Wellness Together's 8th Annual Student Mental Wellness Conference: Full Schedule

4:00pm PDT

Wellness Pedagogy - Agency and Resilience

Wednesday October 9, 2024 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT

Wellness Pedagogy is a training program for educators and wellness advocates to center the individual development and wellness of each student in support of their agency and resilience. Participants will acquire tools and perspectives to integrate student wellness and self-growth processes into classes, programs and educational curricula, incorporating such topics as individual development plans, emotional intelligence, alternative grading, mindfulness and group work.

Speakers

Lance Bauscher

MFT, Cabrillo College

Wednesday October 9, 2024 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
213B

Mental Health Policy & Advocacy

8:30am PDT

Leading school communities in the aftermath: school crisis recovery & renewal

Thursday October 10, 2024 8:30am - 9:30am PDT

213B

Join the School Crisis Recovery & Renewal project (and National Child Traumatic Stress Network Category II site) for a dynamic, connecting workshop on school mental health leadership and how we can better hold ourselves and each other in the aftermath of crisis in our communities. As we continue to navigate uncertainty and heal from crises, the impacts of these challenges will continue to be felt by students and staff. This workshop provides school staff an awareness of stress, trauma, and grief, their impact on students, teachers and schools, as well as ways to effectively address them through the lens of recovery and renewal. Whether you work in, with or alongside school contexts, join us to strengthen your school mental health leadership through and beyond crises.

Objective #1: Differentiate between stress, trauma and grief, and connecting those concepts to our personal and professional experiences in school communities navigating the pandemic and other crisis events.
Objective #2: Apply the principles of school crisis recovery and renewal to educator pedagogical practice, classroom environment, school site and system leadership, and larger school culture.
Objective #3: Apply 1-2 individual and organizational practices to support school recovery towards the fourth R, renewal; Identify practices and approaches that current crisis readiness and response can be expanded upon to include recovery & renewal.

Speakers

Leora Wolf-Prusan

Project Director, School Crisis Recovery & Renewal Project - Center for Applied Research Solutions

Leora Wolf-Prusan is the Director of Partnerships & Learning at the Center for AppliedResearch Solutions (CARS) where she supports the agency’s teaching and learning portfolio, serves as the Region 9 School Mental Health field director for the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center... Read More →

Samira Moosavi

Regional Clinical Manager, Experience Camps

Samira has dedicated over a decade to providing psychosocial support to children and families. As a Certified Child Life Specialist, she has supported families in the hospital setting, during natural disasters, and on global medical missions. After volunteering for years, she became... Read More →

Thursday October 10, 2024 8:30am - 9:30am PDT
213B

School & District-Wide Leadership

12:30pm PDT

Pride in Mind: Cultivating Mental Health Awareness for LGBTQ+ Youth

Thursday October 10, 2024 12:30pm - 1:30pm PDT

213B

Whether you are LGBTQ+, an educator, an ally, or all of the above, come dive into a session aimed at youth empowerment and mental health! We will explore unique challenges, resilience-boosting strategies, and practical ways to advocate for LGBTQ+ students. Led by an LGBTQ+ mental health expert, this session empowers you to create inclusive spaces and champion mental well-being for young people.

Speakers

Maureen Muir

Mental Health Specialist/LGBTQ+ Community Support, Irvine Unified School District

Maureen Muir is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. Currently her role in IUSD is Mental Health Specialist/LGBTQ+ Community Support. In this role, she provides LGBTQ+ district wide support to students, families and staff; runs Gender... Read More →

Thursday October 10, 2024 12:30pm - 1:30pm PDT
213B

Student and Community Mental Health

3:30pm PDT

Building a Balsa Wood Bridge: Lessons in Prioritizing People for Student Success

Thursday October 10, 2024 3:30pm - 4:30pm PDT

213B

In this presentation, participants will explore practical strategies to authentically connect with students from the moment they set foot on campus, fostering trust and preventing enrollment attrition. Participants will learn and practice techniques for: building meaningful relationships, cultivating an environment conducive to academic risk-taking, and implementing effective check-ins to ensure students feel seen and known. Attendees will leave equipped with actionable tools to begin this transformative work with their students immediately.

