The National Prevention Specialist Conference is sponsored in part by Family Service Agency, Inc.
More than 100 participants from 14 states were registered.
Meet the Presenters
Schedule 
Monday Afternoon- November 9th 1:00-4:30 CST
Introductions and Welcome 1:00-1:30
1) A Qualified Workforce: Core Competencies for Prevention Specialists- Julie Stevens, MPS, ACPS, ICPS
2) Establishing Effective Youth and Adult Partnerships- Alicia Rosas, B.S.
3) Tips & Tricks for Virtual Facilitation- Jessica Andrews-Wilson, MS, ICPS
Tuesday Morning- November 10th 9:00-12:00 CST
4) How to Foster and Maintain Your Emotional Health- Maura McGowan, CPS
5) Suicide Prevention in the Day of Distancing- Susie Reynolds Reece
6) You Matter, IT DOESN’T leaving your IT BEHIND!- Bobby Petrocelli, M.A. Counseling, NSA CSP
Tuesday Afternoon- November 10th 1:30-4:30 CST
7) The Power of Every Decision- Bobby Petrocelli, M.A. Counseling, NSA CSP
8) The Art of Safe Storytelling: Using Stories to Heal- Susie Reynolds Reece
9) The 5 Ps of Facilitation- Jessica Andrews-Wilson, MS, ICPS
Wednesday Morning- November 11th 9:00-12:00 CST
10) Ethics and Social Media: An Advanced Course- Sandra Del Sesto, M.Ed., ACPS
11) Social Determinants of Mental Health- Julie Stevens, MPS, ACPS, ICPS
12) Behavioral Nutrition-What does that have to do with prevention?- Marcia Baker, PhD, LPC, LCDC, MAC, ACPS
Wednesday Afternoon– November 11th 1:30-4:30 CST
13) Maintaining Wellness During the COVID-19 Pandemic- Marcia Baker, PhD, LPC, LCDC, MAC, ACPS
14) Mental Health, Drug Use and Our Community- Jonathan Edwards MEd, LPC-Intern, CPS, JSO & Adam Barrera B.S., CHW
15) Prevention Practices to Reduce Disparities and Increase Positive Outcomes- Albert Gay, MS
Thursday Morning- November 12th 9:00-12:00 CST
16) The Importance of Understanding and Communicating Outcomes- Kendra Tapie, M.Ed. ACPS
17) The Evolution of Marijuana Policies and Where Prevention Fits In- Scott Gagnon, MPP, PS-C
18) Managing Volunteers to Maximize Success- Brent Blackburn, CPS
Thursday Afternoon- November 12th 1:30-4:30 CST
19) Pushing Beyond Cultural Competency- Michael W. Davis, Ph.D., ICPS
20) Increasing Engagement across Sectors through Shared Risk & Protective Factors- Marissa Carlson, MS, CPS
21) Pulling Teeth or Working with Young People?- Brent Blackburn, CPS
Friday Morning- November 13th 9:00-12:00 CST
22) People of Color and the Issues Around COVID 19- Dolka Michelle Zelaya, CPS
23) Effects of Alcohol on the Adolescent Brain (ATOD Specific)- Alicia Rosas, B.S.
24) Marijuana Myths (ATOD Specific)- Rudy Garcia, CPS, LCDC
Workshop Descriptions & Objectives
Monday Afternoon- November 9th 1:30-4:30 CST
Workshop 1
Speaker: Julie Stevens, MPS, ACPS, ICPS
Title: A Qualified Workforce: Core Competencies for Prevention Specialists
Description: As an advancing field of professional service, substance use prevention is expanding through levels of certification and concurrent initiatives with behavioral health. It is imperative that prevention specialists achieve a level of competency and acquire a specific body of knowledge and evidence-based practice. A qualified prevention workforce is critical to achieving and sustaining positive outcomes for both individual and population-based strategies. The International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium conducts a prevention specialist job task analysis every 5 – 7 years and has identified Community Organizing as one of the six prevention specialist competencies. This workshop will discuss the prevention specialist’s scope of work, the importance of prevention competency standards and the requirements for becoming a Certified Prevention Specialist.
