2020 Workshops

Track A. Workshop 1: Shifting the Lens: from Compliance to Compassion

This workshop will review the history of peer coaching as utilized in Allegheny County, PA. In describing our shift from coaching for compliance to coaching for compassion, we will also explain its key tenets, review coaching tools, and provide an opportunity for attendees to practice some of these concepts.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the differences between coaching for compliance and coaching for compassion.
Have better understanding on whether coaching for compassion may be a good fit for your organization.
Understand how to structure a coaching conversation based on the tenets of coaching for compassion.
Walk away with some simple tools to add to your coaching toolkit.

Greg Phillips has been employed with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services since 2010. Greg began his career at DHS as a family services caseworker, and beginning in 2012 he has been providing coaching, training and technical support to DHS staffing several roles. Since 2017, Greg has served in the role of Manager of the Teaming Institute. The vision of the DHS Teaming Institute is to support and guide others in pursuit of their potential. We support this vision through the coaching, training, and work around practice fidelity that our team is responsible for Greg has also been providing mandated reporter training on behalf of the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance since 2016. Greg currently resides in the suburbs of Pittsburgh with his wife, son and many pets.

Track A. Workshop 2: Evaluating Supervisory Coaching in Child Welfare: Step by Step

This workshop will facilitate participants to consider steps for evaluation of coaching guided by a logic model including: (1) implement satisfaction assessments; (2) implement follow-up surveys related to participants’ confidence and competence and reported frequency of coaching in the “real world” of child welfare; and (3) consider options for analysis and reporting and building dashboards. Presenters will illustrate each of these steps and facilitate learning activities for participants to practice and discuss evaluation methods.

Presenters will illustrate and facilitate practice activities related to: (1) implementing satisfaction assessments; (2) implementing follow-up surveys related to participants’ confidence and competence and reported frequency of coaching in the “real world” of child welfare; and (3) considering options for analysis and reporting and building dashboards.

Learning Objectives:

Consider content for assessing satisfaction with a coaching learning program
Practice taking a survey about individual and organizational factors that affect their own use of coaching in the real world of child welfare
Discuss the meaning of results of a survey implemented with over 1,000 participants and identify potential strategies for supporting supervisors to overcome barriers to the use of coaching as part of child welfare supervision

Professor Diane DePanfilis has extensive experience with developing, implementing, and evaluating coaching by supervisors. She currently leads an evaluation team focused on evaluating coaching in New York City’s extensive public and private child welfare system. More than 1,500 supervisors and managers have participated in a coaching learning program and many of them have also participated in coaching collaboratives and skill refreshers to increase their confidence and competence in using coaching as part of supervision.

Keren Abina, MA is a Senior Director at the ACS Workforce Institute where she co-leads evaluation design and strategy for learning and professional development programs. She has over 15 years of program planning and evaluation experience in education and youth services, workforce development, re-entry and child welfare programs. Abina enjoys supporting human services staff in their use of data to answer quality and performance questions.

Michele Vigeant, EdM, LMHC, is a Project Director at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, leading a project in partnership with the NYC Administration of Children Services to implement coaching as a core transfer of learning strategy. She has held senior leadership positions in a large victim service agency and has extensive experience in program development, strategic planning, staff development, and training. Vigeant is a licensed mental health counselor and holds a Masters of Education in the field of counseling psychology from Teacher’s College, Columbia University.

Track A. Workshop 3: Using Dare to Lead™ to Set the Stage for Transformational Coaching

“It’s not fear that gets in the way of showing up –it’s armor. It’s the behaviors we use to self-protect. We can be afraid and brave at the same time. Armor suffocates courage and cages our hearts. The goal is to create spaces where armor is neither necessary nor rewarded.” Imagine if the leaders you are coaching were equipped with a foundational knowledge and skill set for activating their most courageous selves. What transformation could occur in your coaching if leaders and entire organizations showed up for the work without the armor? Individuals and systems come to coaching because they want something to change. They may be experiencing a painful challenge or simply seeking an opportunity for growth and further development. An absolute truth about change is that it takes courage. Courage is a collection of four skill sets that are teachable, measurable, and observable. Dare to Lead™ is an empirically based courage building program based on the research of Dr. Brené Brown that focuses on developing these skills to help individuals, teams and organizations move from armored leadership to daring leadership. In this workshop you will learn more about the four skill sets of courage and how to bring the Dare to Lead™ program to the individuals and teams you coach.

As the Coaching Manager of the Child Welfare Training System, Ashley Andersen MSW, CPCC, PCC, CDWF manages all work related to the development or provision of coaching services throughout the state. In addition to providing coaching services to individuals, teams, and groups, Andersen also works on innovating the way in which Colorado child welfare professionals can access and use coaching services. Ashley also provides opportunities for skill development, continuous improvement, and implementation support to internally based county coaches through the Colorado Coaches Collaborative.

As a lover of leading and learning, Kasey Clark, MA, ACC, ORSCC, CDTLF is honored to serve in the roles of project director for the Child Welfare Training System (CWTS) at the Kempe Center in Colorado and as a faculty instructor for the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine. As the CWTS project director, Clark is responsible for innovating and implementing educational programs, products, and services for Colorado’s child welfare workforce. Kasey has devoted more than seventeen years of her life and career to serving the child welfare community in Colorado and beyond Additionally, Clark is a professionally trained Co-Active coach, a Certified Organization and Relationship Systems Coach, and a Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator.

