Meet Alia Berry
I’m a licensed social worker, educator, grief specialist and systems strategist.
I have 25 years experience serving ages 0-75 years old in a variety of settings from daycares to group homes to correctional facilities. My experience is well rounded and vast as a former special education teacher, former school leader, clinician and mentor.
I currently support community violence intervention/prevention work as I address the nuanced emotional roots of violence through a trauma informed and healing centered lens with individuals before, during and after incarceration- from the sidewalk to the courtroom and from corrections to reentry.
I also have a particular passion for creating safe space, training and building infrastructure to support workers’ wellness across all sectors.
I am a national-level consultant who has a history in leadership roles where I formalized ideas/visions and organic processes, ensured the effectiveness of programs and collected data to help shape strategy.
I am based in Newark, New Jersey and currently work full time as Principal Consultant of Seeds & Berries.
Alia Berry Speaks: Purpose, Practice & Impact
Boots on the Ground: My experience doing community work during COVID19
Trailblazer: An approach to social work not found in any text books
Thought Leader: The ripple effects of violence and how to interrupt its transmission
Seeds & Berries delivers expert guidance and compassionate support exactly when it matters most.
Whether it’s providing clinical consultation, strengthening coalitions before pivotal moments, or supporting overwhelmed staff, we stand ready.
In 2020, I founded The Village Revival Project, where our mission is to revive communities through healing spaces that humanize our neighbors and rebuild our collective heartbeat.
We use transformative, art-based dialogue and public storytelling to address the root causes of violence and foster social cohesion on both sides of harm.
Led by Servant Leadership
The way I have always defined a ‘community-based’ social worker is one who does the work found in graduations and baby showers but also unfortunately at funerals, candle light vigils and sentencing hearings. It looks like goal setting on the corner and getting hugs at a red light; being a crisis interventionist, mentor and sidewalk case manager when the moment calls for one.
This work is more than a “9-5” but is a lifestyle and the “office” is outside the four walls of any Agency.
Since 2001, I have been deeply honored to have been chosen to do this work and trusted by those I serve to serve them.
