The Sessions
RegisterFeatured Speakers
Moment of Reckoning: Contending with the Truth of Who We Are Vs. Who We Need to Become for the Future of Sex Ed
Opening Keynote: Monday, Oct 17, 4:00 – 5:00 PM ET
If the last two years have reminded us of anything, it has been that sexual freedom in the U.S.—including how we facilitate its access for young people—is under siege. This is not new for those who’ve been historically and systemically marginalized.
How do we reconcile grassroots progress made by impacted communities with the delayed efforts of those who have underestimated their own vulnerability? How do we get those on board who now must do their part to catch up to the fight?
Though it will not contain all the answers, this session represents a clarification of the work (and opportunity!) that lies ahead of us all, infusing us with vigor to “put up or shut up” for the dreams and visions we say we want.
About Tracie
Tracie Q. Gilbert, PhD (she/her) is an educator, writer, and researcher who uses her work to pursue sexual wellness for Black people, and racial justice in sex ed spaces. Using lectures, interactive workshops, conversation series, and other projects, Dr. Gilbert works to help all of us unpack the mental, historical, and cultural barriers that keep us from having productive conversations about sex and sexuality.
As of 2022, Dr. Gilbert has officially reached her 25th year of experience serving urban youth, young adults, and their advocates. During that same time period, she received her Master of Science in Education at the University of Pennsylvania, and her doctorate from the Center for Human Sexuality Studies at Widener University, where she now teaches as an Assistant Professor. In November of last year, Dr. Gilbert released her first book entitled Black & Sexy: A Framework of Racialized Sexuality. This inaugural work is a deep dive into the intersections of race and sexuality as experienced among African Americans in the 21st Century.
Dr. Gilbert has consulted with nearly a dozen different organizations over her career including Fact Forward, Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Christiana Healthcare Systems, Evoluer House, the Innovative Learning Institute, and the Center for Sex Education. Her voice and perspectives can be found most often on her podcast, The Sex Ed of Blackfolk w./ Dr. G., airing on all major platforms.
What’s It Going to Take: Seismic Shifts in Un–Defining Manhood
Opening Session: Tuesday, Oct 18, 9:00 – 10:30 AM ET
Look around. Count how many men you’re working with in your program and on your team. Do you see diverse gender representation? How do we get men involved in the field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health and how do we get young men to attend our programs?
Well, it’s on all of us to make them feel welcome, give them the courage to be vulnerable, and let them know that we don’t expect them to know everything about sexuality. It’s going to take a seismic culture shift to expand our definition of masculinity and show healthy examples of manhood. Hear from Gary Barker from Equimundo (formerly Promundo) about what he found in his research and what we can do to usher in a new era.
Gary Barker, PhD
About Gary
Gary Barker, PhD, is a leading global voice in engaging men and boys in advancing gender equality and positive masculinities. He is the CEO and founder of Equimundo (formerly Promundo-US), which has worked for 20 years in more than 40 countries.
Beginning in low–income areas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Promundo’s approaches have been incorporated into ministries of health and education around the world. Gary created and leads the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES), the largest ever survey of men’s attitudes and behaviors related to violence, fatherhood, and gender equality.
In 2017, he was named by Apolitical as one of the 20 most influential people in gender policy around the world. He is an Ashoka Fellow and received the Voices of Solidarity Award from Vital Voices for his work to engage men for gender equality. Gary holds a PhD. in Developmental Psychology.
Being the lifeguards for young people’s sexual freedom and rights amidst a riptide of regressive policies
Closing Panel Session: Wednesday, Oct 19, 2:45 – 4:00 PM ET
We’ve all seen regressive and discriminatory policies flooding legislatures across the country in an attempt to limit reproductive and sexual liberties. We also saw young people stage walkouts and people everywhere demanding their rights.
In Florida, a passionate group of academics and medical professionals came together to form the statewide collaborative, the Florida Healthy Youth Alliance, to champion the sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescents across the state. Join Elissa Barr, PhD from the University of North Florida along with a panel, including young people, to learn what we can all do to find allies then organize and advocate for comprehensive sex ed and so much more in our states.
About Elissa
Elissa Barr is a Professor of Public Health. Her research addresses improving access to evidence-based sexual health programs and reproductive health services through advocacy and policy change.
Dr. Barr works with the Florida Department of Education on various projects including research to advance reproductive health services and sexuality education and advocacy to improve policy at the county and state levels. She has served as lead developer of several online professional development courses, delivered over 50 onsite professional development trainings across the country, and led multiple task forces to improve adolescent health.
She currently works on a CDC-funded project with Duval County schools as a research coordinator. This work has resulted in eight Teen Health Clinics at local high schools offering STD/HIV testing & treatment, pregnancy testing, and health education, the implementation of evidence-based programs in all Duval County middle and high schools, and the collection and dissemination of county-level YRBS data.
Pre-Conference Institutes
Dare to Dream of the Erotic: A Sexuality Attitudes Reassessment for Professionals
Session times: Thursday, Oct 13, 1:00 – 5:00 PM ET (Virtual), Sunday, Oct 16, 1:00 – 5:00 PM ET, and Monday, Oct 17, 8:30 AM – 3: 30 PM ET (In-person)
Cost: $600
Participating in this Pre-Conference Institute session is an invitation to engage in a highly-structured, intellectually challenging, and emotionally brave group experience designed to create a space for participants to consider their own feelings, attitudes, values, and beliefs about sex and sexuality and how their cultural lens influences each of these.