Objective: Participants will understand the scope of work, core competencies and standards for prevention specialists set by Subject Matter Experts in the profession and identify the tasks that a prevention professional may perform, and the knowledge, abilities and skills it takes to perform them in a competent manner.
Prevention Domain: 6 – Professional Growth and Responsibility
Workshop 2
Speaker: Alicia Rosas, B.S.
Title: Establishing Effective Youth and Adult Partnerships
Description: Effective youth-adult partnerships are a critical component for community change. This training provides a description of positive group characteristics and methods for improving youth engagement. Using TxSDYs Youth Leadership Council as an example, participants learn how to set group expectations, hold each other accountable, and hold effective meetings with youth members. (Since COVID-19, participants will also learn about some strategies to engage youth virtually in community programs.)
Objective: Participants will be able to identify components of Positive Youth Development and other frameworks for developing effective youth engagement.
Prevention Domain: 2- Prevention Education and Service Delivery
Workshop 3
Speaker: Jessica Andrews-Wilson, MS, ICPS
Title: Tips & Tricks for Virtual Facilitation
Description: If you need ideas for how to take your virtual facilitation to the next level, don’t miss this fast-paced, interactive and resource-filled session. Participants will look at, play with and engage in a variety of tools, websites and resources that can take your virtual facilitation from ho-hum to OH WOW! All participants will receive a link to a resource packet that includes all activities, links and ideas.
Objective: Participants will be able to identify two new external tools that can be used to enhance engagement in virtual sessions.
Prevention Domain: 3 – Communication
Tuesday Morning- November 10th 9:00-12:00 CST
Workshop 4
Speaker: Maura McGowan, CPS
Title: How to Foster and Maintain Your Emotional Health
Description: Have the challenges of 2020 heightened or dulled your emotional experience? We will explore how to recognize our signs & cues and navigate our emotional landscape.
Objective: Participants will be able to identify 6 areas of Emotional Health and what supports they have in place and/or need to increase within each area and also identify the “green, yellow, and red” signals & transitions that will help them to be more proactive in maintaining their emotional health.
Prevention Domain: 6- Professional Growth and Responsibility
Workshop 5
Speaker: Susie Reynolds Reece
Title: Suicide Prevention in the Day of Distancing
Description: Suicide prevention and mental health are needed more now than ever, but how do we bridge the gap that is left behind because of physical distancing? This presentation will cover general information concerning suicide, substance use, and mental health as well as, provide strategies and techniques for addressing awareness and concerns that have arisen in the time of COVID-19.
Objective: Participants will be able to navigate technological and communication barriers to recognize risk and warning signs and offer resources and help to those who may be struggling with mental health or suicide.
Prevention Domain: 6- Professional Growth and Responsibility
Workshop 6
Speaker: Bobby Petrocelli, M.A. Counseling, NSA CSP (Certified Speaking Professional)
Title: You Matter, IT DOESN’T leaving your IT BEHIND!
Description: This workshop will help participants demonstrate self-care by focusing on healthy living strategies. In 50 minutes Bobby will present THE ITS that chase after us to negatively define us, the WHYS behind the WHATS, and help participants truly understand their VALUE, IDENTITY AND PURPOSE! Every ISSUE in dealing with prevention is discussed!
Objective: Participants will be able to identify strategies for healthy living by truly understanding where the DRIVING FORCE in their life comes from!
Prevention Domain: 6 – Professional Growth and Responsibility
Tuesday Afternoon- November 10th 1:30-4:30 CST
Workshop 7
Speaker: Bobby Petrocelli, M.A. Counseling, NSA CSP (Certified Speaking Professional)
Title: The Power of Every Decision
Description: Every aspect of Life happens, one decision, one moment and a time. This workshop will help participants explore their personal beliefs by identifying the motives behind their choices!