Track A. Workshop 4: Coaching in Child Welfare Using a Trauma-Focused Lens

Using a social work perspective of person in environment, with a trauma focused lens, this workshop will discuss the impacts of vicarious trauma on a system, symptoms observed in direct line staff, and how to create relationships as well as coaching sessions which emphasize safety first. This will serve to improve critical thinking, a sense of well-being, and competence in front line staff served.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the signs and symptoms of vicarious trauma within an individual and a system and identify symptoms within ones' own system
Learn engagement strategies which offer safety within coaching relationships and coaching sessions
Understand the importance of modeling behaviors which promote safety within the work environment

Ryan Uber is currently a Peer Coach Specialist through the Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families in Pittsburgh, PA. Uber has served as a caseworker, peer coach and casework supervisor since 2011 and recently graduated with his Masters in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh in December, 2019. In his current role, he continues to create organizational change through peer coaching, educating and training new staff and supervisors. In addition, he is helping create a coaching curriculum which is integrating trauma informed practices and approaches.

Karen Rohaly currently supervises a team of peer coach specialists in the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Children, Youth and Families in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Rohaly worked as an intake caseworker for Children, Youth and Families from 2002-2007 while also earning a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh. She then worked as a Family Advocate, using the Family Group Decision Making model from 2007-2012. Rohaly then began her role as a peer coach in 2013 and became the supervisor of the team of peer coaches in 2015.

Track A. Workshop 5: Creating a Culture of Learning Through Coaching

The description for this workshop will be available soon.

Ray Weaver, MBA, PCC, brings a mature perspective and seasoned expertise to coaching. For more than 30 years, he has coached and mentored junior, mid-level, and senior leaders from a wide range of industries including aviation, medicine, communications, education, and public service. Weaver is a 30-year Air Force veteran who developed extraordinary awareness and appreciation for individual leadership potential. As a coach, Weaver connects with each client, building an atmosphere of trust, while helping them discover new perspectives and solutions to challenges and changing needs.

Track A. Workshop 6: TBD

The description for this workshop will be available soon.

Maria Escobar-Bordyn brings extensive experience coaching and advising executives and organizations in human performance, leadership and communication. A highly capable executive coach and facilitator, she understands the relationship between individual and organization success. Core to her methodology is Conversational Intelligence® (C-IQ), a neuroscience-based methodology that transforms leaders, teams and engagement. Escobar-Bordyn has worked with leaders and teams, and coached hundreds of executives in diverse industries and company sizes from mid-sized to Fortune 50 and 100 organizations as well as nonprofits in the medical, arts and social services arenas.

Track B. Workshop 1: The Value of Values Coaching

Ever wondered why something bugs you, but not your co-worker? Or maybe you’ve been excited about something that others aren’t enthusiastic about. This disconnect is related to something very personal = our values. Personal values drive our thoughts, choices, and give energy to our actions. This workshop explores the power of integrating values into a coaching conversation. Participants will clarify their core values, observe a demonstration of coaching with values in mind, and practice a values-driven coaching conversation.

Learning Objectives:

Understand how thoughts, choices and actions are anchored in values
Clarify personal values and recognize how they influence thoughts, choices and actions
Practice a values-focused coaching conversation to support insight, clarification and motivation

Christa Doty has worked in the field of child welfare for over 20 years. Doty’s work focuses on implementing system change and successful reform across the country through a lens of focusing on relationships and human potential. Doty was trained by the Coaching Training Institute and received their Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC). She also received her Professional Coaching Certification (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation. She has successfully coached trainers, caseworkers, supervisors, and managers in Florida, Wyoming, New York, Alabama and Colorado.

Brenda Lockwood, MA, CLC, PCC is a Senior Program Associate at the Butler Institute for Families. She spent over four years as a child protection social worker in Anoka County, Minnesota, and has been training and coaching in the child welfare field for more than 15 years. In her role at Butler, Brenda provides training, coaching, and technical assistance to State, County, and Tribal child welfare agencies and professionals around the country. Additionally, Brenda works on projects for the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute, and the Capacity Building Center for Tribes. Her experience includes acting as a reviewer for state and federal quality assurance reviews in Minnesota, managing a regional child welfare-training program, and assessing training and coaching needs for child welfare professionals. Brenda develops and delivers training curricula on a variety of topics for frontline workers, supervisors, and administrators. Brenda holds a professional certification in coaching, and is faculty for the Butler Institute for Families Academy of Professional Coaching. She has helped implement coaching in child welfare in several jurisdictions, including Alabama, Minnesota, New York State, New York City, Virginia, Miami/Dade Florida, and Ohio.

Track B. Workshop 2: Sustaining a Coaching Culture: Stories, Lessons Learned, and Strategies to Share

We train our human services professionals in coaching and they love it! How do we keep the excitement alive and continue to build coaching into our culture? In this workshop, leaders from two human services organizations will share strategies they designed to build their unique coaching cultures. We will also learn and practice some of the coaching sustainability activities as a group so participants can take away ideas they can implement immediately.

Learning Objectives:

Discuss the challenges and importance of building and sustaining a coaching culture, including how to create and sustain psychological safety
Learn about strategies leaders can implement to insure the sustainability of a coaching culture within their organizations
Demonstrate and practice some activities to reinforce a coach approach mindset and skill set as well as addressing real challenges and

Monica Y. McCall, Ph.D. is Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Creative Options, Inc., she is the Chief executive operator of a nonprofit community-based organization who supports over 300 individuals with intellectual disabilities in the Baltimore area. McCall has more than 30 years of progressively responsible experiences directing over 300 employees with revenues in excess of $15 million. McCall is Past President of the Board of Directors of the Maryland Association of Community Services. She is a Partner at Coach Approach Partners and serves as a consultant and legislative support with the Baltimore Urban League. She is a sought-after speaker and powerful story teller of her commitment to coaching and sustaining a coaching culture at Creative Options.

