Day 2

8:45 a.m.           Registration Opens

                               Continental Breakfast (Cameo)

10:00 a.m.           Keynote 2 (Cameo)

Reducing the Delta: A Life of Service to Make Our Reality Match Our Rhetoric (Personal Story)

Paula M. Neira (she/her)

.75 hours Ethics

Paula M. Neira, a Navy veteran, nurse, lawyer and LGBQT+ advocate was a leader in the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy and in the change of regulations to allow for transgender military service. She is a leader in advancing LGBTQ+ health equity today. She has made naval history as the first transgender Navy veteran to have her discharge documentation updated to reflect her correct name by order of the Navy as well as being a sponsor of the USNS HARVEY MILK – the first Navy ship named for an openly gay  man. She was the founding Clinical Program Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health in 2016 and now serves as the Johns Hopkins Medicine Program Director of LGBTQ+ Equity and Education in the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity. Through sharing her personal story, she will discuss the challenges facing transgender and gender-expansive people in the United States and offer some lessons learned to those who work to address issues of social justice and health equity.

11:00 a.m.            Session 4 Workshops (choice of 2)

Workshop 4A: Voices of Inclusion: How Peer Advocates Apply DEI Principles in Their Work (Cameo)

Valerie Hicks (she/her), Donielle Davis, Shira Collings (they/them)

1.5 hours Ethics

Valerie Hicks, Donielle Davis, and Shira Collings will engage in the ever expanding conversation facilitated by Kris Locus about how Peer Advocates create systems that make sure everyone is able to thrive. Keeping in mind that there is always room for growth, this discussion will offer honest perspectives about the challenges involved with implementing DEI principles, the successes that can be achieved when we lead with care, and the hopes of effective inclusionary practices for the future.

Workshop 4B: Illuminating Inclusivity in Organizations and Communities: Mental Health Practices for Native Americans (Tiffany)

Kerry Hawk Lessard, Mercia Cummings, LCPC, LCADAS (she/her)

1.5 hours Ethics

Kerry Hawk Lessard and Mercia Cummings will discuss how traditional healing (expression of cultural histories, knowledge, and integral selves) often fills the financial, cultural, and geographic gaps in Native community services caused by Western approaches to health prevention and treatment services. Recognizing that we can accomplish more by working together, this workshop advocates for the importance of integrating culture, values, and beliefs into safe sharing spaces of Western mental healthcare providers and explores how respecting, maintaining, and advancing traditional healing contributes to the strength, pride, and well-being of Native clients.

1:30 p.m. Break

2:30 p.m.              Closing Remarks (Cameo)