Objective: Participants will be able to identify strategies for healthy living by building better habits, patterns and routines.
Prevention Domain: 6 – Professional Growth and Responsibility
Workshop 8
Speaker: Susie Reynolds Reece
Title: The Art of Safe Storytelling: Using Stories to Heal
Description: Being able to share a story safely, is about the ability to help heal. The Art of Safe Storytelling is an introductory training specifically built for individuals to develop and share their lived experience story while considering their own needs, and the needs of their audience. This course will provide a few basic tenets and guidelines on how to build a safe, engaging, and memorable story using personal experience.
Objective: Participants will be able to list two or more practical tips to deliver lived experience content in a trauma-informed manner.
Prevention Domain: 2 – Prevention Education and Service Delivery
Workshop 9
Speaker: Jessica Andrews-Wilson, MS, ICPS
Title: The 5 Ps of Facilitation
Description: If you’re new to facilitation, or just want to improve your training events, join us to make sure you know the “5Ps” to making your facilitation POP! In this interactive and fast-paced session, participants will see, hear and engage in some of the best practices in facilitation – whether you’re in-person or online.
Objective: Participants will be able to identify one way to implement each of the 5 P’s.
Prevention Domain: 2 – Prevention Education and Service Delivery
Wednesday Morning- November 11th 9:00-12:00 CST
Workshop 10
Speaker: Sandra Del Sesto, M.Ed., ACPS
Title: Ethics and Social Media: An Advanced Course
Description: As use of social media as a communications tool grows, so too has its adoption by the prevention field. Prevention practitioners currently use social media to connect and collaborate with colleagues, partners, and the people we serve; to design, deliver, and evaluate our prevention efforts, and to promote our messages and work. In doing so, it’s important to apply the same code of ethics we apply to our face-to-face encounters to this venue. This workshop highlights some considerations for applying the Prevention Code of Ethics to our social media activities in our prevention work.
Objective: Participants will be able to define social media and identify three ethical issues in prevention related to social media.
Prevention Domain: 6 – Professional Growth and Responsibility
Workshop 11
Speaker: Julie Stevens, MPS, ACPS, ICPS
Title: Social Determinants of Mental Health
Description: The World Health Organization has published key findings and recommendations to bring awareness to the issue of social health disparities. This workshop will discuss the interacting forces that help shape individual and population-level mental health and well-being and recommended actions to reduce the risk of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders.
Objective: Participants will be able to discuss a life-span approach which will give every child the best possible start and generate the greatest societal and mental health benefits.
Prevention Domain: 5 – Public Policy and Environmental Change
Workshop 12
Speaker: Marcia Baker, Ph.D.
Title: Behavioral Nutrition-What does that have to do with prevention?
Description: This presentation will assist the participant in gaining knowledge about behavioral nutrition and its impact on prevention. Participants will be gain an understanding of the definition and how nutrition can positively and negatively impact behavior.
Objective: Participants will be able to identify how to incorporate behavioral nutrition in prevention activities
and develop personal goals for behavioral nutrition.
Prevention Domain: 6 – Professional Growth and Responsibility
Wednesday Afternoon– November 11th 1:30-4:30 CST
Workshop 13
Speaker: Marcia Baker, Ph.D.
Title: Maintaining Wellness During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Description: This presentation provides participants with information to assist behavioral health providers with insight into health anxiety and how to practice wellness. Specific practices are identified and given to participants to practice during the presentation.
Objective: Participants will be able to describe knowledge on health anxiety.
Prevention Domain: 6 – Professional Growth and Responsibility
Workshop 14
Speaker: Jonathan Edwards MEd, LPC-Intern, CPS, JSO. & Adam Barrera B.S., CHW
Title: Mental Health, Drug Use and Our community
Description: Mental health, drug misuse and community pride have an odd relationship. One cannot examine a community, without becoming aware of the mental health and drug related issues attached to it. This presentation will explore how community involvement or lack thereof, can amplify risk and protective factors that contribute to mental health, drug misuse and community pride.