Beth Greenland is a Professional Certified Coach and a faculty member of the Leadership Coaching Program at Georgetown University. She is Managing Partner of Coach Approach Partners, bringing a coach approach to human services systems and organizations. Beth has offered leadership and coaching training and facilitated large and small group conversations for over 30 years. She is the mother of two sons, one with developmental disabilities who is supported by Penn Mar Human Services.

Gina Brelesky is the Learning and Development Manager at Penn Mar and has led the campaign to create a coaching culture in her organization. Gina has deep experience in training and development in human services and corporate settings. She is completing her coaching certification with the Neuroleadership Institute.

Alex Greenland has nine years of experience working with organizations in the non-profit, for-profit, and government sectors, specializing in organization development and change management, leadership development and coaching. He is a faculty member of the Emerging Leaders Program and an adjunct consultant at Maryland Non-Profits. He also has international experience, consulting with a technology service provider in Holland and entrepreneurs in Ghana. In his consulting work, Alex can act as a facilitator, listener, thought-partner, guide, or teacher who helps his clients navigate through their challenges. Alex uses current organization development methodology and neuroscience to further ensure that his engagements are focused on achieving measurable results that clients are excited to begin and proud to achieve. Alex has a master’s degree in Organization Development from American University. He also has a certificate in Organization Consulting and Change Leadership from Georgetown University. Alex is also an ICF certified coach through Presence-based Coaching.

Track B. Workshop 3: Implementing a Coaching Program

Are you looking to start a successful coaching program? This workshop will engage participants in the how to’s and lessons learned in implementing a coaching program in a public agency. Arapahoe County, Colorado has created and maintained a successful coaching program since 2013, and you can learn from us what to do and what not to do! Join us and walk through the laughter and tears of developing a program from the ground up. You will leave inspired with tangible ideas and resources to jump in and get started!

Learning Objectives:

Understand the steps and process in implementing a successful coaching program
Understand how to determine the agency needs and wants for a coaching program
Understand lessons learned from a successful Coaching Program and leave the workshop with tangible ideas and resources
Learn to work with management and build trust to create a service their agency wants to invest in
Understand how to evaluate a Coaching program and identify the success as well as any gaps in service

Stacia Schmied-Johnston has been with the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services for 21 years. Schmied-Johnston started her journey as an Intake Caseworker and stayed in that position for 8 years. She then advanced into the Child Welfare Trainer where she provided training both internally for the agency and externally for the community. She is a certified trainer for other curriculums including 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Emergenetics and Partnering for Safety. She also provided training to Counties during the implementation of Differential Response. The position evolved over time, into a Supervisor position over Staff Development. In 2013 the County implemented their coaching program, which Schmied-Johnston co-developed and still currently supervises.

Brittany Sievers started her career with Arapahoe County Department of Human Services, in Aurora, Colorado, in 2007. She has served in many roles, including an Adolescent Permanency Caseworker and Parenting Time Coach. Arapahoe County’s Coaching Program was implemented in 2013, and she was one of the first coaches to start the program. Currently, she holds the position of Child Welfare Trainer and continues to coach staff whenever possible. She is honored to be a part of the Training & Coaching Team.

Danielle Waagmeester has been with Arapahoe County Department of Human Services for 8 years. She began her career in Child Welfare as Permanency Worker for 4 years before joining the coaching program in 2015 as a Professional Development Coach. She is a certified trainer for other curriculums including 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Partnering for Safety.

Track B. Workshop 4: Building the Competence and Confidence of Supervision Coaches through Safety-Focused Coaching Collaboratives

This workshop will detail a series of coaching collaboratives which focus on a critical safety decision making/practice area and a coaching practice challenge. Real cases are used as the focus of the safety practice work and coaching practice activities complement the day-long collaborative. A real collaborative will be used to demo the approach with opportunities for participants to have hands-on experience.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the key practice improvement objectives behind the creation of the Supervision Coach role
Explore new approaches to coaching in child welfare which can be applied and adapted by participants
Learn from colleagues who have applied a coaching model to support improved and consistent case practice on safety in child protection cases
Practice coaching skills in a case application exercise
Practice applying the coaching process in a case application exercise

Theresa Costello, MA, serves as ACTION’s Chief Executive Officer. She has over 36years of experience in child welfare and has earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Spanish and a master’s degree in Public Administration. She provides oversight of all ACTION projects and contracts. Costello routinely collaborates with Federal agencies, including the Administration for Children and Families, and has served as a contributor and/or editor of numerous publications and documents. Most recently, Costello provided guidance and direction on the development of the Protective Capacities and Protective Factors: Common Ground for Protecting Children and Strengthening Families infographic and related materials.

Layli Milden is a Quality Coaching Manager in the Office of Quality Improvement with the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS). Milden has 16 years of experience working in child welfare; including seven years educating case managers, investigators, and supervisors on child safety decision-making, family engagement, and applying DCS policy and procedure to case practice. Milden has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of West Georgia and a master’s degree in Women’s Studies from the University of Arizona (Go Cats!).