During this unique learning experience, we will view and discuss explicit (and non-explicit) videos and images, participate in group and individual activities, and experience short lectures. The process will be moderated with professionals who work with children, youth, and young adults in mind. Join us for four hours online and ten hours in person immediately before the Healthy Teen Network Conference to expand your own worldview around sexuality.
Attendees must attend all three sessions of the Pre-Conference Institute.
About Tanya
Tanya Bass, PhD, MS, MEd, CHES®, CSE (she/her/hers) is the “Foundress” of the North Carolina Sexual Health Conference (NCSEXCON). NCSEXCON a conference that provides opportunities for agencies and individuals to share information, strategies, and best practices around sexual health across the lifespan. Dr. Bass is an award-winning sexuality educator and subject matter expert in reproductive health and health equity. Dr. Bass is an alumna of North Carolina Central University’s (NCCU) Department of Public Health Education, where she has served as an adjunct instructor for several years and is currently the lead instructor for Human Sexuality. She completed her PhD in Education at Widener University in the Center for Human Sexuality Studies.
Dr. Bass remains committed to seeking professional development and is a member of the NC Society for Public Health Educators, the Women of Color Sexual Health Network (WoCSHN), the Association of Black Sexologists and Clinicians (ABSC), and the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT). She is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and an AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator (CSE). Tanya is a current member of the editorial board for the American Journal of Sexuality Education.
Karen Rayne, PhD, CSE
About Karen
Dr. Karen Rayne has worked in education for the past two decades with a specialty in comprehensive sexuality education across the lifespan. She is the Founder and Executive Director of UN|HUSHED, where she writes and edits books and lifespan comprehensive sexuality curricula, trains sexuality educators, and builds collaborative coalitions. She is also an Assistant Professor of Instruction at The University of Texas. Karen has worked with local, national, and international organizations. Her recent books and curricula include TRANS+: Love, Sex, Romance, and Being You, An Introduction to Sexuality Education: A Handbook for Child Welfare Providers, and UN|HUSHED: The Elementary School Curriculum.
Human-Centered & Technology-Enabled: Sex Education for the Modern Era
Full-Day Pre-Conference: Monday, Oct 17, 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET
Cost: $199
Are you looking for ways to engage youth in your sex education programming? Does your programming need a modern, technology-based revamping? Are you curious to learn more about human-centered design?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this is the perfect session for you! Come and build upon your skills as a sexual health educator and practitioner by diving into the world of technology-based sex education.
Using the Real Talk mobile app as a case study, we will provide a crash course in human-centered design and demonstrate how these strategies can improve your sexual health programming.
Through a hands-on approach, you will also learn about existing sexual health tech tools and how to assess which tool(s) may be a good fit for your current work. By the end of the session, you will have new skills and tools for providing modern, youth-centered, inclusive sex education.
Cristina Leos, PhD, MSPH
About Cristina
Cristina Leos, PhD, MSPH, is a behavioral scientist leveraging technology innovation to improve adolescent health. With degrees from Stanford University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she has spent a decade investigating behavioral and technological interventions to improve health. Her academic research focuses on adolescent development and identifying structural and interpersonal drivers of health inequities. She also applies her design thinking skills to train and inspire students, researchers, educators, activists, and public health professionals to design more effective and inclusive tools to support health and well-being. Cristina’s work has been generously recognized by organizations including Forbes, Smithsonian Magazine, and the American Public Health Association. Cristina is Co-Founder and CEO of the Real Talk mobile app.
Marisa V. Cervantes, MA
About Marisa
Marisa V. Cervantes, MA, (she/her/ella) is a trained qualitative sociologist whose research interests center Latinx youth and young adult development and well-being. Her degrees from Loyola Marymount University and Washington State University have prepared her with a social justice orientation to approaching research. She brings her academic training and scholarly expertise to the field of mobile app intervention, where she works as the project manager for the rigorous evaluation of the Real Talk app.
Safety First: When Trauma and Sex Ed Collide
Full-Day Pre-Conference: Monday, Oct 17, 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET
Cost: $199
No one can deny that in the last two years or so, new traumas have emerged and existing ones got even worse because of the pandemic, political and racial unrest, and violence in communities. This context has been especially challenging for young folks who are in the midst of critical years of development and socialization.
What does all this have to do with healthy sexual development and sex ed? Everything.
We must create safe, inclusive, and healing spaces, using a trauma-informed approach. And, we, the adults, must also take care of ourselves and heal from our own trauma, so we don’t pass it down as we teach and guide these youth, compounding their trauma.
We invite you to learn and share with one another how you can infuse the six principles of a trauma-informed approach into your programs—the way you approach sexuality and facilitate learning—to ensure you and other staff feel as safe as the young people you reach.
Deborah Chilcoat, MEd
About Deb
Deborah Chilcoat, MEd, brings nearly 20 years of experience in adolescent sexual and reproductive health and an unyielding commitment to improving the health and well-being of young people as Senior Manager at Healthy Teen Network. Deb’s extensive experience in project management, capacity-building assistance, collaborative partnerships, as well as evidence-based and innovative approaches has served to meet the needs of diverse youth and communities across the U.S. Deb is a nationally recognized trainer and capacity-building professional who designs and delivers engaging and interactive learning events to bolster the knowledge and skills of learners on a variety of topics such as working with youth, program planning, training adults, and evidence-based interventions. Since joining Healthy Teen Network in March 2008, Deb has delivered well over 100 learning events nationwide. Deb has provided training, technical assistance, and resource development across a variety of federal and local projects for many years. Deb also serves as the content lead for Healthy Teen Network’s annual national conference, an event that attracts hundreds of professionals, working together to advance the field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Prior to joining Healthy Teen Network, Deb worked at Planned Parenthood of Maryland, where she developed and delivered education programs and provided the instructional design and training for local and state education agencies, community-based organizations, and healthcare providers. She served on several county school health councils and teen pregnancy prevention coalitions, and she contributed to the development of the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum in Health Education.
