10:45 am–Noon

Break Out Session 1

Youth & Emerging Leaders Track:
Youth & Emerging Leaders Town Hall Meeting –“What’s Next for Me?”

Facilitated by Naomi Ortiz, Project Coordinator, Kids As Self Advocates (KASA)

Betsy Valnes, Executive Director, National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN)

Kira Fisher, Project Coordinator, Acting for Advocacy (A4A), North Carolina-Chapel Hill Center for Development and Learning

Rebecca Hare, Program Coordinator, National Consortium on Leadership and Disability for Youth (NCLD/Youth)

As the grant funding cycle ends and with new funding not yet secured or even a definite possibility, it can be difficult understanding what’s next for youth. Youth and Emerging Leaders will discuss and troubleshoot potential barriers as they navigate their future, uncover concerns, and work together to solve the issues that are most likely to arrive.

Presentation

• What’s Next for Me? Putting What You’ve Learned to Work!

 Plaza I

Directors & Coordinators Track:
Model Development and Evaluation— The Arc of New Mexico

Priscilla Salinas, Project Coordinator, The Arc of New Mexico

David D. Barney, MSW, MPH, PhD, College Associate Professor in the School of Social Work, New Mexico State University

Elizabeth Duran, MSW, MPH, Evaluation Project Director,  New Mexico State University

Program Evaluation can be a daunting but very important task that is required by all if not most funding agencies. El Poder de los Jovenes project will provide a overview of the services provided to youth with disabilities and the process and benefits of implementing an evaluation component that guides project staff with enhancing services and assessing impact of services on youth as a group and individually. The presentation will include sharing instruments developed for the evaluation and how findings were used to enhance services, as well as formalize a model of services for youth residing in a rural community. The presentation will also include discussion on how the results of the evaluation can be used in seeking future funding for project sustainability and informing the community of youth’s interests and needs.

Presentations and Documents:

• The Arc of New Mexico Poder de los Jovenes Project Intervention Model Narrative

• El Poder de los Jovenes: Model Development & Evaluation

 Plaza II

12:15 -1:45 pm

Luncheon

Remarks
Commissioner Patricia A. Morrissey, Administration on Developmental Disabilities

Table Topics
Over the course of the last three years and even before the grant funding cycle began, each Grantee’s Programs have met and surpassed a number of unique challenges both in the project itself and in the individuals served. These unique challenges have brought about tenacity, determination, and a creative approach to problem solving. Each table will receive a unique scenario where they discuss a step by step process for addressing the issues the topic proposes.

 Salon III

2:00–3:00 pm

General Session  2

Unknown Unknowns or How to Know What You Don’t Know (or what your youth and emerging leaders don’t know) Before You Can Effectively Lead

Rebecca Hare, Program Coordinator, National Consortium on Leadership and Disability for Youth (NCLD/Youth)

NCLD/Youth has developed two self-assessments to be used by youth and emerging leaders with disabilities. One is focused on youth development/youth leadership and helps evaluate the holistic strengths, needs, and opportunities for youth and emerging leaders with disabilities. The second self-assessment measures common knowledge and perceptions around disability. This includes information on independent living philosophy, the ADA (and other pieces of disability public policy), self-advocacy, and disability identity. These self-assessments have been developed by youth and emerging leaders with disabilities for youth and emerging leaders with disabilities and help program staff get an idea of how much ‘disability knowledge’ youth and emerging leaders may have upon joining a program. NCLD-Youth will share both assessments and discuss issues surrounding the development of each one and what program personnel and youth can gain from using each one.

Presentations and Documents

• Disability History, Community, Culture, and Policy Self- Assessment

• Am I learning to lead? A self-assessment tool designed for participants of youth leadership and development programs serving youth with disabilities

 Salon III

3:15 -4:15 pm

Break-Out Session 2

Youth & Emerging Leaders Track:
“Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This: A Humorous Look at Employing and Empowering Youth”

Janice Goforth, MS, CRC, Project Coordinator, Interwork Institute, San Diego State University, Center for Emerging Leadership

Briana Jackson, Peer Mentor, Interwork Institute, San Diego State University, Center for Emerging Leadership

Marjorie Olney, PhD, CRC, Interwork Institute, San Diego State University, Center for Emerging Leadership

The Center for Emerging Leadership employs youth and young adults with developmental disabilities to provide mentorship to their peers in the community and to raise awareness of the capabilities of people with disabilities. The presenters will share highlights from their project, including humorous (but eye-opening) moments on both challenges and successes which illustrate the ups and downs of empowerment.

