Chester Street Foundation
Shining a light on the invisible wounds of childhood trauma
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
More than ever before, mental health researchers and professionals are finding that untreated trauma from child abuse is at the core of a significant number of chronic health issues. Mental health issues have become a widespread problem as evidenced by the rising numbers of stories of suicides and other tragic events that appear daily in our news feeds. However, far too many illnesses are being incorrectly attributed to various conditions when, in fact, they were caused by the untreated trauma of child abuse. According to the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), almost half of the nation’s children have experienced at least one or more types of serious childhood trauma. Even more alarming, nearly one in three U.S. youth ages 12-17 years has experienced two or more types of childhood adversity that are likely to affect their physical and mental health as adults.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
TraumaTalks for Providers
We believe education is a critical component to helping traumatized children on their road to recovery and have designed our TraumaTALKS for professionals who are on the frontlines of this issue, including psychologists, counselors, and social workers. TraumaTALKS are high-quality trauma-informed-training and professional development presentations, featuring Chester Street Foundation’s Founder and CEO, Shawn Alex Nemeth (a trauma survivor), along with other licensed mental health professionals. TraumaTALKS are offered through On Demand videos with Professional Development credits for mental health professionals.
TraumaTalks for Community
We believe education is a critical component to helping traumatized children on their road to recovery and have designed our TraumaTALKS program for the community to help audiences learn why it’s critical to help children heal from trauma and how they can play a role in changing a child’s life. Chester Street Foundation presents several free educational events for the community throughout the year. These live presentations are offered both virtually and in person and feature Founder and CEO, Shawn Alex Nemeth (a trauma survivor), along with other licensed mental health professionals.
TraumaTALKS for Schools & Organizations
We believe education is a critical component to helping traumatized children on their road to recovery and have designed our TraumaTALKS programs for professionals who are on the frontlines of this issue, including educators and organizations working with children. The State of Texas is now requiring all public and charter schools to provide trauma-informed training for all educators, including educators who work outside of special education.
Here’s how Chester Street Foundation is ready to help! TraumaTALKS are high-quality trauma-informed-training and professional development presentations, featuring Chester Street Foundation’s Founding Director and CEO, Shawn Alex Nemeth (a trauma survivor), along with other licensed mental health professionals. TraumaTALKS are offered as live presentations and through On Demand videos. Professional Development Certificates are available.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients participating in educational programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth, Teachers, Caregivers, Foster and adoptive parents
Related Program
TraumaTALKS for Schools & Organizations
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Educational talks (In person, virtual, and on Demand videos)
Number of clients reporting increased knowledge after educational programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth, Teachers, Foster and adoptive parents, Children and youth
Related Program
TraumaTALKS for Schools & Organizations
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
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Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
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Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The mission of the Chester Street Foundation (CSF) is to educate the community about the insidious impacts of trauma during childhood and adolescence. In Texas, almost a quarter of youth have been exposed to at least two or more adverse experiences (i.e., domestic violence, abuse, loss of a parent, a caregiver with chronic substance abuse concerns) annually, with over 60,000 cases of abuse and neglect confirmed statewide (Texas Kids Count, 2018). The physical and emotional scars of abuse and neglect are profound, resulting not only in the immediate expression of disruptive behaviors, post-traumatic stress symptoms, poor school outcomes, toxic stress, or the prolonged activation of the stress response system in the brain and body.
We established the Chester Street Foundation to provide a voice for traumatized children and educate our community, particularly those on the front lines of the issue. No child should have to live a life imprisoned by panic, rage, and helplessness.
We believe education is a critical component to helping traumatized children on their road to recovery and have designed our education programs for the community at large and professionals who are on the frontlines of this issue, including educators, healthcare professionals, and organizations working with children.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our strategy to fulfill our mission is to educate our community on the science behind trauma and the ways to help traumatized children heal and recover. It’s not just about hurt feelings and troubling emotions; it’s much deeper and is rooted physiologically. Trauma remains wired in the body and brain. Whenever it triggers its victims, it causes them to relive the panic and terror of their original trauma over and over. These wounds are not visible to the human eye, but they are very real and left untreated can cause chronic health issues which last a lifetime.
Our education programs include TraumaTALKS for the community, TraumaTRAININGS for professionals, and our inaugural TraumaCONFERENCE. All education programs are given by Chester Street Foundation’s Founder and CEO, Shawn Alex Nemeth (a trauma survivor), along with other licensed mental health professionals.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Shawn Alex Nemeth’s personal story is filled with the trauma of child abuse, shame, and deep internal conflict.
As an ordained minister, he did everything he was taught to do while attempting to help others heal. For years, he spent countless hours in prayer, pastoral counseling, and hard work to forgive his abusers.
In 2009, Shawn had to be hospitalized with chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of the severe trauma his therapists said had been encoded in his brain and body when he was a boy. But even though he was traumatized by a tumultuous childhood, Shawn found the strength to recover and to thrive.
This experience ignited him on a quest – not only for his own wholeness – but with a new passion and purpose to help abused children heal and recover. That’s why he established the Chester Street Foundation.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
-We believe education is a critical component to helping traumatized children on their road to recovery and have designed our TraumaTALKS programs for the community at large and professionals who are on the frontlines of this issue, including, mental health professionals, educators, and organizations working with children.
TraumaTALKS are high-quality trauma-informed-training and professional development presentations, featuring Chester Street Foundation’s Founder and CEO, Shawn Alex Nemeth (a trauma survivor), along with other licensed mental health professionals. TraumaTALKS are offered as live presentations and through On Demand videos.
-We started a partner's initiative-- partnering with organizations and individuals who provide direct services to help traumatized children heal and recover.
-We produce a quartely newsletter to educate the community about childhood trauma and keep our readers informed about our programs and how they can get involved.
-We've also expanded our reach through two popular podcast interviews
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
At-risk Children and youth, Teachers, Mental Health Professionals, Organizations working with children,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Chester Street Foundation
Board of directorsas of 02/25/2022
Shawn Alex Nemeth
Chester Street Foundation
Term: 2020 - 2023
Victoria Filippov Nemeth
Filippov Law Group
Kathryn E. Hayden
Financial advisor with Raymond James
Megan Mooney, Ph. D.
A licensed psychologist in private practice, Past President for the Texas Psychological Association
Leslie K. Taylor, Ph.D.
UT Health
Christine Lu
Attorney
DeJuana Jernigan, MSW, LCCA, LCPAA
Arms Wide Adoption Services, President and CEO/Texas Foster Care Association, President
Devon Harrison
M.D. Anderson
Laura Henderson
M.D. Anderson
Megan Tibo
Katy ISD
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/23/2019GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.