Mackenzie Piper, MPH, CHES
About Mackenzie
Mackenzie Piper, MPH, CHES, is an Instructional Designer/Trainer at Healthy Teen Network with over eight years of combined experience in teaching, research, training, capacity building, and instructional design in the field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health. She is a passionate, equity-centered public health professional who wants to ensure that all young people receive comprehensive, inclusive, and trauma-informed sexual and reproductive healthcare services and education, regardless of who they are and where they live. Mackenzie works towards this goal by building the capacity and skills of youth-serving professionals. She recently co-authored a sexuality education curriculum using a gender-transformative lens. She designs synchronous trainings on various topics such as violence prevention, characteristics of trusted adults/caregivers, and social media literacy skills. She trains cohorts of youth-serving professionals on a number of evidence-based sexuality education curricula. She also provides customized technical assistance to partners across the country. Previously, Mackenzie taught high school, conducted research evaluations on adolescent sexual and reproductive health programs, and managed a national training program for healthcare and social service providers. Mackenzie is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), and she holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Washington in Seattle, as well as a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Health and Human Sciences from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
Turning the WHAT into WONK: Advancing Reproductive Health Policy in Your Community
Half-Day Pre-Conference: Monday, Oct 17, 12:30 – 3:30 PM ET
Cost: $89
The legislative cycles have become so extremely polarized that it’s often hard to understand what’s going on. Every day, a shiny new object catches our attention and distracts us from seeing the bigger picture.
Policy and advocacy don’t have to be scary. In fact, with a basic understanding, policy and advocacy can be exciting but also necessary to achieve the reproductive health care we all want for ourselves and our young people.
This pre-conference session will demystify advocacy by sharing insights into what everyday folks do to advocate for sex ed and healthcare services in your community. Attendees will leave with skills to craft messages that are both effective and resonate with any political audience. Think you’re not ready to call yourself a policy wonk…think again!
Jennifer Driver
About Jennifer
Jennifer Driver is a reproductive health, rights, and justice policy and advocacy leader with nearly 15 years in the field. Jennifer leads the Reproductive Rights team at the State Innovation Exchange (SiX), which houses the Reproductive Freedom Leadership Council, the nation’s only cohort of nearly 500 state legislators advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice.
Prior to joining SiX, Jennifer served as the Vice President of Policy and Strategic Partnerships with SIECUS, where she provided leadership to drive the organization’s federal and state policy and advocacy efforts. Additionally, Jennifer worked for Welcoming America where she focused on immigration, racism, education, health, and policy. Her previous experience also includes working for Power to Decide and GCAPP.
A trainer and spokesperson, Jennifer has been featured and quoted in national media, including The Washington Post, Vogue, The New York Times, Rewire, The Hill, CNN, The Harvard Political Review, MSNBC, and Politico. She was also recognized in 2019 as one of 50 impactful creators, artists, and activists by B*TCH Media.
Rachel Fey
About Rachel
Rachel Fey is the Vice President of Policy and Strategic Partnerships, where she is responsible for Power to Decide’s non-partisan federal and state public policy program, as well as forging strategic partnerships with a range of public and private sector organizations. Rachel leads the Public Policy team and manages the organization’s engagement with Congress, the Administration, and state and local partners to advance policies that ensure all people have the power to decide if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child.
Prior to Power to Decide, Rachel worked on family planning provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the Title X Family Planning Program, and Medicaid while at The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). Her additional experience includes time at NARAL Pro-Choice America, the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP), and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Communication Programs.
Recognized in 2013 as an Up and Coming Practitioner by the Professional Women in Advocacy Excellence in Advocacy Awards, Rachel is regularly cited in the media including AP, The Hill, Axios, Roll Call, The Lily, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and more.
She holds a BA in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University.
Monday, October 17
8:30 am – 3:30 pm et
Full-Day Pre-Conference Institutes
12:30 pm – 3:30 pm et
Half-Day Pre-Conference Institutes
3:30 pm – 5:30 pm et
Exhibit Hall Open
3:30 pm – 5:30 pm et
Welcome & Opening Keynote: Dr. Tracie Gilbert
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm et
Networking Event
Tuesday, October 18
8:30 am – 4:30 pm et
Exhibit Hall Open
9:00 am – 10:30 am et
Welcome & Opening Session with Dr. Gary Barker
11:00 am – 12:15 pm et
Session 1: Workshops
Like, Subscribe, and Share: How to Make Social Media Click with Youth
Mariah Cowsert, Healthy Teen Network
Samantha Ackers, Healthy Teen Network
With more than 2 billion active users worldwide, online social media platforms have the potential to serve as powerful channels for public health—including sexual health initiatives. Although the negative effects of Instagram and other platforms are frequently discussed, the reality is that young people are using them. So how do we use the power of the digital world for good? In this session designed for social media moguls, digital newbies, and everyone in between, you’ll see real world examples of how you can use social media to inspire action, inform, recruit, connect, and engage with the next generation to lead healthy, fulfilling lives. We will unpack challenges and lessons learned in our work on True You Maryland and COVID *Love Stories, address the realities of creating relatable content for young people, and workshop ways of collaborating with young people for sexual health campaigns and storytelling. Join us to discuss what it looks like to work alongside youth to make social media click.
