Janet Max Archives - Healthy Teen Network

Affirming Care for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ Young People

Allison Tomai Felsen — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 16:47:54 +0000

Affirming Care for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ Young People

October 2025

Building Trust to Provide Affirming Care for Young People

The legacy of medical discrimination against both LGBTQ+ and BIPOC individuals still affects how young people access healthcare today.

Providing care for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ young people means more than just understanding their medical needs—it requires recognizing the long history of discrimination they’ve faced in health care.

Over the course of about 45 minutes, completed at your own pace, each elearning module explores the historical context as well as the lasting impact of medical mistrust on these specific communities.

Along with interactive activities exploring how to respond to the concerns of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ young people, these modules also include tips for ways that healthcare providers can build trust with their patients.

After you’ve completed these elearning modules, use the following practice guides to learn more about putting affirming care into practice.

We Want Your Feedback!

What can we improve? Share your thoughts on this resource in our quick, anonymous feedback form. If you want to be entered to win a full conference registration—leave your contact info at the end!

Contributing Staff

What's the History Behind Medical Mistrust In BIPOC Young People?

This elearning module explores the history of medical discrimination against BIPOC in the U.S., resulting in mistrust for many.

Through research and real stories from young people, you’ll see how history shapes health care experiences for BIPOC young people today. You’ll also reflect on how to apply this knowledge in your practice to build trust and create affirming, inclusive, trauma-informed environments that honor diverse needs and histories.

What's the History Behind Medical Mistrust In LGBTQ+ Young People?

This elearning module deepens your understanding of medical discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. and the resulting mistrust it created.

As a healthcare professional supporting young people, understanding the U.S. history of medical discrimination helps you see how health disparities and barriers persist today. It also sheds light on the medical mistrust many LGBTQ+ young people feel, allowing you to approach them with greater empathy and understanding. Building trust is key to providing the inclusive, trauma-informed care young people need.

Putting It into Practice

Along with these modules, use the following practice guides to learn more about the basics of affirming care and how to create safer healthcare spaces.

What Is Affirming Care?

When young people feel seen, respected, and valued for who they are, it strengthens their ability to cope with challenges and enhances their sense of self-worth.

This guide walks healthcare providers through a foundational understanding of affirming care. From using inclusive language to understanding gender-affirming care, this resource explores strategies that healthcare providers can put in place to support, validate, and care for their LGBTQ+ patients.

How Do I Put Affirming Care into Practice?

Healthcare environments that actively respect, affirm, and celebrate LGBTQ+ identities provide a sense of comfort and encourage young people to participate fully in their health and wellness journeys.

This guide outlines several core strategies that healthcare providers can use to create safer spaces for LGBTQ+ young people.

Supporting Sex Educator Safety

Protecting Yourself From Hacking

Managing Your Personal Information Online

Postpartum Resources for Young Parents

The post Affirming Care for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ Young People appeared first on Healthy Teen Network.

2024 Annual Report

Megan Thomas — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 19:35:55 +0000

2024 Annual
Report

CONFERENCE

We gathered, learned, and grew together in Phoenix.

When we first developed the 2024 conference theme—Rise, Reimagine, and Reinvent—we didn’t know those words would provide comfort and guidance at this moment. But it is how we keep moving forward: no matter what, we keep rising, we keep reimagining, and we continue to reinvent how we help build a world that we want for the future.

For many, this year’s conference was more than a professional gathering—it was a chance to reset, refocus, and reconnect. We forged connections with new colleagues under the desert stars. We reflected on what sets today’s young people apart. And we strained, stretched, and shifted our understanding of innovation so that it colors our everyday work.

Whether it was hearing young people share what they truly need, imagining new approaches to programming, or just celebrating community, it was clear that #HealthyTeen24 was a much-needed moment of light.

RESOURCES

We published a lot this year—here are just a few of the highlights.

El Camino

El Camino is a sexual health education program designed for Latino youth based on positive youth development principles.

Serenity Collection

The Serenity Collection helps youth-supporting professionals create the time and space for self-care and healing.

Parenting in the Digital Age

This video explores how parents and caregivers can help their teens verify health information online.

Sex Ed 101 for Educators

If you’re providing sex ed programming for young people, this elearning is for you!

PROGRAMS

From innovation to influencers, see what we’ve been working on.

In/Tend Incubator Hub

In/Tend is a vibrant ecosystem of dreamers, doers, and change-makers who push the boundaries of imagination to develop innovative approaches to adolescent health.

SafeSpace: For Teens By Teens

Healthy Teen Network is supporting recruitment for the testing of SafeSpace: For Teens By Teens, an LGBTQIA+-inclusive adolescent sexual health mobile app.

