Agenda

1:15 - 2:00 pm: Keynote Speaker - Matt Runnalls (Palmetto Ballroom)

Building Healthier Hearts & Lighter Minds

Matt Runnalls is an international speaker, advocate, author, and dedicated mental health advocate on a mission to foster awareness, acceptance, education, and connection within communities to combat the global stigma surrounding behavioral health and suicide. He'll be sharing his journey from a life of grief, mental illness, and homelessness, to coming out the other side to thrive and excel.  He'll share approaches for having challenging conversations in ways that grow respect and trust, strategies for dancing along our own continuum with 1440 minutes in a day, and will address the fundamentals of the human condition and how we can show up in the world in all of our magic.

2:15 - 3:30 pm: Workshop Session 1 (Choice of 4)

• Workshop 1A (Palmetto Ballroom)

Honoring the Roots of Maryland’s Peer Movement

Presented by Mike Finkle, Founder and former Executive Director of On Our Own of Maryland, Inc.; Bunky Sterling, Executive Director of Lower Shore Friends, Inc; and Michelle Livshin, Director of Network & Peer Empowerment at OOOMD

Explore the evolution of Maryland’s Peer Movement, from the creation of the first mental health peer support, self-help program, On Our Own, Inc. in  Baltimore, to the establishment of the statewide peer advocacy, training and support organization, On Our Own of Maryland.  Key milestones will be highlighted, including the development of the first statewide mental health peer conference, the coordination of the first National Alternatives Conference;  the development of a network of local peer support programs across the state; successful advocacy efforts on patients’ rights at the local, state and national levels; creation of unique, peer-led, statewide projects; and advocacy efforts which have impacted the lives of behavioral health peers throughout the state.  Participants will leave this workshop understanding the critical role advocacy has played in our journey to expand the role of peers and maintain the integrity of the peer support movement. We will discuss strategies for continued growth and evolution, even in times of change and uncertainty.  

• Workshop 2A (Cayman)

Cultivating Community and Connections with Heroic Gardens

Presented by Collie Turner, Founder, Heroic Gardens

Collie Turner, Founder of Heroic Gardens (a PA-based volunteer organization that connects Veterans to the healing benefits of gardening), will present the synergy between community and personal wellness. Through interactive activities and discussion, participants will experience  firsthand the successful strategies employed by Heroic Gardens to foster meaningful connections and enhance wellbeing through nature-based experiences. This workshop will contain activities that include the use of essential oils.

• Workshop 3A (Dominica)

Introduction to Nature Therapy: Connecting with Nature to Support Health and Wellness

Presented by Phil Hosmer, Executive Director, Nature Worx, Inc.

Learn simple, evidence-based ways to mindfully connect with nature to enhance your mood, reduce stress and anxiety and lower blood pressure and heart rate. Shift from doing mode to being mode, from thinking mode to sensing mode, seeing nature as your ally in this process. You don't need to travel to a park to experience deep nature connection. Even sitting by a window or in your backyard, you can intentionally get in touch with nature and become fully present in the moment, giving your mind a break from the stresses and challenges of life. The presentation will include supporting research and experiential activities revealing the myriad benefits of nature immersion and mindfulness.

• Workshop 4A (Eleuthera)

Legacy Blooms Here 

Presented by Kait Simon, Director of Peer Training Services at OOOMD; Laurie Galloway, Executive Director at On Our Own of Carroll County, Inc; and Vanessa Holloway Truxon, Parent Engagement Coordinator and The Keeper of the Garden at Minary’s Dream Alliance

Connect with Kait Simon (OOOMD), Laurie Galloway (OOOMD), and Vanessa Holloway Truxon (Minary’s Dream Alliance) as they consider intergenerational trauma and strategies to break these cycles, while fostering a legacy of wellness and true self-care. Drawing from personal and professional experiences, they will share practical tools to interrupt patterns of trauma and promote healing. Together, we will explore cultivating a legacy of wellness, empowering growth within families and communities.

• Workshop 5A (Aruba)

Advocating for Choice: Growing Voices for Disability Rights

Presented by Courtney Bergan and Luciene Parsley, Disability Rights Maryland

Join Courtney Bergan and Luciene Parsley, attorneys at Disability Rights Maryland (DRM), to learn about the work DRM does to protect the rights of people with disabilities in hospitals, institutions, and the community, and how we advocate for change.  We will discuss recent setbacks in the rights of Marylanders with mental health disabilities and discuss advocacy strategies you can use to ensure your choices are respected, your voice is heard, and how to get involved in community advocacy to oppose coercion and advance choice. 