Teaching Core Lessons with a Fresh Perspective: Centering Pleasure, Consent, and Equity
Maddy Magnuson, Maine Family Planning
Vicki Preston, Maine Family Planning
As 21st Century sex educators, we have big dreams. We know comprehensive sexual health education can change the world to be more just and equitable. Join Maine educators, Vicki and Maddy, as we take you on a journey of how we revamped our Best Practices, evidence-informed, 10 lessons, high-school curriculum for educators and students in a post-COVID world. In this workshop, we will explore how we incorporated key messages of consent, pleasure, and equity into common lessons on barrier methods, STIs, birth control, and more. This Maine curriculum can be implemented throughout the country, as our intended outcome is the same—to provide a safe and inclusive space where young people can develop their sense of identity and place in the world. The curriculum comes complete with a virtual classroom and supplemental activities. The 2020 edition expands the possibilities of what an educator can accomplish in their classroom, school, and community.
Adult-Youth Partnerships: Key Components of Supporting Student-Led Health Marketing Campaigns
Lexie Zimbleman, Portland Public Schools
Caitlin Viccora, Advocates for Youth
When working with students on a health campaign, it’s essential for adults to understand how to effectively support youth in a way that will center their voices and create a space where students have genuine autonomy. Portland Public Schools and Advocates for Youth will discuss their experience training school staff about youth-adult partnerships and designing and implementing a student-led health marketing campaign at two high schools in Portland, Oregon. Attendees will learn several key components to better prepare them to support a student-led health campaign within their own districts. These components include identifying what’s needed before the project begins, starting and selecting a health topic with students, and engaging students throughout the duration of the campaign. The session will also include lessons learned in the field and allow time for attendees to practice applying these lessons to their work. This session is intended for participants who work directly with young people and are just beginning or have never done a student-led marketing campaign.
Building Your Toolbox: Facilitation Skill Enhancement for Experienced Sexual Health Educators
Avis Wright, Fact Forward
Rena Dixon, Fact Forward
Facilitating during a pandemic was a challenge, even for the most experienced facilitators. We took this time as a moment to enhance our facilitating skills and began pivoting our trainings to digital formats with many successes. Join us as we add to your toolbox of facilitation tools that can translate to multiple platforms and audiences as we share what we learned. We’ll discuss common challenges for facilitation both in person and virtual, offer new techniques and technologies, and learn from each other!
Was It Good for You? Examining the Different impacts of a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program among Subgroups of Native American Youth
Abagail Edwards, Center for American Indian Health
This session describes results from one of the largest, community-based, individually randomized controlled trials evaluating a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education program among Native American (Native) youth. We will describe the community-based participatory research approach utilized to design and evaluate the program, called Respecting the Circle of Life. We will present the differential, longitudinal impact of the program among subgroups of participating Native youth including boys, girls, older (ages 15-19) and younger (ages 11-14) youth. We will draw conclusions from the results with implications for future implementation and evaluation of the Respecting the Circle of Life program. The results will be relevant for the 31 tribal communities currently implementing the Respecting the Circle of Life program as well as other tribal nations and tribal-serving organizations interested in this evidence-based intervention.
U Choose Baltimore: An Interactive Workshop on Integrating Sex Education in schools, Using a Case Study from Baltimore City
Geoff Meehle, Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health
Tina Terranova, Baltimore City Health Department
In this interactive workshop, we will share Baltimore City’s experience integrating teacher-delivered sex education into its public school systems. We will discuss successful strategies, challenges, and how to overcome them at multiple levels, from the early steps of establishing a school system partnership, to maintaining and monitoring evidence-based intervention (EBI) comprehensive sexual education (CSE) implementation in schools, to classroom- and teacher-level factors that influence implementation. Through collaborative discussion, we hope to provide a blueprint for other jurisdictions looking to do the same.
Reproductive Coercion: More Than Preventing Pregnancy, Keeping Youth Safe
Tobin Bayless, Lighthouse Youth & Family Services
Reproductive coercion refers to asserting control over someone else’s reproductive decisions and health. It is heavily linked to violence and unplanned pregnancies. Facilitators, educators, social workers, and advocates especially those who work within systems such as the foster care and juvenile legal system, are in a unique position to teach young people about reproductive coercion as well as identify and support potential survivors. In this session, participants will learn and practice ways to engage in conversations with young people about this topic.
Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy—Engaging in an Increasingly Volatile Environment
Rachel Fey, Power to Decide
For those working to provide sexual and reproductive health education, information, and care, these days can feel like a crisis game of whack-a-mole. From ongoing uncertainties in government funding and policy, new state bills attacking basic health care and the rights of young people, and efforts to recover from a global pandemic, there’s no shortage of challenges. While engaging in the policy process at the local, state, or federal level might feel like one more thing that can’t be done without additional resources, in this session we’ll discuss the overall federal and state policy landscape for sexual and reproductive health and discuss simple ways participants can impact the policy debate at all levels.
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm et
Awards Luncheon
1:45 pm – 2:30 pm et
Healthy FIFTeen
2:45 pm – 4:00 pm et
Session 2: Workshops
Bringing Sex Education into the 21st Century through Storytelling and Technology
Marisa Cervantes, MyHealthEd, Inc.
