or next interaction with students.”
“My joy comes from seeing the beauty of each child when they are learning and feeling successful!! I also feel joy when children come to see me with such love and excitement!!!"
“If I am feeling stressed, just taking a few moments to focus on my breathing will help reset my body.”
“How important gratitude is. Asking how I want to be today and recognizing my breath.”
“That we have to be intentional about creating opportunities to connect with and show compassion for students.”
“Creating micro-miracle moments in the day to stop the fast pace and connect with those in my care - miracles are more like changes in perspective, so I realized I have more control than I thought."
“In order to truly affirm my students, I need to affirm myself first.”
“I am naturally resilient, and that resilience within is cultivated in relationships with others, and hence as a teacher I am critical in building resiliency in my students. Embracing and honoring trauma is at the heart of allowing fear to turn into love.”
"I am enough."
"This training, while it addresses the very personal needs of avoiding burnout and coping with stress, finds its way into improving our relationships with everyone we encounter on our mission to teach. Self-love as the cornerstone of racial justice seems simple, cutting edge, and essential all at once. "