Objective: Participants will be able to list mental health and drug related issues that are affected by risk and protective factors from within a community and identify strategies and resources that coalitions, stakeholders, prevention specialists and mental health professionals can use to provide holistic care for their community to strengthen protective factors for youth and their families.
Prevention Domain: 4 – Community Organization
Workshop 15
Speaker: Albert Gay, MS
Title: Prevention Practices to Reduce Disparities and Increase Positive Outcomes
Description: This training is designed to raise awareness of the power of the individual, organizations, and the prevention system to impact negative health and behavioral health outcomes that may be a result of disparities influenced by biases of individuals and discriminatory practices of institutions. Coalitions are the perfect vehicle to bring resources to vulnerable populations that have historically or newly experienced negative consequences of those discriminatory practices. By using culturally competent practices within the Strategic Prevention Framework, we can make a more equitable community where all populations can reduce substance use and achieve more positive health outcomes.
Objective: Participants will be able to understand the impact of bias and discrimination on vulnerable populations and the resulting disparities and inequities and list ways to use the Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards to move organizations positively along the Cultural Competence Continuum.
Prevention Domain: 1 – Planning and Evaluation
Thursday Morning- November 12th 9:0-12:00 CST
Workshop 16
Speaker: Kendra Tapie, M.Ed. ACPS
Title: The Importance of Understanding and Communicating Outcomes
Description: Prevention works! We know it but does your community? During this presentation participants will discuss creative ways to communicate outcomes to community stakeholders and schools to build capacity, trust, and show that prevention is working! We will also learn how to connect curriculum outcomes to school and community risk factors and identify strategies to build capacity.
Objective: Participants will be able to identify curriculum outcomes on federal registries and report the identified outcomes after the intervention has been implemented.
Prevention Domain: 1 – Planning and Evaluation
Workshop 17
Speaker: Scott Gagnon, MPP, PS-C
Title: The Evolution of Marijuana Policies and Where Prevention Fits In
Description: This workshop provides a focus on marijuana policy and the importance of marijuana policy literacy in the crafting of prevention strategies. Many states across the country have moved forward legalizing the possession and sale of marijuana for medical purposes and/or adult-use (aka “recreational”). Other states that have not yet legalized may have campaigns underway to pass legalization by state referendum or through the legislature. It is important for prevention specialists to understand the policy process and how these passed or proposed initiatives impact how they plan and implement marijuana prevention strategies in their states and communities. This workshop will describe the stages of marijuana policy as well as the multiple layers: federal, state, municipal, and organizational. This workshop will provide examples of how policy can impact the communities and populations we serve as prevention specialists. Finally, participants will learn how to infuse policy knowledge and literacy into the process for planning marijuana prevention strategies.
Objective: Participants will be able to describe the importance of marijuana policy literacy in informing the development of marijuana prevention strategies.
Prevention Domain: 5 – Public Policy and Environmental Change
Workshop 18
Speaker: Brent Blackburn, CPS
Title: Managing Volunteers to Maximize Success
Description: What strategies do you use to get the most out of your volunteers? During this workshop we will look at different aspects of recruiting, training, and utilizing volunteers. Brent will share his experience in managing volunteers for over twenty years. Bring your ideas, your questions and be ready to share in the experience.
Objective: Participants will be able to identify ways to screen volunteers for appropriate placement and list ways to manage volunteers for increased effectiveness.
Prevention Domain: 4 – Community Organization
Thursday Afternoon- November 12th 1:30-4:30 CST
Workshop 19
Speaker: Michael W. Davis, Ph.D., ICPS
Title: Pushing Beyond Cultural Competency
Description: Cultural Competency is an essential part of the SPF planning process, but have we stopped and thought about why? In this workshop, participants will explore social identity and systems that affect our prevention work in the communities. We will set a foundation to understand systems in working with our community and how these systems create the need for cultural competency work in prevention.
