Friday morning, Dr. Hellman will present a second plenary: Teaching Hope: Practical Strategies to Strengthen Youth Well-being:
In this interactive session, Dr. Hellman will guide participants through hands-on group activities designed to operationalize a framework of hope in working with students. Using evidence-based research and practical tools, attendees will explore re-teachable methods to elevate hope levels in both individuals and organizations. Walk away with actionable strategies to foster resilience, motivation, and success in the youth you serve.
In this session, Mr. Rowe will describe how young people break the cycle of disadvantage by embracing the four pillars of human flourishing: Family, Religion, Education, and Entrepreneurship (American Enterprise Institute’s FREE Initiative). Mr. Rowe will then describe how these ideas are operationalized and put into practice at Vertex Partnership Academies, a virtues-based, International Baccalaureate public charter high school in the Bronx. Marrying empowerment theory and practical implementation, the remarks will demonstrate a living example of how moral formation is essential to cultivating individual agency and inspiring young people to lead self-determined lives of meaning and purpose.
Ian Rowe is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on education and upward mobility, family formation, and adoption. He is the cofounder of Vertex Partnership Academies, a network of virtue-based International Baccalaureate high schools inaugurated in the Bronx in 2022; the chairman of the board of Spence-Chapin, a nonprofit adoption services organization; and the cofounder of the National Summer School Initiative. Ian is the auther of Agency: The Four Point Plan (F.R.E.E.) for All Children to Overcome the Victimhood Narrative and Discover Their Pathway to Power. He concurrently serves as a senior visiting fellow at the Woodson Center and a writer for the 1776 Unites Campaign. See more about Ian Rowe
The culture doesn’t quit, so neither do we. The mission is clear. There has never been a greater need to guide our youth through this exciting but perilous time. It’s time to double down on what we know is best for kids to thrive. No excuses. No holding back. The receipts are due. Let’s pay in full by embracing our responsibility to reach more kids, empower more parents, influence more policy-makers, and work toward shifting educational and cultural norms to support optimal health and thriving for ALL youth.
Mary Anne Mosack is the President & CEO of Ascend, a national non-profit organization that equips & unites the national Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA) field to help youth make healthy choices about sex, relationships, and marriage. She is a co-developer of Ascend’s nationally recognized Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA) Certification Course, credentialing over 3,000 SRA educators across the US and Canada to date. She is the author of Making Your Message Matter, a popular communication seminar, and is the co-author of The War on Intimacy. As a recognized thought leader and public speaker, Mary Anne is dedicated to advocating for SRA education to ensure youth have the protective assets they need to reach optimal health and life success. See more about Mary Anne Mosack
To be an Agent of Change, our main purpose is to positively impact youth behavior so they actually refrain from non-marital sex. SRAE curricula provide educators with the content, but the educators themselves must also be effective. In this breakout, discover the Theory of Planned Behavior and how it can help educators impact youth decision-making and behaviors. You will gain valuable insights about how to intentionally target and influence scientifically derived youth predictors of sexual activity, no matter which authentic SRAE curricula you use. The theories and methods discussed will help with continuous quality improvement to be effective Agents of Change.
A Case Study: Learn about the Michigan SRA Council's swift action that recently contributed to the take down of new Comprehensive Sex Education law proposals in their state. Observe a timeline from when the council received a leak of a proposed bill intended to be quietly introduced during the 2024 lame duck session to when the bill died in the final days of session. Along the way, learn how to unify SRA educators across your state and how the MI council collaborated against the proposed sex education law, utilizing all available resources to take action. Included in the discussion is how to reach your state representatives and achieve opportunities to speak on the committee floor.
Joneen McKenzie, President, NARME
What does it mean to be well? Can
Wellness be operationalized? This presentation will explore important findings
regarding the six domains of human flourishing and how they align with SRAE
constructs. You will learn practical ways to implement the primary prevention,
holistic strategy of the Human Flourishing Study domains in working with
adolescents.
Joi Wasill, Founder/President, Decisions, Choices, and
Options, Inc
Engaging with local and
state policy makers from elected officials to like-minded organizations can
propel your efforts to provide community wide programs that advance the message
and impact of SRAE. You will discover practical ways to invite and involve
leaders in your community with the youth and families served by your SRA program.
Learn how to share your vision for impacting adolescents with optimally healthy
educational programs that enjoy broad based support of the leaders in your
community and state.
Tracy Brown, Lead Education Instructor, PRC Grand Rapids
How do you take one
central message, and communicate it despite different instructor personalities,
teaching styles and individual experiences across multiple venues and age
groups? Impossible you say? Not at all! In this session, we will consider some
revealing questions to ask during your instructor selection process, how to
create a culture that values consistent messaging, and how to encourage
instructor authenticity while delivering the message in an engaging and
relevant way. Finally, when correction is needed, we will demonstrate effective
ways to coach instructors to take ownership in delivering the central SRA
message.
Fiona Nakityo, Programs Manager, The Remnant Generation
Uganda
Survivors of childhood
sexual abuse often struggle with self-worth, leading some to risky behaviors,
repeated abuse, or revenge-seeking that increase vulnerability to
re-victimization. Others adopt a damaged identity that hinders healing. This
session explores the power of trauma-informed healing in breaking this cycle drawing from real-life experiences in Uganda and other African
communities. Learn practical strategies to restore resilience, empower
survivors, and protect youth from further harm. Join us to discover how
fostering healing can be a game-changer in Sexual Risk Avoidance Education.
Tonya Waite, President, ESTEEM
Get ready for an exciting
adventure in research and game development! That’s right—you’ll learn how to
create fun and hands-on activities that help students remember important
concepts for years to come! Even 5th graders can understand key facts, statistics,
and research findings when we make the learning process enjoyable and
interactive. We’ll check out some awesome research articles and play games that
reinforce these ideas. Don’t forget to bring your research materials, because
we’ll split into groups to design our very own games while sharpening our
analytical skills. It’s going to be a blast!
Oliver Crandon, Sr. Speaker Manager, Youth Equipped to
Succeed
Teaching students
the incredible value of marriage is vital. Marriage is a cornerstone of
society, offering emotional support, companionship, and a stable environment
for raising children. It is also a foundational component of the Success
Sequence. Join this breakout session as we discuss how to inspire the next
generation to value the beauty and privileges of marriage. We will unpack how
marriages lead to better physical and mental health, higher happiness levels,
and to better financial stability. Society has unfortunately devalued the
importance of marriage; but healthy marriages lead to healthy families, and
healthy families lead to healthy communities. That’s worth fighting for.
Rebecca Zentz, CEO, Penn's Youth Initiative
Interactive presentations
on grant funding including where to find grants, preparing your organization
for grants, and grant writing tips/strategies. This presentation will challenge
organizations to access the benefits of grant funded SRAE programs including
best practices and feel empowered to approach grant funding for their
organization.
Jackie Brewton, CEO, MotivationN3D, Inc.
We’ll explore the
difference between simply “teaching” and authentically “reaching” youth, a
shift that fosters long-term behavioral transformation rather than temporary
compliance. This session draws from over two decades of experience and the
lessons Jackie has learned from over 17,000 letters written to her by teens.
Their voices have shaped every strategy shared. By the end, participants will
leave equipped to connect with teens on a deeper level, armed with practical
tools to enhance your effectiveness, and inspiration to make your message not
just heard but truly felt. If you’re ready to move beyond simply delivering
content and start inspiring true change, this session is for you.