Cristina Leos, MyHealthEd, Inc.
We designed a 10-week comprehensive sex education curriculum to be delivered entirely via an app. The curriculum features authentic stories written by youth about their experiences with sexual health topics, in addition to other resources and activities to facilitate learning. In this presentation, we describe the programmatic and technological considerations to ensure the digital intervention is youth-centered, trauma-informed, medically accurate, inclusive, and culturally responsive. We identify challenges and key decisions needed to balance breadth and depth of the content with the constraints of mobile technology and digital engagement. Finally, we share strategies for incorporating trauma-informed practices and the implications for intervention dose and fidelity. Together, this work provides a blueprint for developing accessible, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health interventions for youth.
The Importance of Inclusivity and Intersectionality in Gender Transformative Program Design: How to Do It and Why
Cody Ragonese, Equimundo
Mackenzie Piper, Healthy Teen Network
In this session, the facilitators will take a deep dive into gender transformative programming. Presenters from Promundo-US, Latin American Youth Center, and Healthy Teen Network will reflect on their process of taking two single-gender curricula, and how they adapted them to be inclusive of all-gender learning environments. Using feedback from youth digital focus groups, facilitator interviews, and best practices, presenters will share how they prioritized topics and updated activities to better reflect the lived experiences of gender diverse youth. Presenters will present questions they grappled with, including how do you balance inclusivity, while also acknowledging the gender binary and the structures that limit gender expression? With an ever-evolving vocabulary and awareness of the diversity of gender identities, we recognize the importance of programs that are inclusive and intersectional. Facilitators will model potential activities, and participants will discuss how this lens can be applied to their work.
Walking the Talk: How Youth-Centered is Your Work?
Tammy Delocéano, Amplify Youth Health Collective
Gabriela Peña Pérez, Amplify Youth Health Collective’s Youth Leadership Council
During the COVID-19 pandemic, young people needed trusted adults and youth-centered spaces to support them more than ever. Did your organization have the structures in place to answer that call? For many of us, the pandemic challenged our capacity to implement youth-centered work authentically. Join us to hear about Amplify’s Youth Leadership Council and their innovative body positivity workshop, implemented in both English and Spanish, during the height of COVID-19. Through this session, participants will learn valuable insights and best practices for replicating a youth-centered program model that shares power with young people, combats internalized adultism, adapts to unforeseen challenges, and creates spaces where youth can authentically impact their community.
Muted Mics and Quiet Participants: Strategies for Creating Engaging Training and Program Experiences in Virtual and In-Person Environments
Nathaniel Hillard, Wyman Center, Inc.
Crystal Smith, Wyman Center, Inc.
Working with youth in a virtual environment can be challenging without the planning necessary to draw the same attention and engagement that in-person environments allow. Navigating empty screens or quiet groups can appear intimidating for both training and program implementation, but with intentional effort and strategies that empower staff and young people, both in-person and virtual spaces can offer a meaningful experience. In this session, we will discuss strategies to create spaces to engage and re-engage both youth and adult participants in all types of learning environments.
Growing into the Next Phase of the Pandemic: Sharing Perspectives and Collective Discoveries
Jamie Grilz, University of Minnesota, Healthy Youth Development-Prevention Research Center
Jill Farris, University of Minnesota, Healthy Youth Development-Prevention Research Center
Is this your first time gathering in person at a conference in over two years? Us too! This session is designed to hold space for re-engaging, connecting on hardships, sharing wins, and ultimately growing together into the next phase of the pandemic. Utilizing a World Cafe format that encourages everyone’s participation, facilitators will host small group discussion questions, such as: How has your organization survived and/or thrived over the past 2 years? What did your organization implement virtually that you plan to keep virtual? What tips do you have to implement an effective virtual sex education program? What is needed to re-engage the communities you work alongside to implement effective in-person programming? How do we re-engage our internal teams as we enter into more in-person workforces? After small group discussions, insights will be shared out to the large group to connect diverse perspectives and share our collective discoveries.
Bridging the Gap Between Child Welfare and Sex Education: Building Connections to Support the Sexual Health of Youth in Care
Barbara Ball, Texas Institute for Child and Family Wellbeing, University of Texas at Austin
Tia Brooks, North Texas Alliance to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies in Teens
Sharon Hoefer, Texas Institute for Child and Family Wellbeing, University of Texas at Austin
The Texas Foster Youth Health Initiative (TFYHI) has built a statewide innovation network that brings together youth, caregivers, and child welfare professionals to support the sexual health of youth in care. In this session, youth will share their perspectives on what they need, and we will provide insight into the intervention design process. Finally, we will engage participants in sample activities from new interventions designed for youth, caregivers, and child welfare professionals.
Data Dives: A Practical Way to Apply Systems Thinking in Teen Sexual Health Programs
Annie Smith, Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University
Deneen Long-White, Salisbury University
Systems thinking has become increasingly popular in the design and implementation of adolescent sexual health programs. Although tools for learning and applying systems thinking exist, many are not aligned with the limited time and resources of public health agencies and non-profits, who are often over-extended, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, systems thinking resources that are focused on youth as decision-makers are scarce. The objective of this workshop is to describe a systems thinking approach for adolescent sexual health strategy development that leverages existing, often publicly available data. This “data dive” approach was implemented with health departments, partner organizations, and youth in rural counties with high teen birth rates as part of the True You Maryland project. This workshop will offer an opportunity for program managers, practitioners, and youth-serving professionals to learn about and adapt a data-driven approach to engaging young people and communities in sexual health programs and strategies.