Jennifer Sismondo, M.S.W., is a Quality Coaching Manager who has been with the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) for over 12 years. Jennifer develops leaders in Field Operations by enhancing their understanding related to the Department’s safety assessment framework, high-quality family engagement, and proactive clinical supervision. Jennifer assisted in the development and implementation of policy and procedure related to the enhancement of DCS’ safety assessment and case management framework. Jennifer was awarded Exceptional Supervisor Award for Investigations Unit Supervisor. Jennifer holds a Master of Arts in Social Work from Arizona State University.

Track B. Workshop 5: Let’s Go There! Using the Coaching Container to Unpack Racial and Cognitive Bias

The tragic, senseless, and all-too-common loss of Black lives has reached a crescendo and we find ourselves in a global moment of awakening. For some, this moment is long overdue and welcome. For others, this moment brings pain, discomfort, and fear. How can coaching in human services provide space for the honest conversations that need to occur so that our agencies can dismantle obstacles to equity and inclusion in the services they provide? This workshop will provide participants with a framework for normalizing bias of all types, lowering the defensiveness that many feel when the issue of “bias” comes up. This workshop will also introduce tools and strategies that coaches can use before, during, and after the coaching session that support making the coaching container a safer place for coachees to get vulnerable and honest about difficult topics.

Trudi Frazel has extensive experience as a child welfare trainer, coach, and curriculum developer, specializing in Safety Organized Practice (SOP), Structured Decision Making (SDM), and Equity & Inclusion using an intersectional lens. Frazel’s supervisory experience in public child welfare includes concurrent management of multiple programs with diverse goals and coaching of child welfare leaders and staff. She has a passion for utilizing evidence, research, and data analysis to improve outcomes for children and families.

Track B. Workshop 6: TBD

The description for this workshop will be available soon.

Track C. Workshop 1: The Body Holds Wisdom, Just Ask

The mind-body connection is not a new concept. Ancient civilizations recognized that the body holds wisdom that is different from our minds. How do we take this ancient wisdom and apply it to coaching in impactful ways? Embodiment is the coaching skills that helps us do this. In this workshop you will learn tips and tricks for improving your use of this vital skill. Like everything in coaching, the work begins with ourselves, so we will start by exploring ways to make embodiment part of your practice before learning how to make the somatic experience a part of your coaching sessions. Equipped with this new knowledge, you will be able to help your coachees tap into new, previously unknown, wisdom to support them in their growth.

Amy (Rohm) Hahn, MSW, is the Practice Advancement Manager at the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect. Hahn is responsible for developing learning and growth opportunities for caseworkers and others working in the child welfare system. Hahn also serves as a Co-Active Trained leadership coach. Hahn received her BA in social work from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, and an MSW from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. Hahn has spent more than a decade in child welfare helping cultivate improvements to the systems that serve children and families in crisis.

Track C. Workshop 2: Supporting Implementation by Incorporating Learner Feedback into Ongoing Learning Opportunities

This workshop will offer effective strategies coaches can use to both collect and utilize learner feedback to support the learner’s practical application of the Coach Approach in their day to day workplace. Participants in this workshop will take part in an interactive activity designed to address a common barrier to implementation as shared by the learners, along with a discussion to identify successes and barriers to implementation within their respective programs.

Learning Objectives:

Identify opportunities to obtain Learner feedback for ongoing implementation support strategies
Review how using and incorporating Learner feedback, to enhance coaching materials and workshops, can support the practical application of coaching
Discuss how the utilization of Learner feedback can increase participation in workshops and raise the commitment level to using the Coach Approach

Mildred Pittre, LMSW, has over 20 years of child welfare experience and is committed to serving the children and families of New York. In her current role as Deputy Director of Supervision and Coaching at the Administration for Children’s Services. Pittre is dedicated to implementing the Coach Approach and Professional Development

Rohna Harrison, LMSW, earned her degree from Yeshiva University: Wurzwieler Graduate School of Social Work. Ms. Harrison has a passion for child welfare and is currently a Deputy Director of Supervision and Coaching at the NYC Administration of Children’s Services Workforce Institute. She leads the recruitment efforts to obtain learners into the Advanced Coaching Program and works with the team to implement coaching throughout NYC child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Kristin Mayes, BA, earned her degree from Rutgers University and is deeply committed to child welfare and professional development. She’s the Deputy Director of Supervision and Coaching at NYC Administration for Children’s Services Workforce Institute and assists in leading the implementation of coaching throughout NYC Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice systems.

Track C. Workshop 3: A Person-Centered Coaching Leadership Approach: Blossom Internally and Externally

If you want to “blossom” externally and internally come and check out what Person-Centered Coaching is all about. Participants will be introduced to the Bay Area Academy’s 5-step Coaching framework and will have the opportunity to engage in an interactive leadership activity that will support their introspective journey to discover the leader inside of every Coach. Also, participants will learn how the Core Practice Model (CPM) Leadership Practice Behaviors can be demonstrated through a Trio Coaching Approach.

Learning Objectives:

Acquire practical tools they can use to support transfer of learning in their roles as leaders, trainers and coaches using a 5-phase coaching framework and communicative process
Identify at least one next step to apply what they have learned in their professional role
Value the role of Person-Center Coaching in supporting workforce satisfaction and retention, including contributing to the cultivation of a positive and healthy working environment

Gloria King, M.S. is the former Executive Director of Black Adoption Placement and Research Center. In 2015 she joined BAA as a Workforce Development Specialist and currently works as their Resident Trainer and Coach. Additionally, she created BAA’s Coaching Service Delivery Program and has developed specialty curriculum - “Advanced Art of Coaching” and “Cultural Humility and the Art of Coaching” for BAA.

