Conference Schedule
8:00 - 9:00 AM
Sign-In/Registration, and Resource Fair
9:00 - 10:15 AM
Welcome and Keynote by Christal Brown, aka #TheVisionCoach
Title: Personal. Professional. Purposeful: A Framework for Purposeful Living and Leading
Overview: In this opening Keynote session, Coach Christal will guide participants through a transformative process to clarify their personal vision, align it with core values, and amplify their voice for purposeful living and leadership. Through reflective exercises and strategic planning, attendees will identify their top guiding values, confront limiting beliefs, and build the confidence to communicate their vision with authenticity across personal and professional settings.
Participants will leave with a practical action roadmap, tools for resilience and accountability, and a deeper understanding of how to integrate the Vision Method as a lifelong practice. Whether facing a career transition, stepping into leadership, or seeking greater clarity, this plenary session offers a dynamic framework for sustained growth, impact, and alignment.
10:30 - 11:30 AM
Breakout Sessions - (attendees select one)
Breakout Session 1: Rooted in Resilience: Revolutionized Trauma-Informed Care and Narrative Therapy for Trans and Gender Nonconforming Survivors of Sexual Violence
(presented by Theo Benjamin Brown, they/him)
Overview: This breakout session invites participants to explore the nuanced and often under-discussed symptomatic impacts of sexual violence on trans and gender nonconforming (GNC) individuals, with a particular focus on the concept of detachment from the body—a survival response rooted in trauma and identity marginalization. Through a trauma-informed lens, we will examine how this detachment manifests and how care providers can respond with empathy, precision, and cultural humility.
Participants will be guided through a step-by-step framework for trauma-informed care tailored to trans and GNC folx, integrating principles of narrative therapy to support healing and identity affirmation. We will explore how storytelling, externalization, and meaning making can empower survivors to reclaim agency over their experiences and bodies.
The session will conclude by drawing connections between trauma-informed care for trans and GNC folx and broader trauma-informed practices for all survivors. By centering narrative therapy techniques, we will highlight universal strategies that foster safety, dignity, and resilience across diverse identities.
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Breakout Session 2: Disability Justice 101: Principles, Practice, and Power in Advocacy
(presented by Darlene Hemerka Martin, she/her)
Overview: This introductory breakout session offers a foundational understanding of Disability Justice, a framework that centers the lived experiences, leadership, and liberation of people with disabilities. Participants will explore the Principles of Disability Justice, developed by activists of color, and examine how these principles challenge ableism while expanding the scope of social justice movements.
Attendees will learn how to apply Disability Justice principles to advocacy work, organizational practices, and community engagement. The session will emphasize intersectionality, collective access, and sustainability as essential components of inclusive and transformative justice.
11:45AM - 12:45 PM
Breakout Sessions - (attendees select one)
Breakout Session 1: Ethics You Can Feel: Consent, Power & Repair in Community Building
(presented by Ashley Ciera Whiteside, they/she/beloved)
Overview: This session will examine core ethical principles—consent, power awareness, cultural humility, and repair—into embodied micro-skills that participants can immediately apply in meetings, classrooms, and community spaces. Grounded in plain-language polyvagal theory and guided through a BIPOC-centered lens, facilitator Ashley leads participants in accessible, touch-free self- and co-regulation practices including breath and voice work, orienting, and rhythm.
Participants will learn consent scripting techniques that protect choice and dignity and practice a simple yet powerful “pause–name–reset” repair protocol for navigating tense or charged moments. No trauma disclosure is required, and no special equipment is needed—just repeatable, trauma-informed practices that make safety tangible and anti-racist values actionable.
By the end of the session, participants will leave with a one-page Ethical Care Protocol they can implement in their own contexts immediately, supporting ethical engagement and relational integrity across diverse settings.
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Breakout Session 2: “High-Stakes Conversations: How to Prepare, Engage, and Build Community in Everyday Interactions”
(presented by Anne Marie Torres, she/her, and Veronica Willig, she/they)
Overview: In a time of escalating injustice and urgent need for truth-telling, everyday conversations can become powerful tools for change. This session equips participants with practical strategies to engage in high-stakes conversations about difficult political and human rights topics—such as Israel and Palestine, the condition of the working poor, the current immigration crackdown, and military deployment in American cities.
Using a trauma-informed and community-centered approach, participants will learn how to navigate emotionally charged dialogue with clarity, compassion, and courage. The session includes guided practice using tailored conversation scripts and short resource briefs on key topics, allowing participants to rehearse and refine their approach in a supportive environment.
Whether you're speaking with family, coworkers, or community members, this session will help you move from discomfort to connection, and from silence to solidarity.
12:45 - 1:45 PM
Lunch & Resource Fair
2:00 - 3:00 PM
Breakout Sessions - (attendees select one)
Breakout Session 1: “Community Connectivity and Collective Cognizance through Artivism” (presented by Hannah Short, she/her, and Jessica Lopez, she/her)
Overview: This dynamic session bridges the power of activism and poetry to illuminate the lived experiences and racial disparities outlined in the Lancaster County Racial Equity Profile. Participants will explore how creative expression can serve as a transformative tool for healing, advocacy, and collective liberation.
Through guided reflection, storytelling, and writing exercises, attendees will engage with local data and systemic injustice in a deeply personal and communal way. Poetry will be used as both a mirror and a megaphone—reflecting individual truths and amplifying voices often marginalized in traditional discourse.
Together, we will cultivate a space of shared awareness and connection, empowering participants to craft and share poems rooted in their lived experience. This session invites all—writers and non-writers alike—to discover how creative expression can deepen understanding, spark dialogue, and inspire meaningful change in our communities.
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Breakout Session 2: “Shaping Community Safety: Examining ICE Collaboration” (presented by Alex Domingos, he/him, and Julio Rodriguez, he/him)
Overview: In this breakout session, participants will explore advocacy strategies aimed at promoting immigrant rights and fostering welcoming communities at the federal, state, and local levels. As shifting federal policies continue to pose challenges, this session will highlight the threats to immigrant communities and examine proactive approaches to counter harmful enforcement practices.
Through case studies, policy analysis, and grassroots organizing examples, attendees will gain insights on how to advocate for immigrant rights and build coalitions that support compassionate and dignifying policies. The session will also provide tools for engaging with policymakers and mobilizing community support to advance humane and just immigration policies.
3:15 - 4:15 PM
Final Community Session: “Connect and Reflect | Inclusive Dialogue Through Circle Process
(presented by Isabel Castillo, she/her, Jill Heine, she/her, & Krista Rittenhouse, she/her)
Overview: In this final, interactive breakout session, participants will explore the transformative power of the circle process—a restorative practice rooted in Indigenous traditions that fosters inclusive, respectful, and collaborative dialogue. Through guided learning and hands-on experience, attendees will gain a foundational understanding of the principles and structure that make circles a powerful tool for building trust and community.
Attendees will leave with practical strategies and renewed inspiration to integrate circle processes into their personal and professional lives, cultivating resilience and meaningful engagement wherever they lead.
4:15 - 4:30 PM
Conference Wrap-Up