Wednesday, October 19
8:30 am – 2:45 pm et
Exhibit Hall Open
9:00 am – 10:15 am et
Session 3: Workshops
AMAZE Education: Best Practices for Engaging Youth in Digital Media Spaces
Rachael Gibson, AMAZE Education at Advocates for Youth
The goal of this session is to share best practices for engaging youth in digital media spaces. Co-facilitated by an AMAZE sex educator and youth ambassadors, the session will share an overview the AMAZE-ing FREE resources available to youth and their families, teachers, schools, and communities. We will begin by highlighting youth voices in sexuality education spaces. Participants will hear directly from young people about how AMAZE has impacted their lives and empowered them to make healthy choices around their sexual health. Next, we will share lessons learned about best practices for engaging youth in the digital media space, including YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Participants will have time to directly engage with the content and each other and reflect on how it may support their own practice and how they might implement AMAZE and other digital media in their programming.
From Approval to Action: Mobilizing Parental Support for Sex Ed
Jill Farris, University of Minnesota Healthy Youth Development – Prevention Research Center
Jamie Grilz, University of Minnesota Healthy Youth Development – Prevention Research Center
Advocates for comprehensive sex education (CSE) often cite perceived lack of support from parents or perceived controversy as a barrier to implementing CSE in schools. During this workshop, participants will review the latest research showing continued parental support for CSE, including for topics perceived as controversial. Participants will work in small groups to create messages for their local communities and practice incorporating this messaging into presentations and/or conversations with parents and other integral collaborators. Participants will identify concrete steps to advance the use of national sexuality education standards in their local schools and communities.
Our Youth Are the Experts: How to Create a Meaningful Youth Program in an Unstable World
Samantha Sidline, San Ysidro Health
This session will share how San Ysidro Health’s (SYH) Peer Health Advocate (PHA) program was redesigned during COVID-19 to be a robust program that is adaptable as well as builds resiliency among youth. Attendees will learn how the PHA program found success with youth-centered, with strong retention rates, increasing social media engagement among youth, and hosting two successful youth-led community events. Attendees will identify team and program values, learn how to lead trauma-informed conversations with youth groups to understand their needs and priorities, and implement those learnings into new program objectives. Attendees will understand how to apply pedagogical skills to their youth work, such as appealing to various learning styles and using motivational interviewing to accommodate the major transitions youth are experiencing while giving them tools to thrive.
From Exclusion to Inclusion: Breaking Barriers to School-Based Sexual Health Education for Youth with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Jessia LaHote, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Taahira Thompasionas, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have greater unmet sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs compared to non-disabled people; they score lower on SRH knowledge measures, are at a higher risk for contracting STIs, and are up to eight times more likely to experience sexual abuse. Individuals with IDD are sexual beings just like their peers but are less likely to receive sex education. Providing sex education to teens with IDD can reduce SRH disparities and support them in exercising their sexual and reproductive autonomy. Previous research has yet to effectively synthesize recommendations for this population in school settings. Informed by our recent systematic review, this session will provide an overview of best practices and knowledge gaps in school-based sex education for youth with IDD. Attendees will strategize how to apply these findings by incorporating best practices into their programs or identifying ways to advance research in this area.
From MVP to RCT: Using Human-Centered Design to Develop a Novel Teen Pregnancy Prevention Intervention
Sarah Axelson, Power to Decide
Cristina Leos, My HealthEd, Inc.
Claudia Nuñez-Eddy, Power to Decide
Are you curious about innovation in teen pregnancy prevention (TPP)? Have you heard of “human-centered design” (HCD) and want to know more? In this interactive workshop, participants will learn about HCD, a solutions-based approach that centers radical empathy for the needs and desires of end users. The facilitators will share the journey of Real Talk, an app-based TPP intervention, to illustrate how HCD can increase equitable access to sex education. Real Talk crowdsources authentic stories on sexual health topics directly from teens and connects users to trusted resources within the app. Real Talk is implemented completely virtually, ensuring all youth have a safe place to access sexual health information. In this session, participants will learn about the strategies used to move Real Talk from a minimally viable product (MVP) to a promising intervention in a randomized control trial (RCT). You will leave prepared to implement HCD strategies in your own work!
How to Have “The Talk”: Cultivating Knowledge and Community Through Podcasts
Jessica Merino, National Center for Youth Law
Kendra Lizardo, National Center for Youth Law
Supporting youth in their healthy sexual development means ensuring the adults in their lives are empowered with what they need to provide effective support, but this relationship can be difficult and awkward for many adults. Caregivers need resources that help them support youth through their sexual health journeys—and allow them to feel good about themselves while doing so. Traditional training doesn’t always go far enough or fit our complicated, busy lives. In this session, you’ll hear about a new approach. The Reproductive Health Equity Project (RHEP) in California brought foster youth and caregivers together to develop a sexual and reproductive health podcast for foster parents. Our panel will describe the podcast and demonstrate how podcasts can create a space for caregivers and young people to share experiences, create community, and learn about important topics within sexual and reproductive health, all while having fun.
Sex Ed Shorts
Bilel Smith, City of Rochester
Sex Ed Shorts is a mini film series created by City of Rochester CAPP Educators and youth leaders to meet the needs of our community beyond curriculum in the classroom. These short films focus on frequently asked questions from teens and more. In this workshop, you will learn how we conceptualized, created and produced these films as well as how this initiative provided a link to the work we did in the classroom to the community at large. By collaborating with a local community television station and our youth leaders, we were able to take our ideas and bring them to life. This workshop will outline how we developed the Sex Ed Shorts project by researching content, filming videos, outreach, and more. Join us to learn how such a project can benefit your program efforts and enhance your program in a creative, innovative way.