4:00 - 5:15 pm: Workshop Session 2 (Choice of 4)

• Workshop 1B (Palmetto Ballroom)

Reaching for the Sun: Growth, Self-Worth, and Values Alignment

Presented by Matt Runnalls, Founder of Mindfull Aus

Matt Runnalls, our first conference keynote and internationally renowned mental health advocate, will share strategies for recognizing and celebrating our strengths and living a full, healthy life that aligns with our values. By identifying our 5 most important core values, participants will practice living a life through a behavioral continuum of accountability, doing the things we need to do once we first stand in our own greatness. 

• Workshop 2B (repeated) (Cayman)

Cultivating Community and Connections with Heroic Gardens

Presented by Collie Turner, Founder, Heroic Gardens

Collie Turner, Founder of Heroic Gardens (a PA-based volunteer organization that connects Veterans to the healing benefits of gardening), will present the synergy between community and personal wellness. Through interactive activities and discussion, participants will experience  firsthand the successful strategies employed by Heroic Gardens to foster meaningful connections and enhance wellbeing through nature-based experiences. This workshop will contain activities that include the use of essential oils.

• Workshop 3B (repeated) (Dominica)

Introduction to Nature Therapy: Connecting with Nature to Support Health and Wellness

Presented by Phil Hosmer, Executive Director, Nature Worx, Inc.

Learn simple, evidence-based ways to mindfully connect with nature to enhance your mood, reduce stress and anxiety and lower blood pressure and heart rate. Shift from doing mode to being mode, from thinking mode to sensing mode, seeing nature as your ally in this process. You don't need to travel to a park to experience deep nature connection. Even sitting by a window or in your backyard, you can intentionally get in touch with nature and become fully present in the moment, giving your mind a break from the stresses and challenges of life. The presentation will include supporting research and experiential activities revealing the myriad benefits of nature immersion and mindfulness.

• Workshop 4B (repeated) (Eleuthera)

Legacy Blooms Here 

Presented by Kait Simon, Director of Peer Training Services at OOOMD; Laurie Galloway,Executive Director at On Our Own of Carroll County, Inc; and Vanessa Holloway Truxon, Parent Engagement Coordinator and The Keeper of the Garden at Minary’s Dream Alliance

Connect with Kait Simon (OOOMD), Laurie Galloway (OOOMD), and Vanessa Holloway Truxon (Minary’s Dream Alliance) as they consider intergenerational trauma and strategies to break these cycles, while fostering a legacy of wellness and true self-care. Drawing from personal and professional experiences, they will share practical tools to interrupt patterns of trauma and promote healing. Together, we will explore cultivating a legacy of wellness, empowering growth within families and communities.

• Workshop 5B (repeated) (Aruba)

Advocating for Choice: Growing Voices for Disability Rights

Presented by Courtney Bergan and Luciene Parsley, Disability Rights Maryland

Join Courtney Bergan and Luciene Parsley, attorneys at Disability Rights Maryland (DRM), to learn about the work DRM does to protect the rights of people with disabilities in hospitals, institutions, and the community, and how we advocate for change.  We will discuss recent setbacks in the rights of Marylanders with mental health disabilities and discuss advocacy strategies you can use to ensure your choices are respected, your voice is heard, and how to get involved in community advocacy to oppose coercion and advance choice. 

9:15 - 10:00 am: Keynote Speaker-  Antonia Hylton

“MADNESS: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum”

New York Times bestselling author Antonia Hylton will be our Keynote Speaker on Day Two.  Antonia Hylton is a Peabody and Emmy-award winning journalist and cohost of the hit podcasts Southlake and Grapevine. She will be joining us virtually to discuss her book, MADNESS: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum.  In it, she tells the 93-year-old history of Crownsville Hospital, one of the last segregated asylums with surviving records and a campus that still stands in Anne Arundel County. She blends intimate tales of patients and employees, investigative research and archival documents, and her own family’s experiences with mental illness. 

11:45 am - 12:20 pm: Plenary Presentation 

Harvesting Hope: Youth, Composting, and Environmental Justice in Baltimore

Presented by Kris Locus, TAY Coordinator at OOOMD and Marvin Hayes, Founder of Baltimore Compost Collective

Kris Locus (OOOMD TAY) and Marvin Hayes, Founder of the Baltimore Compost Collective, bring our conference to a close with a conversation on fostering hope for a healthier future. They will discuss strategies to empower youth, promote food and environmental justice, and strengthen communities through service, advocacy, and sustainability initiatives. Join us for this inspiring conversation on creating positive change and building a more equitable and sustainable world.