Speakers

Jen Tuten

Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Marin Primary & Middle School

Kate Brubaker

Thursday October 10, 2024 3:30pm - 4:30pm PDT
213B

School & District-Wide Leadership

10:15am PDT

Bridging Empowerment: Mental Wellness in First-Gen Communities

Friday October 11, 2024 10:15am - 11:15am PDT

213B

Bridging Empowerment: Mental Wellness in First-Gen Communities"" explores targeted strategies to uplift first-generation students by fostering mental wellness through community engagement. This session will delve into the unique challenges these students face and present effective approaches to build resilience, support networks, and empowerment. Participants will:

Learn to recognize the distinct mental wellness needs of first-generation students.
Gain strategies to engage communities in supporting these students' mental health.
Acquire tools for creating inclusive environments that promote empowerment and resilience.
Discover methods to facilitate ongoing support and mentorship within academic settings.

Speakers

Dr. Hulya Odabas

VP of Education, Study Smart Tutors

Dr. Hulya Odabas is the Vice President of Education at Study Smart Tutors, where she brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles as a high school science teacher and school counselor. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, a Master’s degree in School Counseling... Read More →

Friday October 11, 2024 10:15am - 11:15am PDT
213B

Student and Community Mental Health

1:45pm PDT

Maslow Before Bloom

Friday October 11, 2024 1:45pm - 2:45pm PDT

213B

Strong social connections strengthen our immune system, lower anxiety and depression,
and even help us live longer. Additionally, people who feel connected are more empathetic, trusting and cooperative. If we want to increase the likelihood that our students or staff will be successful, we have to “Maslow before we Bloom.” Establishing a sense of belonging and connection in the classroom or staff room creates an academically safe environment where students and staff are more likely to participate, ask questions and engage in the learning. This engaging and interactive session will provide participants with research, strategies and structures for building belonging and cultivating connections that they can use immediately in the classroom and the staff room.

Speakers

Darin Jones

MTSS INSTRUCTIONAL COACH/TSA SEL4CA INLAND EMPIRE, CNUSD

Darin Jones is currently a practicing TK – 12 MTSS Instructional Coach/TSA for the Corona Norco Unified School District. Previously she was a classroom teacher for over 20 years in several California school districts. Darin is the SEL4CA Regional Coordinator for the Inland Empire... Read More →

Friday October 11, 2024 1:45pm - 2:45pm PDT
213B

Student and Community Mental Health

3:00pm PDT

Tuning into Teens: Nurturing Intuition For Safety and Cultivating Healing

Friday October 11, 2024 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT

213B

Unfortunately, there is a glaring deficiency in practical, real-life training for teenagers to enhance their mental well-being and safety. Teens are yearning for real-life stories that depict resilience in seemingly impossible situations and show a path to recovery. It is imperative to foster intuition, emotional intelligence, healthy relationship awareness, and self-advocacy among teenagers as a pivotal step in preventing intimate partner violence and unhealthy relationships during their transition to adulthood.

Equipping them with these essential life skills, emotional self defense, and an emphasis on mental health empowers them to make informed choices, avoid potential harm, and avert violence. Together we can collectively create a safer environment to prevent violence and promote healing for the future of our next generation.

3 Objectives:
1. Identify what teens have reported they actually want help with and the hidden challenges facing them
2. Utilize how to foster intuition, emotional intelligence, healthy relationship awareness and self advocacy among teens
3. Plan how to equip them with the practical tools they are looking for

Speakers

Mandi Pratt

CEO, Women Aware and Prepared

Mandi loves tea lattes, dark chocolate (the really dark stuff) and her Maine Coon Kitty and Chocolate Lab rescue dog! She is a survivor advocate for peace, safety and mental health. Mandi has a crazy life story that was in the news and now helps audiences avoid her own experiences... Read More →

Friday October 11, 2024 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
213B

Student and Community Mental Health

Wellness Together's 8th Annual Student Mental Wellness Conference