10:45 am – 12:00 pm et
Session 4: Workshops
Three Little Pigs: Storytelling and Innovation in Sexual Health
Milagros Garrido, Healthy Teen Network
Nicholas Sufrinko, Healthy Teen Network
Join us around the campfire as we retell the classic fable and explore the enduring power of stories in sexual health care and education. With a bit of myth and folklore, some narrative strategy, and a sprinkle human-centered design, you’ll learn how to find your voice, develop unforgettable ideas, and breathe life into characters and worlds. For audiences (and interventions!) large and small, you’ll see how to lean on old traditions to break through contemporary noise and shift perspective. With this, we’ll not only dare to dream of a new era, but awaken it—with the kind of lasting, real change that promises happily ever after.
Building the Foundation: A Capacity-Building Approach to Working with Families
Lauren Barineau, Talk More
In the time that we’ve been home the last few years, families are realizing just how often kids have questions about sex. (Newsflash: it’s a lot!). Schools encourage students to talk with their families about sex, but those families are not always prepared to talk about this subject. This workshop frames family conversations as foundational to enhancing young people’s sexual well-being, rather than a small piece of the solution. Participants will explore specific strategies to build the capacity of families to have positive and proactive conversations with young people about all aspects of sexuality. Participants will have time to brainstorm possible solutions for their organization and will leave with resources for implementation.
Training and Implementing Sexual Health Promotion Programs Virtually: Lessons Learned from El Camino
Bianca Faccio, Child Trends
Valerie Martinez, Child Trends
Christopher Gates, Identity, Inc.
Given the uncertainty of the post-pandemic world, facilitators and administrators of sexual health promotion curricula need the flexibility for virtual implementation to ensure that youth receive the education they need to promote their sexual health. Child Trends and its implementation partners at Identity, Inc. gained experience with virtually adapting, training facilitators, and implementing the El Camino curriculum in high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland in 2021. El Camino is a sexual health promotion curriculum that is available in both English and Spanish and targeted toward Latino youth. The program is based in Positive Youth Development and encourages youth to set goals, make informed sexual and reproductive health choices, and have healthy relationships. In this session, we will discuss lessons learned from adapting this curriculum and share actionable recommendations to aid program facilitators and implementation staff in providing engaging and effective sexual health promotion curricula.
The Minimally Resourced Maximizer: How to Slay Sex Ed Within Limited Means
Valerie Cumming, EyesOpenIowa
Small staff? Shoestring budget? Calendar booked to the max? These limitations can be disheartening to even the most resilient sex educator, especially those who self-identify as perfectionists. Learn to use your perfectionist mindset as a secret weapon to overcome obstacles within your sexual health education career. You’ll leave feeling more confident about your ability to do a lot with only a little. You won’t want to miss this interactive session with humor and surprises sprinkled throughout.
Transforming the Adolescent Health Visit for Youth in Foster Care: A Patient Navigation Program
Franchesca Ocasio, Planned Parenthood Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley
How do we support youth in foster care who are accessing sexual and reproductive health services? During this session, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the unique barriers and facilitators to accessing care for these youth. We will describe one strategy, a novel Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Navigator Program piloted at Planned Parenthood Pasadena-San Gabriel Valley. We’ll share details about its development, roll-out, and success, as well as the challenges we’ve identified to sustaining this approach. Attendees will take away lessons learned through our real-world experience and concrete examples of where navigation has connected youth to care. While our program focuses on youth in foster care, all youth can benefit from navigation, especially as access to abortion and transgender care services are targeted across the country.
Hexacago Health Academy 2.0: Teaching STEM and Sexual Health through a Social Justice Lens
Ailea Stites, Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Innovation in Sexual and Reproductive Health (Ci3) at the University of Chicago
Hexacago Health Academy (HHA) 2.0 is a unique STEM/health education curriculum designed as part of an NIH-funded study on game design, science education, and public health at the Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Innovation in Sexual and Reproductive Health (Ci3) at the University of Chicago. Based on principles of positive youth development, student-driven learning, and social-cognitive career theory, the HHA curriculum uses current public health research to teach STEM-related/Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) skills through a social justice lens. In Summer 2021, we evaluated two virtual HHA curriculum courses, centered around HIV and reproductive justice, with 59 rising 11th and 12th graders from across Chicago. In this session, we will 1) explore HHA’s youth-driven development process, 2) engage with two of the interactive curricular modules related to sexual health, and 3) discuss findings from the program evaluation, including implications of virtual implementation and future directions for STEM/health education.
What Are the Important Elements of Meaningful Youth Engagement and How Can They Guide Our Sexual and Reproductive Health Work?
Pam Drake, ETR
Heather Marlow, International Center for Research on Women
The Youth Engagement Network (YEN) is an OPA-funded network of youth and youth-serving adults who work together to add to the knowledge base on how to meaningfully engage youth in programs that seek to improve the sexual and reproductive health outcomes of young people. We are particularly focused on giving voice to LGBTQ youth and young men of color as well as youth in rural communities. One product of the YEN is a conceptual model of meaningful youth engagement in programs that teach and advocate for sexual health and wellbeing. To create this model, we used group concept mapping (GCM)—a process of brainstorming, sorting and ranking ideas—from a wide variety of stakeholders, including youth. This session will use interactive processes to introduce the YEN, walk participants through the GCM process, present the current conceptual model, and provide, in small groups, opportunities to interact with and discuss the model.