Ventura Cortez is the Workforce Development Specialist working with Marin, Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties. Cortez is also the Bay Area Region CANS lead, and previously worked with the Regional Project and Alameda County as well as with the San Mateo Training Project (SMTP) as the Training Coordinator and the Foster Youth Advisory Board, lifting up the youth’s voice in training.

Track C. Workshop 4: Creating Trust: One Relationship at a Time

Trust is the basis for strong, durable, lasting relationships - both at work and in our personal lives. This session uses neuroscience and research-based knowledge to provide an experience of what you can do to create a trust-based relationship. Come learn to create deeper, more meaningful conversations based on trust.

Learning Objectives:

Create awareness around what strong trust and lack of trust feels like
Understand the physiology of trust - our bodies chemical reactions
Learn what each person can do to extend and create opportunities to build trust

Dawn M. Karner is an Advisory Board Member for the UC Davis Continuing & Professional Education – Coaching for Life and Work program. She has over 25 years of experience in various leadership roles. She is Master Certified in Emotional Intelligence - 6 Seconds Emotional Intelligence Network, PCC - ICF, BCC - Center for Credentialing and Education. She has had speaking engagements on coaching-related issues at SAHRA 2019 and National Coaching Conference 2017.

Track C. Workshop 5: Leading Fearlessly

Awareness precedes choice, choice precedes change. This program will help you increase your self-leadership which is foundational to being a great leader.

Learning Objectives:

Discover how to masterfully manage yourself- your mindset, your habits, your actions- to achieve anything you want in the workplace
Identify and adapt to diverse leadership styles and situations
Learn a model to lead from a place that is true to your core beliefs, allowing you to harness your personal values, passion, and energy to get more meaningful results
Identify own mindset preferences and tools to shift mindset when necessary
Have a framework of agility practices to use
Identify own values and beliefs to lead more authentically

Tracy J. Preciado is a fearless motivator who believes every individual has a unique voice that needs to be heard. From early on Preciado has been a powerful force that holds nothing back. Preciado has an uncanny ability to see possibilities within people and roles that others previously thought impossible. She helps you uncover an entirely new way of approaching your world with a mindset of fearlessness and a bias for action. Preciado has a Master's Degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, is credentialed by ICF as a Professional Certified Coach, and has over a decade of experience speaking, training, and facilitating tough dialogue.

Track C. Workshop 6: Coaching Outside the Box of Problems

Oftentimes, when we begin coaching, the learners want to focus on a problem or issue, what can be referred to as “the box of problems”. The real issues to be coached, however, are often the underlying values and beliefs that drive worker’s behavior. Effective coaching focuses on the worker’s thinking behind their actions, not the box of problems. This workshop comes with a combination of self-assessments, large group discussions, powerful questions and breakout room activities to help participants discover how to maximize worker skills and to understand how the coach’s own values and beliefs can get in the way of effective communication.

Peggi Cooney, M.S.W., is a Safety Organized Practice Coach and Trainer for the Northern Academy, UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education | Human Services. She has 15 years of experience in Social Services with expertise in child welfare, adult services and supervision in Colusa County. In that same county, Cooney developed the Independent Living Program and was part of the team that developed and implemented the Multiple Discipline Interview Team. During her tenure in Colusa County, she was also an adjunct faculty member, where she taught Psychology for Woodland Community College.

Track D. Workshop 1: Coaching for High Fidelity: We Did It and So Can You!

Wondering how to implement a coaching position or program where you work? You can do it and we'll show you how. In this course, we will talk about the merits and drawbacks of various coaching models and reflect on our 10 years of coaching practice within our agency. While we coach specific for hi-fidelity Wraparound, you can use these same principles in your agency and for your specific practice – with the goal of increasing effectiveness and improving outcomes for children and families, all while providing significant opportunities for professional growth and development.

Learning Objectives:

Learn about a variety of coaching models one agency has implemented
Reflect on what kind of coaching models could work in their organization

Tiffany Olito is a High-Fidelity Wraparound Coach at Stanford Sierra Youth & Families. Olito has been with the organization since 2006 and in the coaching position since 2010. As a Wraparound Coach she works together with the management team to monitor adherence to the High-Fidelity model and mentors case managers, clinicians, family partners, youth advocates and skills trainers, working with them to learn the High-Fidelity standards, role expectations and skill acquisition. In addition to coaching, Olito has been a Wraparound Facilitator, TBS Analyst and certified trainer from Cornell University in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention.

Tonya Bauhofer is the Director of Wraparound Programs at Stanford Sierra Youth & Families. Bauhofer has been with the organization since 2017 and supported a number of programs in her tenure including TBS, Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention, Juvenile Justice Intervention Services, School Based Services, and a start-up contract with Napa County mental health. Prior to joining our organization, Bauhofer served as an Executive Director for six years and has a wide breadth of leadership experience with community-based mental health programs.

Track D. Workshop 2: Coaching with Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)

If you are a manager, leader, parent, teacher or trainer and want to assist people perform at their best this experiential workshop is for you. Participants will be guided through how to use the tools and approaches of NLP in coaching and mentoring. They will also discover how to help people overcome limitations, produce better results, increase focus, and reach their professional and personal goals.