Thrivology Research-to-Practice Center

We bring you the latest science on how to provide the very best programs and services, so young people may thrive.

Y-Surge Influencer Campaign

This youth-led sexual health influencer campaign normalizes sexual health conversations and promotes Title X clinics.

TRAINING

Here are some of our favorite topics we shared about this year.

Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health

We’re here for youth-supporting professionals with elearning tools, tutorials, glossaries, and more.

Power Through Choices

Check out the first sex ed curriculum developed specifically for young people who are involved in a child welfare or the juvenile justice system.

Branding

From a persona to a voice to a name, strategic branding choices elevate your work and help you reach the right audience.

Human-Centered Design

The Human-Centered Design process involves the communities we serve to develop creative solutions to the issues they face.

2024 FINancials

Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Data*

*unaudited

OUR SUPPORTERS

Thank you to our 2024 donors!

ARTIfact Studio

Anna Haarer

Brina Bolden

Dawn Ireton

Debbie Wengert-Rippetoe

Julie Thompson

Kiel Quinn

Lela Reynolds

Mark Barbour

Monica Faulkner

Patti Flowers Coulson

Stu Flavell

Susan Braun

Teri Badia

Adrein and Nadine Lavoie

Michael and Judy Leopold

Laurie Max

Valerie Parker

Jack and Jill of America

Matthew Gardiner

Board & Staff

Who are we? We’re educators, creators, leaders, and dreamers.

We’re passionate about what we do.

We bring our expertise and a drive to create a world where all young people lead healthy and fulfilling lives.

Support our work

Want to make a difference, too? We’d love for you to join us in creating a world where all young people lead healthy and fulfilling lives.

lEARN MORE

Check out some of our other work.

Annual Report Archive

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Numbers to Narratives

Nick Sufrinko — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 17:25:34 +0000

Numbers to Narratives

Using data to uplift stories, uncover needs, and build community readiness for healing-centered sex ed

Thrivology

Resources

News

About Us

Ask Us

Stay Inspired

Making the case

When it comes to advancing adolescent sexual and reproductive health and well-being, you want all the support you can get. But how do you build community support?

Leading these workshops in your community can help you build support by uplifting adolescent health data and stories.

Numbers to Narratives resources don’t just talk about why healing-centered approaches are important—they provide concrete ways for organizers and participants to use them throughout the entire process.

Why Numbers to Narratives?

From healthy relationships to improved social/emotional learning and even increased media literacy, the case for sex ed is strong.

But how do you begin to incorporate healing-centered sex ed in your community?

By uplifting stories

Public health data are often the starting places for understanding health trends both nationally and locally. However, even data can reflect biases around gender, race, and ethnicity that ends up skewing the public’s understanding of health issues. From a lack of visibility for people from marginalized communities to ineffective strategies that ultimately cause harm, biases in data have a wide range of detrimental effects.

Numbers to Narratives combats gaps in inclusive data by underscoring the role of diverse narratives. By providing guidance for people leading workshops on how to intentionally seek out inclusive data and including diverse workshop participants and giving everyone a space to share their lived experience, Numbers to Narratives uplifts stories that are more inclusive than data alone.

By uncovering needs

You may have access to national data related to public health needs, but what do these numbers really mean? And how do they relate to the needs of young people in your local community? Numbers to Narratives empowers educators to lead conversations making sense of local adolescent health data and question what the numbers mean for their community.

Visual forms of data are pivotal in helping people both understand the nature of an issue and problem solve. By connecting local data with visual storytelling, Numbers to Narratives supports data literacy, helping community members better understand the needs of young people in their area—and how to take action to meet those needs.

By building community readiness

The healing-centered approach woven throughout Numbers to Narratives places a focus on community strengths, as workshop participants identify existing resources in their community. This exercise builds participants’ capacity to understand, locate, and improve local resources.

In addition, community members fully lead the Numbers to Narratives process, with local educators and young people driving the process. Young peoples’ well-being is connected to the influence they have in their schools and communities, so centering young people’s involvement helps them thrive.

Sources

Bhargava, R., Deahl, E., Letouzé, E., Noonan, A., Sangokoya, D., Shoup, N., Frohardt, M., Hoffman, W., Pentland, A., Lefébure, A. (2015, September). Beyond data literacy: Reinventing community engagement and empowerment in the age of data. Data-Pop Alliance. https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/123471/Beyond%20Data%20Literacy%202015.pdf

Cyrus, K. (2017). Multiple minorities as multiply marginalized: Applying the minority stress theory to LGBTQ people of color. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 21(3), 194-202. https://doi.org/10.1080/19359705.2017.1320739

Goldfarb, E.S., Lieberman, L.D. (2021). Three decades of research: The case for comprehensive sex education. Journal of Adolescent Health, 68(1), 13-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.07.036

Hall, K. S., McDermott Sales, J., Komro, K. A., Santelli J. (2016). The state of sex education in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 58(6), 595–597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.03.032

Kagawa Singer, M., Dressler, W., George, S. (2016). Culture: The missing link in health research. Social Science & Medicine, 170, 237-246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.07.015.

