History and Founder

History of SALTworld

SALT (Serving and Learning Together) world was founded by Dr. Brandé Flamez.

She is a licensed professional counselor and clinical professor in the Counseling and Special Populations department at Lamar University. Dr. Flamez is active in the counseling profession. Her work as a practitioner, counselor educator, and founder of SALTworld has taught her the value of inclusive leadership, shared vision, strategic planning, and creating a culture that empowers others and supports a sustainable future. Some of her highlights of her professional service include:

National:

• ACA Division President, International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC),
• ACA Division President, Association for Humanistic Counseling (AHC),
• ACA Governing Council; Finance, Investment, Publications Committee-Chair, AHC Secretary, Bylaws/Ethics Chair, Emerging Leader and Mentor,
• AHC and IAMFC Nominations and Elections Chair,
• IAFMC Delegate to Turkey, Israel, Cuba, and China,

State and Local:

• President, Texas Gulf Coast Counseling Association,
• Member, Communications Committee, Texas Counseling Association,
• Chair Bylaws, Nueces County Child Welfare Board,
• President, Chi Sigma Iota, Theta Alpha Mu Chapter, President,
• Counselor Education Research Consortium, Secretary, Coastal Bend for Play Therapy, 

National

• EAAD Congress Secretary (Turkish Counseling Association),
• Scientific Committee for Izmir Democracy University. 

Dr. Flamez is on the editorial board for the Family Journal. She has provided over 100 presentations and training workshops to professional groups throughout the US and internationally. Her scholarly contributions include more than 32 author or coauthored book chapters and articles and she is the coauthor/editor of 7 textbooks used throughout the counseling profession.  Dr. Flamez is the recipient of 19 national awards including the 2017 Dr. Judy Lewis Social Justice Award, 2015 Outstanding CORE Research Award, 2015 Counselor Educator Advocacy Award, 2014 ACA Kitty Cole Human Rights Award, 2012 ACA Gilbert and Kathleen Wrenn Award for a Caring and Humanitarian Person, and the 2012 IAMFC Distinguished Mentor Award. As the recipient of the Kitty Cole Award she is donated 100 percent of the honorarium to St. Francis in Tanzania. 

Dr. Flamez is a second generation American, and her great-grandparents emigrated from the Ukraine to Canada. When her great-grandfather (Mykhailo) arrived he knew no English and had only a couple coins. He worked hard as a tailor. Growing up, she remembers her mother sharing stories of how he served the poor. He would house immigrants coming over and her great-grandmother (Rose) would cook for all the families. He spent time teaching them English and helping people find jobs. Brandé’s mother, Rosemary, also sparked her interest in service, social justice and advocacy as a child. They delivered meals to AIDS patients and worked in soup kitchens when she was very young. The thing that stood out for her by watching her mother do this was that she always did everything with love and respect. She took the time to show Brandé what it meant to be compassionate, to take time to listen to someone’s story.

Many of Brandé’s family traditions are still rich in Ukrainian culture. At gatherings, hosts often give their guests a loaf of bread with salt on top. The ritual of offering bread and salt to guests is a ceremony of welcoming, which dates back many centuries. As such, “The Bread and Salt” tradition is very symbolic in Slavic culture and can symbolize many things. During wedding ceremonies in Ukraine, it is customary to serve traditional bread called Korovai and salt instead of a wedding cake. Salt is symbolic for the “necessity of life.”

Over the last twenty years, Brandé has been involved in social change projects in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Tanzania, and Turkey. One of the most important lessons she has learned is that immersion in a culture through community service not only provides exposure to the concerns of the individuals, but also allows one to gain insight into the accomplishments, contributions and uniqueness of different cultures. One of her favorite professors once shared that those who visit other cultures will likely learn more from visiting than those with whom they visited will learn.

As Brandé thought about what to call the nonprofit, she wanted to incorporate something that stood for the “necessity of life,” but also emphasized the importance of learning together as one is invited into another’s culture. Thus, SALTworld (Serving and Learning Together) was formed on September 11, 2014.

As founder and CEO of SALTworld, Brandé’s hope is that, as the organization grows, we can take on more social change projects throughout the world and we can learn together to make a sustainable and global impact.

This year our organization is helping to build doctor’s quarters for our medical dispensaries and teacher quarters, which serves children with disabilities. We are also raising funds to provide medication support to a hospital, formula for an orphanage, school supplies to several schools. We are also raising money for our kindergarten Sambarai program. Each child receives an education, uniform, and hot lunch. In addition, we are collecting brand new clothes, medications, and closed shoes for the children.

Please join us in supporting several social change projects in Haiti, Israel, Tanzania, and Turkey this year. You can find out more information on each project by clicking on the country.