Learning Objectives:

Introduce the Foundations of Coaching with NLP
Describe an NLP Coaching Conversation and Framework
Review the NLP SCORE Model
Practice Coaching with NLP
Develop an NLP Coaching Action Plan

Laurie Cozart, MCC, MCNLP, is the CEO and co-founder of Brain Squared Solutions Inc. Cozart’s most sought-after speaking and training topics address Executive and Neuro Leadership, Organizational Development, Employee Engagement, Emotional Intelligence, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills, Conversational Intelligence, and Executive Presence. Cozart is an accomplished TV and Film actor and brings that unique awareness to leadership; helping public and corporate professionals prepare for leadership, career advancement and public appearances. Cozart has appeared in over 200 National TV and Web Commercials and has been featured host on Shop NBC. She has developed and facilitated training programs for major universities, corporations and large national conferences.

Track D. Workshop 3: Adaptive Leadership Coaching: Leadership to Field and Back Again

Adapting and promoting change are the underpinnings of our work in Health and Human Services and related fields. We constantly strive to build upon what has worked in the past and simultaneously adapt our practice to the current environment. This includes the needs of staff, families, and children in front of us, as well as the demands of the larger community and system for promoting safety, permanence, and well-being. This workshop will explore ways to use the framework of Adaptive Leadership intertwined with Strengths and Child and Family Centered practice both in the field and in consultation, with examples from coaching at all levels. Participants will be encouraged time to design ways that they use formal and informal coaching approaches to build a better future at all levels of our interventions.

Tricia Mosher has worked in the fields of Child Welfare, Public Service and Leadership for over thirty years. Mosher began her consulting business, Tricia Mosher Consulting, Inc., fifteen years ago and in that time has worked nationally with a focus on organizational and professional development. With a Leadership and Practice focus on Strengths Based Interventions, Mosher uses diverse tools and Evidence-Based and Informed Practices to assist individuals and teams achieve optimum performance. Mosher has been a leader in work on teaming and collaboration across the nation, willing and eager to work both at the field level to coach to direct practice and working as a coach and mentor to leaders in Child Welfare and Public Service across the nation.

Sonia Lynch-Dillard is currently the CEO for Hope Connection Unlimited, LLC. and works nationally as an independent Coach and Consultant. Sonia is a graduate of the University of Florida (B.S. Psychology) and University of South Florida (M.A. Sociology). She is also a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator and Dependency Mediator. Sonia has 23 years of experience in Child Welfare, Foster Care, Adoption, Licensing/Relicensing, Quality Management Specialist, Training, and Family Team Conference facilitation, Coaching and training areas include but are not limited to: New Worker Training, Family Teaming and Engagement Facilitation and Training, Caregiver training including MAPP and Positive Parenting, Motivational Interviewing, and Supervisory and Leadership training and field coaching. She has a deep passion and commitment to helping others by walking along side families, communities and professionals as they grow in their awareness of self and strengthen both their internal and external knowledge, skills and abilities.

Track D. Workshop 4: Coaching Youth: The Practice & Potential

This workshop will cover the theory and practice of using coaching methodologies to help adolescent youth develop critical life skills, social and emotional competencies. It will include a survey of current research on the efficacy of coaching in fostering social and emotional skills for middle to late adolescent youth, conversation about how coaching can be used to meet the challenges of socially isolated and emotionally destabilized youth, and a nuts and bolts review of Colorado’s Pathways to Success Program, an emergent model that uses coaching to support youth transitioning out of foster care. Presenters will use a combination of lecture, facilitated conversation, and Q&A to keep the workshop lively and interactive. Participants will walk away with practical insights into how coaching methodologies can be used to address socialization gaps and promote positive outcomes for youth.

Working with foster care, education and non-profit corporations, Jack Witt trains and deploys coaching teams to help improve the future of at-risk youth. He has a master’s degree in Strategic Leadership and carries certifications in psychometric assessments geared to social/emotional intelligence and is an Associate Academic Life Coach.

Track D. Workshop 5: Coaching by Supervisors to Support Child Safety-Focused Practice

To protect children and intervene with families, we must have a strong, competent, and healthy workforce. Supervisory coaching is a core strategy for supporting a competent workforce so that staff in turn can empower families to keep their children safe. This workshop guides participants through coaching methods focused on safety assessment, safety decision-making, safety planning, and safety management. This workshop will demonstrate and have participants apply a coach approach targeting child safety focused practice.

This workshop will introduce participants to a federally developed and tested child welfare supervisory coaching model and help them apply coaching skills and steps in the context of safety related scenarios focused on strengthening staff competence in safety assessment, safety decision-making, safety planning, and safety management. Most supervisors realize that they already have the skills needed to implement a coach approach in supervision, but they may not always purposely apply these skills in the context of crisis driven child protection systems. Coaching skills include: (1) presence; (2) listening; (3) reflecting/clarifying; (4) questioning; (5) feedback; and (6) accountability. These skills may be used any time, e.g., when a worker calls in from a family’s home; before a worker goes out to meet a family for the first time; and when a worker is analyzing information gathered to consider which in-home safety services could potentially manage identified safety threats. Coaching skills can also be used in the context of formal supervisory coaching sessions focused on the professional development of staff: (1) center together; (2) clarify the focus; (3) identify the goal; (4) develop an action plan; (5) gain commitment; and (6) assess progress.