Krieger, N. (2012). Methods for the scientific study of discrimination and health: An ecosocial approach. American Journal of Public Health, 102(5), 936-944. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300544

Morsillo, J., & Prilleltensky, I. (2007). Social action with youth: Interventions, evaluation, and psychopolitical validity. Journal of Community Psychology, 35(6), 725–740. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20175

Prilleltensky, I., & Prilleltensky, O. (2006). Promoting well-being: Linking personal, organizational, and community change. John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Rall, K., Satterthwaite, M.L., Pandey, A.V., Emerson, J., Boy, J., Nov, O., Bertini, E. (2016). Data visualization for human rights advocacy. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 8, 171-197. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/huw011

Start planning

From logistics to evaluation, the Implementation Guide includes useful checklists that walk you step-by-step through the process of leading workshops in your community

See it in action

In this case study, see how real-life communities used a similar process to make sense of local data

Find the right data

The Data Storytelling Guide includes tips for sourcing data to maximize the impact of your storytelling

Hold an initial workshop

Facilitate an initial workshop with young people using this guide

Host a follow-up workshop

This guide outlines a workshop with youth-supporting professionals

Dive in

Get the full suite of Numbers to Narratives resources delivered directly to your inbox by filling out this quick form.

“Remember that these workshops are just a starting point to create buy-in and momentum to get the ball rolling!”

– Charlie Blue Brahm, Lead Designer

Enjoying these resources?

Want to chat?

We’re here to help you put these resources to work in real life!

More from Thrivology

Team up!

The “Can we talk?” quiz

Supporting Sex Educator Safety

Protecting Yourself From Hacking

This project is supported by the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award (1 PHEPA000006-01) totaling $1,063,776.35 with 100 percent funded by OPA/OASH/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by OPA/OASH/HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit opa.hhs.gov.

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Words Matter: A Guide to Inclusive Language for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health

matt — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 19:22:22 +0000

Words Matter: A Guide to Inclusive Language for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health

October 2024

Language shapes our world, and the words we choose can build bridges or barriers. That’s why, across fields and industries, experts agree: Words matter.

Words carry stories of their own, holding the weight of history, power, and social dynamics. In their content and contexts, they reveal human triumph and suffering. Research shows that the use of inclusive language in education and health care benefits everyone, while language that excludes has negative psychological and physical effects on individuals whose identities are left out.

Using inclusive language shows we care about the unique communities around us and expresses a dedication to remaining in relationships with them. Words Matter: A Guide to Inclusive Language for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health provides you with practical, real-world strategies to use inclusive, affirming language.

We Want Your Feedback!

What can we improve? Share your thoughts on this resource in our quick, anonymous feedback form. If you want to be entered to win a full conference registration—leave your contact info at the end!

Contributing Staff

Sexual Health Influencers: A Guide to Collaborating with Young Content Creators

Words Matter: A Guide to Inclusive Language for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health

National Observances, Awareness Campaigns, and Holidays Calendar

#SexEdForAll Tool Kit

The post Words Matter: A Guide to Inclusive Language for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health appeared first on Healthy Teen Network.

2023 Annual Report

Mariah Cowsert — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 15:56:41 +0000

2023 Annual
Report

Taking Care & Taking Action

From Our President & CEO

Janet Max, MPH, CHES

In the 2023 fiscal year (October 2022 through September 2023), we added new staff to our team, launched our research to practice center, Thrivology alongside the Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health, worked together to support the health of young people in rural communities through True You Maryland, and so much more.

It’s been an honor to work together across departments and collaboratively across organizations in 2023—as caregivers, educators, and changemakers who give it all for today’s youth and the generations yet to come.

We know you do your best when you’re connected to great opportunities, resources, and to others working in sexual and reproductive health.

Together, we can take action to build a better world for the young people of today and future leaders of tomorrow. Our resilience fuels the resistance.

Highlights

2020 was a year to remember, to say the least.

Thrivology

We bring you the latest science on how to provide the very best programs and services, so young people may thrive.

True You Maryland

True You Maryland brings together partners in six rural Maryland counties. Together, we’re working to advance the sexual health and well-being of youth here at home.

U Choose

U Choose is a collaborative approach to providing evidence-based sexuality education and youth-friendly reproductive health services to Baltimore City youth.

