Day 1 Wednesday, August 13th AM Breakout Sessions 10:45am- 12:15pm 

1. The Power of Positive Emotions- Chase Mielke (Speaker presenting a PM Keynote session) - Room TBD: Resilience is not about the absence of bad. It's about the presence of good. This workshop, rooted in peer-reviewed research, explores how positive emotions boost motivation, improve relationships, bolster cultures, and help individuals live a more fulfilling life. At the center of this discussion will be the powerful role of neuromodulators like dopamine. We will dive into simple and powerful strategies that we can use in our lives and work contexts to create the conditions necessary to improve efficacy and resilience. And, throughout the workshop, participants will find strategies and systems they can put into play immediately to facilitate the constructive risk taking necessary for growth.

2. Small Changes, Big Results: Inspiring Ourselves to (Re)Ignite Our Passion- Kristen Wheeler Highland - Room TBD: Ignite or reignite the passion for your job, and/or your life. Join me and experiment with a variety of tools used to create a personal action plan. Leave with several hands-on tools to use.

3. Native Children's Books Promote Literacy- Black Bears and Blueberries Publishing Authors- Elizabeth Albert-Peacock and Thomas Peacock- Room TBD: All children should have access to books that tell their stories that reflects their culture, history and traditions. Having accessibility to books which children see themselves and their families represented instills a lifelong love of reading and meaning in a child's world. A Native owned publishing company, with a focus on creating and developing Native books for all people written by Native authors and illustrated by Native artists. 

4. A Conversation About Expulsion in Early Childhood Education- Brenda Lowe and Jacy Nylander - Room TBD: Explore perspectives and hear from early childhood educators and parents wrestling with the issue of suspensions and expulsions in early childhood programs. Examine ways to support children, families, and early childhood educators when expulsion threatens. Share strategies for reducing and preventing expulsion from the group, as well as from CICC and other work in our state and beyond.

5. Autism as Culture: A Cross-Cultural Conversation Between Neurotypes- John David Berdahl - Room TBD: This presentation reframes autism not primarily as a disorder, but as a distinct neurocognitive culture with its own communication rules, values, and social instincts. Includes literal communication, differences in empathy styles, honesty norms, and the emotional impact of navigating unwritten social rules. The session encourages viewing neurodivergent interaction as intercultural communication.

6. Healthy Habits for the Growing Brain- White Earth Tribal Health Katie Hoban, Training staff, & White Earth WIC Dietitians - Room TBD: This session introduces healthy habits throughout the life span, focusing on nutrition and physical activity as key supports for brain health.

Day 1 Wednesday, August 13th PM Breakout Sessions 1:45 - 3:15pm

1. From Screech!” to “More Please; Building Infant and Toddler Communication Skills to Spark Learning and Ease Difficult Behaviors- Raelene Ostberg (Speaker presented an AM Keynote session) - Room TBD: Gain insight into infants and toddlers develop the critical language skills needed to avoid screaming, throwing food, and other negative behaviors. Explore the tremendous difference adults can make in this advancement.

2. Toxic Stress & Growing Brains- Lynn Barten - Room TBD: How children learn to cope with stress is an important component of young children’s social and emotional development. When infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are allowed limited stress within a supportive environment, it can actually promote growth and trusting relationships. But “toxic stress” experiences have life-long consequences. Examine the research and learn strategies to lessen the effects of toxic stress on young children’s development and behavior.

3.  From Warning Signs to Safety: MMIR Youth Prevention- Tawny Smith Savage - Room TBD: Participants will explore how complex trauma can impact brain development and how professionals can identify risk factors and start conversations that create pathways for safety.  Specifically, concepts related to abuse and sexual exploitation will be covered in order to talk about aspects of vulnerability that influence self-perception and self-efficacy. The message will be that prevention does not start when the youth is in danger, prevention starts in ordinary moments of connection, noticing signs of risk can lead to good conversations and referrals for intervention. Also, a relational framework is used to explain the interconnectedness as well as a public health approach to addressing the impacts of violence with advocacy and victim services. Tawny serves at the Violence Prevention Coordinator for the Office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives MMIR. She leads statewide prevention education and community engagement efforts. Her work focuses on helping communities identify pathways to build awareness and support survivors and families impacted by violence. 

