In addition to being a second-year Executive MPH student at the Yale School of Public Health, Dr. Jenna Butner, MD is an assistant professor adjunct of medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, in the program in addiction medicine. Butner, who also is an assistant clinical professor at the Yale School of Nursing, has served as a board member of an international NGO, the AZAHAR Foundation, which is committed to expanding access to the mind-body practices that promote mental and physical well-being in communities affected by genocide and transgenerational trauma.
Butner chose the Executive MPH program to learn about the policy-making process for addiction disorders and harm reduction. But since she became involved with the AZAHAR Foundation in 2018, her focus has pivoted to substance use and mental health disorders among forced migrants in humanitarian settings. The EMPH program has given her the ability to expand beyond her immediate career and explore this interest by providing opportunities to connect and learn from other mid-career professionals and like-minded individuals, she said.
Butner believes that EMPH and other public health students can similarly find a way to integrate their personal interests with their careers. “It’s never too early to start getting involved with NGOs that are in line with one’s goals and aspirations both personally and professionally,” she said. “I think it’s important to find something that one is very passionate about – for myself it was yoga, and as such I have found inspiring organizations like AZAHAR to collaborate and grow with. Also, being part of the journey of someone who has undergone the immense tragedy of war, or transgenerational trauma has the potential to be life changing and I would encourage all to embrace this.”
The AZAHAR Foundation is currently focused on projects in Cambodia and Rwanda, and collaborations with Ukrainian and Syrian teachers, with hopes to expand further globally. As a board member, Butner visited AZAHAR’s sites in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, during 2020, where she taught workshops to the teachers on addiction and mental health, in addition to their stigma. While there, she also had the opportunity to teach yoga classes to young students, particularly in more rural areas. Currently, she participates in fundraising events in New York City and plans to visit another site in Kigali, Rwanda.
With over a decade of growth and robust grassroots support, AZAHAR empowers local communities by training and employing cohorts of yoga teachers with diverse specialties including trauma-informed yoga, breathwork, arts for self-expression and therapy, and nonviolent communication. For its students, AZAHAR hopes to facilitate a safe space for self-reflection. But beyond this, what grants AZAHAR a unique relationship with collaborators is its commitment to training community members in teaching mind-body practices, such that these practices can expand in communities beyond the direct jurisdiction of AZAHAR.
If you are interested in learning more about AZAHAR, please contact Jenna Butner at jenna.butner@yale.edu.