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm et
Lunch in the Ballroom
1:15 pm – 2:30 pm et
Session 5: Workshops
“Can I Go Home Yet?”: Catering Learning Spaces to the Needs of Introverts
Emily Gillon, EyesOpenIowa
We’ve been adapting learning spaces to be inclusive of learners and learning styles for decades. We’ve creatively molded how we teach to the constraints of schedules and funding. We’ve even made quick pivots to virtual learning. But introverted learners have continued to be left behind in our innovation. In this workshop, participants will learn about how current teaching modalities prioritize extroverted learners that can jeopardize the learning abilities of introverts. Participants will leave with action steps and tangible skills for how to adapt their lessons and trainings to be more accessible to introverted learners.
Step Away from Your Screen and Walk Away with Tips and Tricks That Re-Invigorate Your Trainings
Sarah Axelson, Power to Decide
Throughout the last few years, “Zoom trainings” have been the norm. As trainers in the sexual health field, many of us haven’t used our in-person facilitation skills since 2019 or earlier. As we begin to gather in person again, we can build on the strategies that we know and are comfortable with by learning new strategies and tools. Join us for this interactive session, where you’ll learn tips and tricks to freshen your training skills. While practicing these new skills, you’ll consider adaptations for socially distanced, online, and hybrid settings. Trainers will walk away with dozens of new strategies to make their upcoming trainings even more interactive, engaging, and most of all, fun!
Cultivating Community and Resilience through Online Sex Ed
Perryn Reis, Health Connected
Kehaunani Gunderson, Health Connected
Zoe King, Planned Parenthood Pasadena San Gabriel Valley
In March of 2020, as everyone rapidly migrated online for almost everything, three California organizations – the National Center for Youth Law, Planned Parenthood of Pasadena San Gabriel Valley, and Health Connected – were in the early stages of discussing what online sexual health education could look like for youth in foster care. Despite the fact that this was a largely novel approach to sexual health education, COVID-19 presented a key opportunity for the partners to build expertise in online sexual health education and tailor the experience to the specific needs of youth in care. In this session, presenters from the Reproductive Health Equity Project (RHEP), including youth advisors, will describe their journey to implementing live, online, inclusive sexual health education that incorporates Dr. Shawn Ginwright’s model for healing-centered engagement tailored specifically for youth who have experienced trauma.
Sharing Power and Amplifying Young Parent Voices
Regina Salliey Cooper, R. Salliey Philanthropic Advisors
Many people hold power over expectant and parenting youth (EPY)—teachers, courts, child welfare agencies, childcare providers, probation officers—limiting opportunities for them to share their experiences, opinions, and make their voices heard. Exploring lessons learned on youth and young adult partnerships from the Pregnancy Prevention and Parenting Support Learning and Action Network, participants will learn from the lived experiences of young parents, hear their recommendations for successful youth-adult partnerships, and engage in an interactive process lifting up highlights and nuanced pitfalls that others can plan for in their engagement/power sharing strategies. Participants will also obtain key strategies for sharing power and amplifying the voices of expectant and parenting youth. At the end of the session, participants will learn ways to clarify expectations and jointly design working agreements in their partnership(s) and how to support youth to safely share their stories to support advocacy efforts.
Shifting Your Mental Models to Unlock Change—Practical Application of Systems Thinking in Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Jaclyn Ruiz, Office of Population Affairs
Amanda Leeson, Office of Population Affairs
Systems thinking offers an empathetic and data-driven approach to better understand and identify the drivers of teen pregnancy and unlock change and improve outcomes for teens. Between 2020 and 2021, OPA funded 62 grantees to apply a systems thinking approach to have a significant impact on improving the optimal health of adolescents and reducing teen pregnancy and STIs in communities with the greatest needs and disparities. In this session, we’ll teach participants how to apply a systems thinking approach in their communities. We’ll highlight real-world applications of systems thinking in teen pregnancy prevention programs across the country and provide participants with an opportunity to use tools and activities that foster a systems thinking approach in their own community.
Brotherspeak: Sexual and Reproductive Health from a Man’s Perspective
Rosalyn Thomas, Office of Population of Affairs
Programs that aim to address reproductive health for young men should consider the degree to which preventing pregnancy is a priority for young men. In this session, we will share successful strategies to engage young men in discussions about sexual and reproductive health. Participants will build their skills to use these strategies through role play, small group discussion, and interactive demonstrations.
How-To Tips to Make Your Sex Ed More Accessible to Youth with Disabilities, along with Their Parents, Caregivers, and Educators
Kayla McKean, SexEdVA
Adrienne Griggs, SexEdVA
The Disability-inclusive Sexual Health Network (DSHN) is a collaborative network of partner organizations around the state of Virginia who are working to make sexual health education more accessible for youth with disabilities. Organizations include community organizations, health care providers, parent advocacy groups, and educators. Partners are developing and testing innovative educational interventions for youth, parents/caregivers, and educators. In this session, we will describe the development and design of several interventions and how we engaged stakeholders throughout the process. We will review testing and refining methods and share promising findings for effective interventions. Additionally, we will share strategies and approaches that sex educators can incorporate into their teaching to better meet the needs of their students with disabilities.
2:45 pm – 4:00 pm et
Closing Panel Session with Dr. Elissa Barr
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