Vaccinated Children, Stronger Families

When our children are up to date with their immunizations, other children and families are protected too. Let’s build stronger communities by ensuring that our children are vaccinated.

The Healthy Teen Oracle

We created the Healthy Teen Oracle Deck, a set of cards to support young people as they think through their health-related decisions and ask if they want to make any changes.

With the Healthy Teen Oracle deck, the card a young person selects can also serve as a starting point for discussions with health professionals or other trusted adults. The deck centers around 16 unique, health-related Oracle cards, with properties such as uncertainty, ritual, and encouragement.

We featured the content in two ways: 1) a digital version shared on Instagram, for young people, and 2) a physical deck of cards professionals can use with the young people they serve.

Our social media campaign uses storytelling to provide young people with models for how to navigate barriers to receiving health care and still get the services and support they need. We designed this campaign for social media sharing, to reach young people where they are most likely to be. We specifically shared the content on Instagram because testing showed that young people prefer the platform.

Our printed card deck for professionals, on the other hand, takes a more personalized approach appropriate for sparking conversations between young people and caring adults. The cards provide an engaging tool for professionals to start potentially challenging conversations: they can use young people’s chosen cards to guide the direction of their discussion, then ask targeted follow-ups to delve deeper.

Vaccinated Children, Stronger Communities | Collaboration with the Baltimore City Health Department

When our children are up to date with their immunizations, other children and families are protected, too. Let’s build stronger communities by ensuring that our children are vaccinated. Visit the Baltimore City Health Department’s Immunization Program to learn more! This video was created in partnership with the Baltimore City Health Department and UChoose Baltimore.

2023 Financials

Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Data*

*unaudited

Our Supporters

Mark Barbour

April Bell

Betsy Berner

Bart Bombay

Andrew Bradtke

Bridget Casey

Linda Dawkins

Tracey Ebony

Donna Elliston

Monica Faulkner

Patti Flowers-Coulson

Mackenzie Flynn

Lora Fults

Marsha Gilbert

Judith Herrman

Dawn Ireton

Jack & Jill of America Inc. Balto. Co. Chapter

Trichia Joyce Phillips

Laurie Max

Trenace Mic

Michael and Judy Leopold through Jewish Community Foundation

Patrick Monk

Guy Moody

Pat Paluzzi

Valerie Parker

Kiel Quinn

Shannon Rauh

Bruce Riggins

Cris Sanchez

Lisa Schreiber

Karen Skelly

Ted Smith

The Kulash Family Fund

Julie Thompson

Allison Tomai Felsen

Tracy VanVlack

Anthony Vela

Conference

Take Care & Take Action | #HealthyTeen23

When we started thinking about the 2023 conference theme, the questions we kept coming back to was “How do we honor what we are feeling, how do we care of ourselves and sustain ourselves, so we can take action and keep moving forward to seek the change we want in this world?”

We planned the 2023 year’s conference for our members—the caregivers, educators, and changemakers who give it all for today’s youth and the generations yet to come.

At #HealthyTeen23, we took a deeper look at just that—how do we care for ourselves? How do we cultivate healing of the mind, body, and soul?

I want to thank everyone who attended this year’s conference for joining us in Portland and being vulnerable as we learn together. As Jason said during our youth panel on Tuesday morning, it is okay not to know something, but it isn’t okay not to learn.

And one way to learn is to listen. People, be it young people or our colleagues, will tell you what they want, what they need. It is our job to listen…and then take action on what we heard.

Board & Staff

Our 2023 Board

Chair

Shannon Rauh, MEd,
AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator

Senior Consultant, JSI Research and Training Institute

Vice Chair

Monica Faulkner, PhD, LMSW

Director and Research Associate Professor, Texas Institute for Child and Family Wellbeing, Steve Hicks School of Social Work

Treasurer

Anthony Vela

Project Manager, U.S. Department of Labor

Secretary

Brina Bolden, JD

Contracting Officer, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

April J. Bell, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor, University of California San Francisco

Donna Elliston, DrPH, MSPH

Senior Consultant, John Snow Inc.

Patti Flowers–Coulson

Public Health & Administrative Organizer, Baltimoreans United In Leadership Development, Inc. (BUILD)

Mackenzie Flynn

Policy and Annual Conference Manager, AIDS United

Aisha Mays

Anthony D. Motyl, LICSW

Director of Grants & Sponsored Research, Springfield College

Valerie J. Parker, MA, LMFT, LCSW

Executive Director, Young Families of Indiana Network, Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County

Marilyn Preston

Associate Professor of Human Services, Metropolitan State University

Preston Shatwell

Our 2023 Staff

Mariah Cowsert

Sydney Keiler

Looking Ahead

Some of our priorities for 2024…

Thrivology

We bring you the latest science on how to provide the very best programs and services, so young people may thrive.