Objective: Participants will be able to describe the concept of personal social identities and intersectionality.
Prevention Domain: 4- Community Organization
Workshop 20
Speaker: Marissa Carlson, MS, CPS
Title: Increasing Engagement Across Sectors through Shared Risk & Protective Factors
Description: This workshop will give participants a grounding or refresher in the ways that prevention initiatives work to influence the risk and protective factors that impact the likelihood of an individual developing a substance use disorder. From there, the workshop will draw connections and explore ways that reducing these risk factors and increasing these protective factors in our communities positively impacts other health and educational outcomes. Through activities and discussion opportunities, this training will help people conceptualize and increase linkages between the work of substance use disorder prevention and the work that those in other sectors of the community are doing, giving prevention professionals expanded language & networking strategies to bring a broader spectrum of people and professions into their work.
Objective: Participants will be able to identify SUD risk and protective factors that also impact other primary health, behavioral health, and/or educational outcomes and identify new ways to connect and dovetail their coalition or other prevention services work with other sectors in their communities through the language of shared risk and protective factors.
Prevention Domain: 4 – Community Organization
Workshop 21
Speaker: Brent Blackburn, CPS
Title: Pulling Teeth or Working with Young People?
Description: Perceptions these days about working with young people make it seem like a visit to the dentist is more desirable than working with young people. In this workshop participants will explore their attitudes and perceptions of working with young people. We will also explore best practices for building successful youth/adult partnerships. By the end of the workshop you will be ready to cancel your dental appointment. (*Not recommended by the American Dental Association.)
Objective: Participants will be able to identify strategies to help build youth and adult partnerships and better understand their own perceptions about working with young people.
Prevention Domain: 4 – Community Organization
Friday Morning- November 13th 9:00-12:00 CST
Workshop 22
Speaker: Dolka Michelle Zelaya, CPS
Title: People of Color and the Issues Around COVID-19
Description: The COVID-19 has highlighted historical health disparities among people of color (POC) due to social inequities, including access to healthcare, mental health care, and prevention programs. People of color have an increased risk for severe illness if they contract COVID-19 due to higher underlying health conditions. A higher prevalence of anxiety and depression, COVID-19–related trauma- and stressor-related disorder, increased substance use, and suicidal ideation than non-Hispanics. Today more than ever, it is crucial to provide culturally and linguistically prevention programs and Evidence-Based practices that are effective for substance abuse, suicide prevention, and mental health programs for people of color. Prevention Specialist providers have been positioned to help address these risk factors but must now navigate their roles in the current pandemic context. This interactive virtual session will outline the unique challenges, opportunities, best practices, and strategies for moving forward.
Objective: Participants will be able to identify challenges that People of Color are facing due to the COVID 19 and name effective cultural strategies and evidence based practices to better serve them.
Prevention Domain: 2- Prevention Education and Service Delivery
Workshop 23
Speaker: Alicia Rosas, B.S.
Title: Effects of Alcohol on the Adolescent Brain (ATOD Specific)
Description: This training educates participants about the effects of alcohol on the still-developing adolescent brain. Participants learn to communicate this important information with different community members, from parents to policy-makers. As a result, they can better promote sound public policy and evidence-based strategies to reduce underage alcohol use.
Objective: Participants will be able to identify specific ways that alcohol impacts the developing adolescent brain.
Prevention Domain: 6- Professional Growth and Responsibility
Workshop 24
Speaker: Rudy Garcia, CPS, LCDC
Title: Marijuana Myths (ATOD Specific)
Description: Participants will learn the 1o myths of marijuana misuse. Participants will learn to distinguish the truths and untruths about marijuana and will participate in break out groups regarding those myths. Participants will also learn about the short and long term effects of marijuana misuse.
Objective: Participants will be able to list the 1o myths of marijuana misuse and identify various state regulation laws regarding legal recreational marijuana use.
Prevention Domain: 6- Professional Growth and Responsibility
Meet the Presenters
