Exploring Youth Work

Webinar Date: Wednesday, January 18

Webinar Time: 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

*Please note that all events are listed in CENTRAL U.S. time (CST/CDT), please enter your city here to confirm the correct time for your time zone: https://www.thetimezoneconverter.com/

Register here: Zoom

Cost: None! It is free! However, you can donate here.

In this 90-minute panel, participants will:

• Understand what it means to educate and advocate for teenagers and young adults in a variety of contexts- urban and rural, school-based and community-based, and in individual and group settings;
• Understand the challenges and benefits of school-based violence prevention education, and learn what opportunities exist for young people who are interested in doing more to end relationship violence in their communities; and
• Learn how to support young people who are experiencing abuse or harm in their intimate relationship
  

Panelist bios:

• Mel Harmon, Youth Advocate Team Lead and Outreach Coordinator, Rivers of Hope: Mel Harmon is the Youth Advocate Team Lead and Outreach Coordinator at Rivers of Hope. She studied Elementary Education at Concordia College in Moorehead and earned her Master’s Degree in School Counseling from North Dakota State University. She has been a classroom teacher, worked in Residence Life while attending grad school, served as a School Counselor, and worked a handful of years in Youth Ministry. Mel has worked as a Youth Advocate at Rivers of Hope for five years now. In her position, she does youth advocacy and prevention work in the schools, in addition to Outreach pieces to share the story of Rivers of Hope. Serving and supporting youth has always been a passion for Mel.
• Bethany Truman, Although Bethany Truman has carried many titles throughout her lived experience, “mom” is and will always be her favorite. When Bethany isn’t bug collecting or worm hunting with her son, she is advocating for youth at every table she sits at. Whether it be her role as Mankato city representative for the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council, regional representative for the Minnesota Hip Hop Coalition, Mankato Public Safety Advisory Committee member, Mankato School District SRO Advisory committee member, DEI director to Mankato Makerspace, or NAACP Mankato Chapter Board member, Bethany continually advocates for safe spaces and opportunities for the younger generations. Currently Bethany is finishing up her masters degree in Pastoral Counseling with Crisis and Trauma Response and is working on getting her consulting business off the ground which will enable her to connect with more youth-serving organizations and will provide opportunities for safe and healthy discussions around the topics of healthy relationships, personal development, conflict resolution, and more! 

• Anna Sahli, Youth Education Manager, Tubman: Anna Sahli has worked at Tubman for over 10 years where she is the Youth Education Manager. She attended Hamline University in St. Paul where she studied English and Psychology, and was first introduced to the Tubman organization while interning there answering the 24-hour crisis line during her senior year of undergrad. She loves working with students and looks forward each school year to incorporating student feedback into Tubman’s curriculum about healthy relationships. She believes this work should be informed by youth voices and the expertise they have regarding their own experiences.

Live closed-captioning and ASL interpretation will be available for this webinar. You will also have the opportunity to request a certificate of attendance. This event will be recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/c/womensadvocates

Please email our outreach team at outreach@wadvocates.org with any questions, concerns or requests.