In/Tend

In/Tend is a vibrant ecosystem of dreamers, doers, and change-makers who push the boundaries of imagination to develop innovative approaches to adolescent health.

Pulse

Pulse puts the power of sexual health information, in English and Spanish, in the hands of millions of young women.

#HealthyTeen24

At #HealthyTeen24, we’ll extend a hand to the willing and wavering—to the dreamers and doers cheering on change and to those imploring, “steady as we go.”

Learn More

Check out some of our other work.

Annual Report Archive

The post 2023 Annual Report appeared first on Healthy Teen Network.

Group Agreements for Good Colleagues

Allison Tomai Felsen — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 17:16:06 +0000

Group Agreements for Good Colleagues

2021

This is a working document that was crafted by the Healthy Teen Network staff and was inspired by our former Board Chair Nadine Finigan-Carr in the midst of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like any good group agreements, we intend for them to be specific to us, and our culture, too. Baked in them are our successes and our struggles. But we’re sharing them in the hopes that they’ll inspire you to craft your own, too, much in the way Nadine inspired us to craft ours.

You can also read more about how we got here in this blog post.

Contributing Staff

Pulse: Sex Ed for Real Life

Are non-parental supportive adults associated with indicators of contraceptive access for youth with child welfare involvement?

Incorporating Youth-Friendly Services in a Clinical Setting

Postpartum Resources for Young Parents

The post Group Agreements for Good Colleagues appeared first on Healthy Teen Network.

2022 Annual Report

Mariah Cowsert — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 15:33:10 +0000

2022 Annual
Report

Daring to Dream

From Our President & CEO

Janet Max, MPH, CHES

We know that these last few years haven’t been easy. We’ve collectively adapted to pandemic life, shifting our work to adapt to remote work, and dealing with the aftermath of the Dobbs decision and the overturning of Roe V. Wade.

While it’s been a rollercoaster of a year, we’ve seen pockets of joy, and we are grateful we have been able to push forward together to advance social change.

And we want to thank you—our members—who keep us energized and connected in this important work. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without our project partners, colleagues across organizations, and community supporters out in the field working with young people. Each and every one of you is crucial in this field, and we’re grateful to be able to collaborate and uplift each other’s work.

Highlights

2022 was a year of collective dreaming and collaboration.

Many Ways of Being

Many Ways of Being is an inclusive, youth-centered curriculum focused on gender equity, healthy relationships, and safer sex practices.

Real Talk Evaluation

Real Talk modernizes sex education by capitalizing on youths’ desire to engage in peer sharing.

True You Maryland

True You Maryland brings together partners in six rural Maryland counties. Together, we’re working to advance the sexual health and well-being of youth here at home.

U Choose

U Choose is a collaborative approach to providing evidence-based sexuality education and youth-friendly reproductive health services to Baltimore City youth.

Many Ways of Being | Curriculum and Digital Components

The aim of this project was to adapt and combine the Manhood 2.0 and Sisterhood 2.0 curricula to create a new sexuality education curriculum accessible to and inclusive of all youth, regardless of their gender identities, all while maintaining a gender transformative lens. The result is Many Ways of Being. In addition to the typical classroom activities, participants will have access to a digital component of the program (via social media), used to engage them in and bolster their understanding of the content outside of the classroom.

The curriculum incorporates gender transformative approaches, while being accessible to youth of any gender identity. Previously, Manhood 2.0 and Sisterhood 2.0 offered single-gender spaces, while Many Ways of Being aims to be inclusive of all. Youth have been involved along the way as we developed the curriculum as well as the digital components of the project.

Communication is Key | Collaboration with U Choose

If you want to have sex, you and your partner (or partners) should talk about how you will prevent STIs. Before having sex with each other for the first time, you should get checked for STIs.

This video shares some tips to help you confidently have these important conversations.

2022 Financials

Fiscal Year 2022 Financial Data*

*unaudited

Our Supporters

Bart Bombay

Susan Braun

Butler

Bridget Casey

Kimberly Culp

Linda Davis

Linda Dawkins

Roberta Domres

Tracey Ebony

Jim Egan

Donna Elliston

Marc England

Patti Flowers-Coulson

Lora Fults

Lillian Harris

Lori Houck Cora

Leah Huddleston

Andy Jaehrling

The Kulash Family Fund

Marissa Latini

Kathleen Long

Amena Mitchell

Anthony Motyl

Jessica Murison

Patricia ONeal

Pat Paluzzi

Sarah Parr

Marilyn J. Preston

Kiel Quinn

Shannon Rauh

Zanny Regas

Lela Reynolds

Bruce Riggins

Ruth Anne Seifert

Karen Skelly

Ted Smith

Monica Taylor

Julie Thompson

Andy Weisberger

Debbie Wengert-Rippetoe

Kayla Wilburn

Conference

Dare to Dream of a New Era | #HealthyTeen22

During our staff meeting before the conference, we asked everyone to share one thing they were excited about for this year’s conference. Every single person mentioned they were excited to be together, in person. Yes, they also mentioned the workshop sessions, and our wonderful plenary speakers, but at the core it was all about creating connections and building relationships across the country.