Presentations and Documents

• Mamma Said There’d Be Days Like This! A Humorous Look at Employing and Empowering Youth and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities - Presentation

• Mamma Said There’d Be Days Like This! A Humorous Look at Employing and Empowering Youth and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities - Document

Plaza I

Directors & Coordinators Track:
Taking the Next Step Toward Sustainability: The Process of Becoming a Non-Profit

Nichole Goble, Co-Director, Self-Advocacy and Leadership for Youth with Disabilities (SALYD)

Michael Hoenig, Co-Director, Self-Advocacy and Leadership for Youth with Disabilities (SALYD)

SALYD (Self-Advocacy and Leadership for Youth with Disabilities) Co-directors Nichole Goble and Michael Hoenig will discuss the steps they and their board members have taken to become a non-profit organization. This presentation will explain how specific partnerships have aided in the process and discuss challenges which SALYD has overcome along the way. Their presentation materials include sample forms and other documentation, they have actually submitted, and that are required for becoming a 501(c)3.

Presentations and Documents

• Non-Profit Presentation

• Non-Profit Bylaws

• Non-Profit Articles of Incorporation

Plaza II

4:15–4:30 pm

Break

 Salon III

4:30–5:15 pm

Prepare for Networking Session

 Salon III

5:30- 7:30 pm 

Networking Session

Guest Speaker: Tyler Greene

Presentation

• Hi …I’m Tyler

 Salon III

Thursday, August 2

8:00–9:00 am

Registration and Continental Breakfast

Salon Foyer

9:00–9:30 am

Announcements / Overview of the Day Ahead/ Housekeeping

Salon III

9:00–9:45 am 

Prepare for Field Trip to the FDR Memorial

Leave for Field Trip to FDR Memorial

Hotel Lobby

11:15–11:45 am

Return to Hotel

12:30–2:30 pm

Lunch – Emerging Leaders Report Out

Youth and Emerging Leaders have so much to say and tell as a result of the times had and lessons learned through the course of the grant period. This time for sharing will be both inspiring and touching as we prepare to move on respectively in different fields and new life challenges.

Salon III

2:30—3:30 pm 

Break Out Session 3

Youth & Emerging Leaders Track:
Speak Up! Action Steps for Peer Teams at School

Kira Fisher,  Project Coordinator, Acting for Advocacy, North Carolina-Chapel Hill Center for Development and Learning

Deborah Zuver, Co-Director, Acting for Advocacy (A4A), North Carolina-Chapel Hill Center for Development and Learning

This experiential workshop will demonstrate enactments and activities for applying self-advocacy tools. The A4A will show how their Acting for Advocacy (A4A) approaches can be adapted for any team of youths and how they can lead others toward reaching personal goals. Examples will be taken from the Speak Up! Action Manual for Peer Leader Teams that our Acting for Advocacy team developed by A4A for and with students from North Carolina.

Presentation

• Speak Up! Presentation

Plaza I

Directors & Coordinators Track:
A Mentor’s Perspective on Growing National Efforts Led by Youth with Disabilities

Curtis Richards, Senior Policy Fellow, Institute for Educational Leadership

Plaza II

3:30–4:00 pm

General Session 3

Grant Closeout Procedures

Ophelia McLain, Program Specialist, Administration on Developmental Disabilities

As we prepare to leave and finish the rest of the year, it’s an important time to get your questions answered about the rest of the procedures for closing out the program, applying for extensions and carry-overs, and all other grant related activities.

Presentation

• Grant Close Out 2007

 Salon III

4:00–4:30 pm

Closing Remarks