Gaelin Elmore
Be the Difference: Your Commitment to Belonging Changes Lives
Belonging is a fundamental and innate need for every single person to grow, develop, learn, attach, and thrive – mentally, socially, emotionally, and physically. Belonging influences how we experience relationships, interact with the world and develop our gifts and talents. Due to life circumstances, youth navigating the child welfare system experience a deficit, or a gap, in their belonging experience. Studies show that the top three sources of belonging for all youth are family, school, and community. Statistically, all three of the top sources are virtually guaranteed to change as a child navigates the system.
In this keynote, Gaelin Elmore will discuss and explore the science (both neuro and psychological) behind belonging, the unique gap that youth in child welfare face, and why it is important for us to choose belonging in every part of our work. Gaelin offers his unique lived experience and describes how his journey of self-love, self-discovery and belonging has helped him overcome the adversity he experienced in his childhood. He aims to inspire, encourage, and equip others, to erase the belonging gap plaguing youth with adverse childhood experiences.
Gaelin Elmore
A dynamic and nationally sought-after keynote speaker, trainer, and thought leader, Gaelin Elmore works with organizations and people who want to help children overcome trauma and unleash their potential through the implementation of belonging. His passion and energy for his work stems from his heart for justice and his own lived experience. Elmore spent most of his life, and his entire childhood, on a journey to find the places in which he belonged. That journey led him to the National Football League and now to stages and board rooms all across the country, aiming to inspire, encourage, and equip others to think differently about their work and its long-term impact on others. He currently lives in Eden Prairie, MN, where he gets to experience the purest form of belonging as a husband to his wife, Micaela, and dad to their two daughters, Laniah and Tatum.
Trinity Wallace-Ellis
You were born for this!
In Trinity Wallace-Ellis's keynote, she will empower, inspire, and evoke the hearts and minds of foster youth champions to re-connect with their Why. In a world that often overlooks the voices of our most vulnerable, Trinity Wallace-Ellis is determined to illuminate the path toward a brighter future. Her life's work has been devoted to breaking generational cycles that plagued her family with addiction, abuse, system involvement and system dependence. She’s been equally committed to uplifting and empowering our most vulnerable (including foster youth, incarcerated youth, pregnant and parenting teens) while also inspiring the tireless champions who walk alongside them: The parents, caregivers, teachers and child welfare professionals who shape their journeys. With every speech, she challenges societal norms, dismantling barriers and beckoning the collective consciousness to embrace the transformative power of resilience.
Trinity Wallace-Ellis
For more than two decades, Wallace-Ellis has immersed herself in the world of foster care, delving into the intricate complexities of a system that can both break spirits and build unyielding strength. She not only experienced the foster care system firsthand from the tender age of five, but also ventured beyond its confines to provide care, support and unwavering advocacy for her own family members.
Wallace-Ellis’s remarkable journey, marked by resilience and unyielding determination, has been a testament to the human spirit's indomitable power. It is a journey that has led her to this opportunity to work with us, offering solace, guidance, and unwavering hope to foster youth, social workers, foster parents, teachers, lawyers, judges, and the fierce advocates who champion the rights of our most vulnerable.
Opening Remarks
Kim Johnson is the director of the California Department of Social Services (CDSS). In this role, she leads a team of more than 5,000 employees serving more than six million Californians in the largest Department in the California Health and Human Services Agency. Before being appointed to the director position by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2019, she had worked with CDSS as deputy director of the CDSS Family Engagement and Empowerment Division, and as branch chief for CalWORKs and Child Care and Refugee programs.
Meet the Institute MCs
Ebony Chambers is the Family & Youth Partnership chief officer at Stanford Sierra Youth and Families and has over 18 years of experience working with issues of social justice, equity, child welfare, mental health and diversity. She brings both professional and personal life experiences to her work and provides the oversight of advocacy and support to youth and families in Northern California. In addition, she is a speaker, educator and workshop leader who has worked extensively throughout the U.S. 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.
Cheryl Treadwell has more than 23 years of experience at the California Department of Social Services’ Children and Family Services Division, working on several programs and initiatives that impact providers, resource families, foster youth and tribes. In April 2021, she was appointed as chief of the Safety, Prevention and Early Intervention Branch, which is organized to focus state efforts on the front end of the child welfare system. In this role, she provides leadership to implementing the Family First Prevention Services Act. Her education spans both the social work and legal field along with her extensive experience working in the community and in human services for more than 30 years.
More speakers to be announced soon!
Enroll Online
Registration is now open for the June 12-14 Institute!