Presenters have extensive experience implementing coaching in child protection, and in particular related to strengthening the competence of staff charged to implement safety focused practice. The session will begin with a brief overview of coaching skills and steps. Next, supervisory coaching sessions with workers will be demonstrated via a short video –engaging participants to identify skills and steps they observe. Finally, participants will team with a partner to practice safety focused coaching using the scenarios presented in the videos. Participants will receive copies of job aids related to coaching skills and steps and a set of handouts about coaching and worker retention in child welfare.

Professor Diane DePanfilis has extensive experience with developing, implementing, and evaluating coaching by supervisors as well as expertise in safety focused practice with children and families. She currently leads a 28-member coaching team installed in all five boroughs of New York City to build the capacity of child protection supervisors to apply coaching in the context of supervision.

Theresa Costello, is the CEO of ACTION for Child Protection, a non-profit organization committed to working with public child welfare agencies to improve the quality of decision-making and case practice. Costello has 35 years of experience in the field of child welfare and is a nationally recognized expert on safety and risk decision-making approaches for Child Protective Services. Costello currently provides technical assistance and training to numerous states and tribes as well as to International audiences, on state-of-the art child welfare topics such as differential response, safety-focused intervention, workload management, evidence-based practice and managing toward successful child welfare outcomes.

Carolyn Rohe, LMSW earned an MSW from the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Work. Rohe has a passion for child welfare and her career has focused on helping to strengthen families. Rohe currently works at the NYC Administration of Children’s Services Workforce Institute as the Senior Director of Supervision and Coaching. She leads a team that supports implementation of coaching throughout NYC child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Track D. Workshop 6: TBD

The description for this workshop will be available soon.

Jacob Nordby is the author of The Divine Arsonist: A Tale of Awakening, and Blessed Are the Weird – A Manifesto for Creatives. His words have been translated into many languages and shared around the world. He leads the Creative UnBootcamp course for students around the world, and offers transformational group retreats and individual creative guidance sessions. His third book, The Creative Cure, is set to release by Hierophant Publishing in 2020 with a forward by Julia Cameron.

Track E. Workshop 1: Cultivating Coaches: A Comprehensive Approach to Mastering the Craft

Effective coaching takes time, reflection, and commitment. In this workshop, participants will learn about the comprehensive approach the Alabama Consortium on Higher Education and Butler Institute for Families has utilized to support the cultivation of a well-trained pool of coaches, to support their IV-E Stipend students. Each element of the approach will be described and explored. Participants will hear from coaches who have completed the 6-month training process; how it supported their ability to comprehend the nuances of coaching, deepened their knowledge of the skills, and integrate it into their support of students.

Learning Objectives:

Understand Alabama Higher Education Consortium’s comprehensive approach to training coaches
Understand the investment needed to have individuals incorporate and provide high quality coaching
Highlight project outcome expectations, unknowns, and next steps

Kristy Holt, MSW, oversees the Title IV-E stipend program for the 16 social work programs within Alabama, provides ongoing training in child welfare, educates students for a career in child welfare. Kristy spent 21 years employed in public child welfare where she worked in the areas of foster care, child protection and crisis intervention, resource development, and staff training.

Christa Doty, MSW, LCSW, CPCC, PCC, has worked in the field of child welfare for over 20 years. Doty’s work focuses on implementing system change and successful reform across the country through a lens of focusing on relationships and human potential. Doty was trained by the Coaching Training Institute and received their Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC). She also received her Professional Coaching Certification (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation. She has successfully coached trainers, caseworkers, supervisors, and managers in Florida, Wyoming, New York, Alabama and Colorado.

Brenda H. Lockwood, MA, CLC, PCC is a Senior Program Associate at the Butler Institute for Families. She spent over four years as a child protection social worker in Anoka County, Minnesota, and has been training and coaching in the child welfare field for more than 15 years. In her role at Butler, Brenda provides training, coaching, and technical assistance to State, County, and Tribal child welfare agencies and professionals around the country. Additionally, Brenda works on projects for the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute, and the Capacity Building Center for Tribes. Her experience includes acting as a reviewer for state and federal quality assurance reviews in Minnesota, managing a regional child welfare-training program, and assessing training and coaching needs for child welfare professionals. Brenda develops and delivers training curricula on a variety of topics for frontline workers, supervisors, and administrators. Brenda holds a professional certification in coaching, and is faculty for the Butler Institute for Families Academy of Professional Coaching. She has helped implement coaching in child welfare in several jurisdictions, including Alabama, Minnesota, New York State, New York City, Virginia, Miami/Dade Florida, and Ohio.

Track E. Workshop 2: The Coach Approach Model: A Statewide Implementation that is Changing the Conversation

Coaching can focus on specific skills and abilities to reach targeted outcomes, enhance performance, and develop more profound levels of critical thinking. Coaching has the potential to be utilized in all types of work situations and at all levels of the organization system. This 1-hour session will review how the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is working to implement this Model, as well as have the audience practice critical elements of the Coach Approach.