Being in Miami was a moment to take a breath and look around at all the people—colleagues, friends, soon to be friends who had come together for three days to learn, question, challenge, and have a little fun together.

This year, we asked you to join us in dreaming of a new era. In many ways, COVID freed us from some of those cant’s and wont’s…but it shouldn’t take a pandemic to let us break free and innovate. We have much work to do…and our general sessions each spoke about different ways we can get moving!

Board & Staff

Our 2022 Board

Chair

Rhoda Smith, PhD, MSW

Assistant Clinical Professor, Erikson Institute

Vice Chair

Shannon Rauh, MEd,
AASECT Certified SexualityEducator

Senior Consultant, JSI Research and Training Institute

Treasurer

Anthony Vela

Project Manager, U.S. Department of Labor

Secretary

Brina Bolden, JD

Contracting Officer, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Donna Elliston, DrPH, MSPH

Senior Consultant, John Snow Inc.

Monica Faulkner, PhD, LMSW

Director, Texas Institute for Child and Family Wellbeing; Research Associate Professor, Steve Hicks School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin

Patti Flowers–Coulson

Public Health & Administrative Organizer, Baltimoreans United In Leadership Development, Inc. (BUILD)

Marissa Latini

Associate Director of Development, My Friend’s Place

Anthony D. Motyl, LICSW

Director of Grants & Sponsored Research, Springfield College

Valerie J. Parker, MA, LMFT, LCSW

Executive Director, Young Families of Indiana Network, Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County

Marilyn Preston

Associate Professor of Human Services, Metropolitan State University

Zanny Regas, Nursing Student, ABSN-MSN

Family Nurse Practitioner Degree Candidate, University of Pennsylvania

Our 2022 Staff

Mariah Cowsert

Dawn Ireton

Saumya Sao

Looking Ahead

Our Priorities for 2023

Thrivology

We bring you the latest science on how to provide the very best programs and services, so young people may thrive.

El Camino

El Camino is a youth-focused goal-setting sexual health program developed for and with Latino adolescents.

#HealthyTeen23

At #HealthyTeen23 in Portland, OR, we will look to each other for inspiration and renewal. The stories we share will feed our hearts and grip our spirits.

Baltimore City Health Department

Partnering to create short videos that cover topics like: talking to your partner(s) about STIs, digital health literacy, and childhood immunizations.

Learn More

Check out some of our other work.

Annual Report Archive

The post 2022 Annual Report appeared first on Healthy Teen Network.

2021 Annual Report

Mariah Cowsert — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 14:46:44 +0000

2021 Annual
Report

Collaboration in times of crisis

From Our President & CEO

Janet Max, MPH, CHES

Our 2021 annual report remembers and celebrates our accomplishments, not the least of which is how we’ve been able to collaborate and work together despite the challenges of navigating the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because we know that when we stop doing things the same way they’ve always been done, and we give ourselves the space and freedom, everyone benefits.

Thank you so much for connecting with us this year and for all the work you are doing each and every day. We see you and appreciate you.

Highlights

2021 was a year of connection and hope.

True You Maryland

True You Maryland brings together partners in six rural Maryland counties. Together, we’re working to advance the sexual health and well-being of youth here at home.

Activate Collective

Activate curates, adapts, and creates evidence-informed, user-friendly resources by translating research to practice.

Power Through Choices

The only proven effective sexual health program designed with and for youth in systems of care.

Maryland Human Trafficking

Focusing on raising awareness and response to human trafficking to ensure human trafficking victims/survivors receive comprehensive trauma-informed care.

Storms & Blossoms: Navigating Parenting During the Pandemic

A year ago, we never imagined we’d still be navigating wearing masks, vaccines, and safety protocols that keep us, our loved ones, and neighbors safe while balancing our own lives. Add parenthood, working on the frontlines, and being home 24/7 to the mix, and it gets even tougher—especially for young parents who have had to traverse the foster care system as well.

