Success In Business® presents Resilience on the Record

Success In Business® presents

Resilience on the Record: Writing a DBE Social Disadvantage Personal Narrative—Without Re-Traumatizing

Tools for sharing your story with care, boundaries, and evidence

About This Workshop

This educational, healing-centered virtual workshop is designed to support DBE, SBA 8(a), and similarly situated applicants in understanding the context, purpose, and emotional demands of the Socially Disadvantaged Personal Narrative.

To become certified as an SBA 8(a) or Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), applicants from certain demographic groups who were once rebuttably presumed to be socially disadvantaged are now required to prepare and submit a Socially Disadvantaged Personal Narrative. This narrative requires applicants to describe experiences of exclusion, discrimination, economic hardship, or systemic barriers, often for review by individuals they have never met.

Notwithstanding the broader social dysfunction reflected in this new requirement, the more immediate challenge applicants must navigate is the process of writing and disclosing deeply personal experiences to strangers—a process that can be emotionally taxing and psychologically complex.

This workshop responds to that reality by centering psychological safety, emotional boundaries, and informed preparation. Participants are not asked to disclose personal experiences. Instead, the session focuses on understanding the framework, history, and emotional impact of the Socially Disadvantaged Personal Narrative so participants can approach future drafting work with clarity, care, and confidence.

This workshop focuses on:

1. Understanding the concept of being socially disadvantaged and how that concept has evolved over time

2. The emotional and psychological impact of writing a Socially Disadvantaged Personal Narrative

3. Trauma-informed approaches to reflection, boundaries, and self-protection

4. Preparing participants for future, more detailed narrative-writing workshops

This workshop does not cover:

1. Step-by-step drafting of the Socially Disadvantaged Personal Narrative

2. Legal advice or application strategy

3. Current agency evaluation standards or scoring criteria

Hosted by J. Goodwille Pierre, Esq, founder of Success in Business® (The Pierre Foundation, Inc.) CEO of Goodwille Pierre LLC and Managing Member of The Pierre Firm PLLC

Panelists:

• Miriam Colbert, PhD, LPC, NCC, Principal, Nirvana Behavioral Health
• Raymond Christy, Former ACDBE / DBE Airport Planning Manager and Unified Certification Program certification official, Salt Lake City International Airport

Panelists share historical perspective, professional experience, and reflective insight. This discussion does not provide evaluation guidance or application advice.

Who Should Attend

This workshop is ideal for:

• DBE, SBA 8(a), and MBE applicants
• Professionals preparing personal narratives for certification
• Business owners needing to translate complex experiences into eligibility facts
• Consultants who support DBE / MBE / 8(a) certification packages
• Anyone seeking guidance on writing about disadvantage without emotional harm