Dr. Robin Elliott, Associate Dean, Director Harmony SEL/Inspire Teaching & Learning of Long Island University, Brooklyn, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY

This interactive workshop will examine the cornerstone of resilience development as we explore our inner strength and malleability. We will identify the value of enhancing our Emotional Intelligence through the competency of Self-Awareness. Through evidence-based, daily practices, and celebrations of our individual strengths, we will learn how to cultivate positive relationships with ourselves and others. The goal of this workshop is to cultivate and sustain resiliency as we continue to significantly impact the well-being and reinvigoration of communities.  

Sarah Mello, MA, MS, LPC, ACS, Owner/Clinical Director; Marina Bednarek, MA, LAC, Licensed Associate Counselor, Here and Now Counseling and Consulting, Collingswood, NJ 

Before the pandemic, the numbers regarding youth mental health were discouraging. One in five teens and young adults lives with a mental health condition. More than 1 in 3 high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2019 and suicide rates among youth ages 10 – 24 increased by 57% over ten years 2. The pandemic added to challenges faced by our youth, disrupting lives and limiting in-person interaction with peers.  As with every health concern, the negative impacts most heavily affect the more vulnerable youth, many of whom are served by out-of-school programs.  

Afterschool educators are uniquely positioned to be key players in the support of mental health in our youth. This session will highlight ways providers can recognize when there may be a mental health issue and use their skills of listening and meaningful relationship-building to help connect youth to resources and professional help.

Tiveeda Stovall, CEO, Griffin Legacy & Associates, Washington, D.C.

During the workshop, we will explore and practice using common liberatory language. Language liberation is a key tool for transforming interactions where current and historical inequities of power, visibility, advocacy, resources, and voice. We will examine strategies grounded in Truth & Reconciliation and Reparations to address repairing historical harms and actualizing collective power in the present.

Jonathan Mooney, Author, Entrepreneur, Activist, Santa Monica, CA

Come listen to Jonathan Mooney’s inspirational talk about how normal sucks and different does not mean deficient — and we shouldn’t be striving for, or enforcing, normalcy on anyone. He will share his personal experiences as a dyslexic, ADD, and neuro-diverse student who did not learn to read until he was 12 years old in a presentation filled with humor, knowledge, and, most importantly, hope.