That’s why ReSHAPING members Liz Aparicio, Svetlana Shpiegel, and Rhoda Smith along with Genevieve Martínez-García, Alexander Sanchez, Marissa Ventola, Amara Channell Doig, Michelle Jasczyński, conducted this PhotoVoice project from January to March 2021.

Storms & Blossoms showcases stories directly from foster care system alumni about parenting during the pandemic—their challenges, triumphs, and how they’re navigating challenging times while pregnant or parenting.

True You Maryland

All young people have the right to the information and skills they need to protect their health. They deserve age-appropriate, medically accurate information. Young people deserve answers to their questions about sex and relationships, free of shame and stigma no matter who they are, where they live, or what their income is.

True You Maryland brings together partners in six rural Maryland counties—Allegany, Washington, Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester. Together, we’re working to advance the sexual health and well-being of youth here at home.

We know it takes more than just one program or one campaign to make change. That’s why all True You counties rely on diverse teams, bringing together young people, parents, health departments, local school systems, universities, community programs, and systems not typically engaged in adolescent health initiatives.

2021 Financials

Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Data*

*unaudited

Our Supporters

Mark Barbour

Marcha Boose-Welch

Aspasia Calivas Oosterwijk

Daryl Charrise

Melanie Cohen

Jim Egan

Donna Elliston

Nadine Finigan-Carr

Stu Flavell

Patti Flowers Coulson

Marsha Gilbert

Rae Hunter

Danielle Iacovelli

Effrosyni Kokaliari

Kulash Family Fund

Marissa Latini

Kelly Manges

Cindy Mason

Anthony Motyl

Valerie Parker

Jeraleen Peterson

Liz Quinnett

Lucia Sias

Rhoda Smith

Anthony Vela

Debbie Wengert-Rippetoe

Jamie Williams

Cheryl Wilfong

Conference

#HealthyTeen21 | Virtual Conference 2.0

When planning this year’s event and knowing it would once again be virtual, we reached out to our members and past conference attendees to hear what you wanted and what would be helpful for you right now. Thank you so much to those of you who took the time to share your thoughts.

We designed #HealthyTeen21 with this feedback in mind—we shortened the overall length, scheduled shorter sessions, and varied the content (we did our first ever podcast to help give our eyes a break). For each session, we asked ourselves–what is relevant to me today and how can I take it home? We wanted to make absolutely sure our attendees signed off with tangible, practical resources and strategies to put to work immediately.

More than a year into this pandemic life, we wanted to give ourselves time to pause and reflect. When we stop doing things the same way they’ve always been done, and we give ourselves the space and freedom to change, everyone benefits. One of the ways that we can do all of this—to “level up” as Dr. Tanya encouraged us to do—is to broaden our mindset for the intersectional world we live in. By following the advice that we heard from Andrea—to invest our time in making connections all the time—not just because we want something from someone. These connections are not just about who we know, but who knows us and what we’re doing.

Board & Staff

Our 2021 Board

Chair

Rhoda Smith, PhD, MSW

Assistant Clinical Professor, Erikson Institute

Vice Chair

Shannon Rauh, MEd,
AASECT Certified SexualityEducator

Senior Consultant, JSI Research and Training Institute

Treasurer

Anthony Vela

Project Manager, U.S. Department of Labor

Secretary

Brina Bolden, JD

Contracting Officer, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Donna Elliston, DrPH, MSPH

Senior Consultant, John Snow Inc.

Monica Faulkner, PhD, LMSW

Director, Texas Institute for Child and Family Wellbeing; Research Associate Professor, Steve Hicks School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin

Patti Flowers–Coulson

Public Health & Administrative Organizer, Baltimoreans United In Leadership Development, Inc. (BUILD)

Marissa Latini

Associate Director of Development, My Friend’s Place

Anthony D. Motyl, LICSW

Director of Grants & Sponsored Research, Springfield College

Valerie J. Parker, MA, LMFT, LCSW

Executive Director, Young Families of Indiana Network, Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County

Marilyn Preston

Associate Professor of Human Services, Metropolitan State University

Zanny Regas, Nursing Student, ABSN-MSN

Family Nurse Practitioner Degree Candidate, University of Pennsylvania

Our 2021 Staff

Mariah Cowsert

Dawn Ireton

Looking Ahead

Our Priorities for 2021

Wingman

Wingman Suggestive Keyboard is an alternative keyboard for your phone that uses machine learning to help you tackle sexual conversations with ease.

Real Talk Evaluation

Real Talk modernizes sex education by capitalizing on youths’ desire to engage in peer sharing.

Many Ways of Being

Many Ways of Being is an inclusive, youth-centered curriculum focused on gender equity, healthy relationships, and safer sex practices.

DCNEXT

Centering young people as valued experts in identifying challenges to create innovative solutions.