Learning Objectives:

Understand why the Commonwealth of PA and the PA Care Partnership are investing in this form of system change to build adaptive leadership skills
Align System of Care values to adaptive leadership and relationship building
Practice and understand the coach approach model of communication
Detail how the Coach Approach to Adaptive Leadership is being evaluated to provide education/feedback on how systems, youth, and family can improve their ability to communicate

Mark B. Durgin, Project Director, for the PA Care Partnership, manages the statewide System of Care Grant awarded to the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS). Durgin has over 20 years of professional experience in Pennsylvania’s child-serving systems, working with youth and families at a county level. While working with the PA Care Partnership, Mark has worked to improve the communication and collaboration at the state and local level, as well as how various SAMHSA grants work together. Durgin leads a collaborative effort of system partners and family members being trained in delivering the Coach Approach to Adaptive Leadership around the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Dwaneen Hicks currently serves as the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Hicks is responsible for collaborating with and advising the Deputy Secretary on policies, initiatives, and stakeholder concerns, providing consultation and collaboration with stakeholders of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s behavioral health system. As n Air Force Veteran, Hicks comes from a background of public service. She has been able to see the transformative possibilities of assisting people in a time of need who may just need help to turn a corner. Empowering people is Hicks’s passion, and she is embarking on this journey to continue and expand that passion.

Track E. Workshop 3: Coaching the Reluctant Worker

This workshop will focus on one of the hottest conversations among supervisors and leaders: “How do we help change the reluctant (difficult) worker?” Nearly every supervisor or other leader has struggled with this situation. This topic is ripe with emotions and frustration, which can lead us astray and away from meaningful strategies and tools to actually create or inspire the change we seek. Attend this workshop to learn and share ideas and tools for working with the reluctant worker.

Nancy Hafer is an academic coordinator for the Northern Academy at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education, Human Services. In this role, Hafer provides expertise in developing and implementing programs that support children and adolescents, and she works with multiple sectors to build community partnerships. She has an extensive background in child and adolescent development with expertise in resiliency. Her most recent collaborative publication, The Coaching Toolkit for Child Welfare Practice, is intended to inform policymakers and guide agencies in instituting coaching within child welfare services. This toolkit aims to build a broad-based constituency to make investments in quality child welfare services in order to better serve children and families.

Alison Book is an academic coordinator with the Northern Academy at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education, Human Services. As a child welfare practice consultant, she provides training, consultation, implementation support and technical assistance to counties, as well as developing curricula, tools and strategies to support applied learning and best practice in social work. Her areas of specialization include Safety Organized Practice, the Integrated Core Practice Model/California Child Welfare Core Practice Model, Child and Family Teaming, Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS), and child welfare supervision and leadership. Book previously worked in child welfare services in two California counties as a social worker, supervisor and program manager.

Track E. Workshop 4: Solve the Right Problem – Integrating Design Thinking Principles in Coaching

Get to the heart of problems and challenges fast. Borrowing a simple yet powerful tool from the innovative methods of design thinking, create problem statements to get “uncomfortably close” to where clients, direct reports, or you need to focus time and effort. Get immediate insights into how to identify the right problem(s). Multiple examples show how to use this tool and participants partner to practice using it.

Learning Objectives:

Relate to the value of the problem statement tool by sharing examples of what can happen if the right problem is not identified
Experiment using the tool by applying it to themselves. The experimenting continues with partners collaborating to deepen each other’s understanding of how to use it
Identify possible applications of the tool within the Health and Human Services sector and within their roles in that sector
Imagine personal use of the tool and identify a specific action they can take to do so

Janet Mahrle’s Masters in Organizational Learning and Effectiveness includes an emphasis in leadership and design thinking. She holds two coaching certifications, including Conversational Intelligence® Coach. She serves UCDCPE as an executive coach, a mentor coach, and as an instructor. Her private coaching clients include senior leaders in public health and non-profit healthcare systems.

Brad Mahaney is a Strategic Consultant at a Global S&P 500 Investment Management Company and a Designer. He began his career in accounting and financial reporting and spent 23 years working within the Project Management field. He also utilizes design thinking in his consulting role. Mahaney is an executive coach, speaker, facilitator and trainer.

Candice Morgan is a coach, designer, and business manager for a software development company. She has also worked with VSP’s Innovation Lab, The Shop. Her master's degree emphasizing leadership and design thinking adds to her ability to help people see new possibilities to solve problems through coaching and design.

Track E. Workshop 5: Meditation Sampler

Is meditation really for me? Come and learn the benefits of meditation and explore 4 different types of meditation practices to identify what works for you. Regardless of what you choose, each of them essentially has the same goal- encourage you to stay in the present and let go of all the extra “stuff” that cluttering up your mind! Participants will have the opportunity to try out each practice.

Ebony Chambers has over 15 years of experience working with issues of social justice, equity, education, mental health and diversity. Chambers is a speaker, educator, and workshop leader who has worked extensively throughout the United States and has served nationally and locally as an advocate and activist for access to care and the elimination of the stigma of mental illness for underserved and unserved communities. Chambers has provided extensive training in cultural competence and culturally responsive practices to schools, universities, social service and mental health agencies. Chambers is the recipient of the 2017 Sacramento Business Journal’s 40 under 40 award for her outstanding professional accomplishments and community involvement.

Track E. Workshop 6: Make Friends with Your MIND - The Core of WHY We Get Upset & HOW to Find Peace of MIND

The description for this workshop will be available soon.

Staci Danford is an educational neuroscientist the founder and CEO of THE Gratitude Business, studying the impact of gratitude on the brain. After spending more than two decades in the field of education, Danford received a Master’s degree in Mind, Brain and Education, culminating in a Capstone Research Study studying how gratitude affects long-term happiness. Danford has found that that learning how to incorporate Scientific Gratitude into your daily practice improves productivity, health, and relationships. Danford’s goal is to help people of all ages discover the many ways gratitude can improve their lives and wellbeing.