4. The WonderTrek Approach: Play Conditions for Year-Round Outdoor Play and Learning- Aimee Tagtmeier - Room TBD: Children learn through play, relationships, and meaningful interaction with the world around them. This session explores how WonderTrek supports year-round outdoor play by intentionally designing the conditions that invite child-led exploration, risk-taking, and discovery. Participants will learn about the Play Conditions we use to shape environments, materials, and adult roles, and how our WonderTrek Inquiry (WTI) process helps those who work with children observe play and continually strengthen experiences.

5. Behavior Intervention: The Brain Smart Start Way: Conscious Discipline- Nona Swift - Room TBD: This session will cover how to set up a predictable pattern in order for the brain to shift into executive functioning during the harder transitions of the day. We'll talk about implementing the four key pieces to a brain smart start routine and how that will be you strongest superpower to support big behaviors.

6. Indigenous IEP- Tamera Pulver - Room TBD: Authentic and Cultural Educational Plan for Indigenous students with an IEP. Licensed in EBD, ASD, PreK-12 Principal and Special Ed Director with an Ed.S in Educational Leadership.

Day 2 Thursday, August 14th Breakout Sessions 10:30am- 12:00pm

1. Challenging Behaviors: Practical Strategies That Work- Alyssa Blask Campbell- (Speaker presented an AM Keynote session) Room TBD:  This breakout session moves from understanding the nervous system to applying it in real-life moments with children. Alyssa will guide participants through practical, relationship-centered strategies for supporting regulation during everyday behavior challenges such as transitions, big emotions, defiance, and shutdown. The session will include concrete language, environmental supports, and co-regulation tools that can be used immediately with children from birth through school age.

2.  Feisty, Lively, and Tenacious: Working with Difficult Temperament Traits to Help All Children Succeed- Raelene Ostberg - (Speaker presented Wed. AM Keynote session) Room TBD: The reality is, some children are just born magically passionate and delightfully determined. Collect methods to help children learn to manage strong feelings, calm independently, and master the stressful moments they experience.

3. Synesthesia, Pattern Thinking, and the Connected Autistic Brain- John David Berdahl - Room TBD: This presentation examines sensory and perceptual differences in autism, including synesthesia and heightened associative thinking. The talk explores how increased neural connectivity may contribute to strong pattern recognition, aesthetic perception, and creative cognition.

4. Science of Trauma, Mental Health, and Self-Care- Tamera Pulver - Room TBD: A summary of the most recent research in neuroscience with applications in education from Boston and Oxford international conferences.

5. Shifting the Adult Brain: Conscious Discipline- Nona Swift - Room TBD: Together we'll break down the Conscious Discipline Brain State Model to strengthen our superpower of self-regulation. When we're able to understand which brain state that we're functioning from, we're able to regulate with the skills we have and practice new skills for the next upset. 

6. Mindfulness: Adapting Daily Practices for Improved Wellbeing- Dr. Paula Landis and Barb Wagner - Room TBD: Examine concepts of mindfulness from breathing to movement and develop new strategies to improve your personal wellbeing. This session is for all people of all skills and ability levels. Come as you are!

*See disclaimer

 Topics and Presenters for Breakout Sessions: 

Topics include: Brain Development Research for all ages, Building Communication skills to Spark Learning and Ease Difficult Behaviors, Working with Difficult Temperament Traits to Help all Children Succeed , Avoid Burnout, Increase Outcomes, and Learn to Love Education Again, Challenging Behaviors: Practical Strategies that Work, Black Bears and Blueberries, Publishing, Mental health,  Autism as Culture: a Cross-Cultural Conversation between Neurotypes, Healthy Habits for Growing Brains with Nutrition and Physical Activity , Building Lifelong Healthy Habits Rooted in Strength, Wellness and Culture, Conscious Discipline, Play Conditions for Year-Round Outdoor Play, Conversation about Expulsion in Early Childhood Education, Small Changes, Big Results:  Inspiring Ourselves to (Re)Ignite our Passion, Synesthesia, Pattern Thinking and the Connected Autistic Brain, Ojibwe Culture and Language, Tools for the Toolbox, The Power of Positive Emotions,

 and much more!

*Disclaimer: When there is an unforeseen circumstance that interrupts a scheduled topic and/or presenter a speaker may change without notice the conference committee will replace based on comparability to give our conference attendees the best event experience"