Learn More

Check out some of our other work.

Annual Report Archive

The post 2021 Annual Report appeared first on Healthy Teen Network.

Maryland Human Trafficking Initiative

Gina Desiderio — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 17:40:10 +0000

Featured Project

Maryland Human Trafficking Initiative

This initiative was established to improve statewide coordination & multidisciplinary collaboration in responding to human trafficking involving children & youth.

Where We Started

Healthy Teen Network supported the Maryland Human Trafficking Initiative. This initiative was established with funding from the Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime and was led by the Ruth Young Center for Families and Children at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, in partnership with the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, Governor’s Office on Crime Control and Prevention, Maryland Departments of Human Resources and Juvenile Services, and U.S. Attorney’s Office.

What It Was

The Maryland Human Trafficking Initiative for Children & Youth (MHTI) was a three-year project aimed at improving statewide coordination and multi-disciplinary collaboration in responding to human trafficking involving children and youth, including both labor and sex trafficking.

The primary activities of the initiative were to:

Create multidisciplinary teams to better investigate and prosecute child trafficking cases in a victim-centered manner.
Train relevant state professionals including law enforcement, service providers, medical professionals, child welfare & juvenile justice workers, prosecutors & judges.
Build a network of specialized nonprofits with the capacity and knowledge to provide comprehensive trauma-informed services to victims.

In addition to Healthy Teen Network, partners for this initiative included:

The Resources

Through this partnership, we developed a number of elearning and infographic resources:

Our Experts

Like what you see? We'd love to partner with you on a similar project! Let us know how we can help.

The post Maryland Human Trafficking Initiative appeared first on Healthy Teen Network.

Challenging and Expanding Your Understanding and Practice of Inclusivity

Allison Tomai Felsen — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 19:20:34 +0000

Challenging and Expanding Your Understanding and Practice of Inclusivity & How You Can Put Knowledge into Action

2021

During the first session of #HealthyTeen21, Dr. Tanya Bass, Stuart Getty, and Vanessa Geffrard will encourage you to widen the lens you use to approach your work, broaden the language you use each day, and grow your skillset to best meet the needs of all clients, students, and patients.

Leveling Up: Providing Culturally Relevant Sexuality Education • Dr. Tanya Bass

If you are working as a sexuality professional, it is time to “level up.” Paraphrasing Fredrick Douglas, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken adults.” Dr. Tanya Bass will share the value and importance of providing culturally relevant sexuality education across the lifespan. We live in an intersectional world, and it is imperative for sexuality education and sexual health professionals to address the concepts of privilege, power, and oppression, and how they impact our sexual development and worldviews. While it is encouraging to have the National Sexuality Education Standards as a guide in grade-appropriate education, it is critical that the educator is a culturally responsive “teacher” with a full grasp of the concepts of intersectionality, implicit bias, and the historical context of racism. They should also have a moderate level of comfort and feel capable of discussing such topics with peers and students. It is definitely time we “level up” and do our best to teach in the most inclusive manner.

How Not to Be a White Savior in Sex Ed • Vanessa Geffrard

The job of a life-affirming educator is fun, exciting, complicated, and of course, life-changing for ourselves and our students! Some of the things that can be challenging in our roles as sex educators and/or reproductive health practitioners are answering the difficult questions that come our way, balancing classroom management, honoring the identities of all of our students, all while examining our values and dismantling biases that uphold systems of inequality, oppression, and discrimination that keep our clients, students, and patients from getting the support they need. Join Vanessa to start to examine the root of your own biases as it relates to your students, the role we all play in upholding white saviorism, and starting your process to unlearn and undo it all.

How to They/Them • Stuart Getty

“They” is just a pronoun (for folks who don’t identify as either male or female) but for so many, it wreaks havoc on their grammar and gender beliefs, and leaves them scared to even try. In this session, we will use the importance of nonbinary pronouns as a way to open up the world of gender freedom and expression beyond a binary we made up in the first place. (Just in time, too, as half of Gen Z believes that the gender binary is outdated.) Create more inclusive and expansive education by learning about gender fluidity and the world of nonbinary pronouns…because the world is actually demanding it!

Contributing Staff

Sexual Health Influencers: A Guide to Collaborating with Young Content Creators

Words Matter: A Guide to Inclusive Language for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health

National Observances, Awareness Campaigns, and Holidays Calendar

#SexEdForAll Tool Kit

The post Challenging and Expanding Your Understanding and Practice of Inclusivity appeared first on Healthy Teen Network.

Janet Max Archives - Healthy Teen Network

Affirming Care for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ Young People

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What's the History Behind Medical Mistrust In BIPOC Young People?

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