The Northern California Summit on Children and Youth brings together educators, nonprofit organizations, community leaders, elected officials, businesses, area foundations, and others to share innovative approaches, research driven models, and best practices for supporting children, youth and families. This conference provides the opportunity to learn from and share with a broad range of professionals from throughout Northern California.
We invite individuals and organizations involved in services and advocacy for children and youth to join us at this year’s conference: 2010 – A New Decade of Hope. Conference registration is open to anyone who is an advocate for children and youth: experts and novices alike.
('Register Now' link availible at bottom of page)
Plenary Sessions
Plenary Session Thursday, June 3rd, 9:00am - Delaine Eastin
Former California Assembly Member and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin lays out a road map for what it will take for California to once again lead the nation in improved outcomes for children and youth and helps us all think about how we prioritize children’s Isues.
"Great civilizations arise from the imagination and hard work of people who are nurtured by their communities to develop their gifts." - Delaine Eastin
Plenary Session Friday, June 4th, 9:00am - Rona Renner and Panel
Bay Area Radio Personality Rona Renner moderates a panel of Bay Area Business and Foundation Leaders to reveal why investing in children and youth should be our number one priority and the promise that this investment holds for an economically viberant California.
Angela Glover Blackwell founded PolicyLink in 1999 and continues to drive its mission of advancing economic and social equity. Under Blackwell’s leadership, PolicyLink has become a leading voice in the movement to use public policy to improve access and opportunity for all low-income people and communities of color, particularly in the areas of health, housing, transportation, education, and infrastructure.
Prior to founding PolicyLink, Blackwell served as Senior Vice President at the Rockefeller Foundation, where she oversaw the foundation’s Domestic and Cultural divisions.
A lawyer by training, she gained national recognition as founder of the Oakland (CA) Urban Strategies Council, where she pioneered new approaches to neighborhood revitalization. Most recently she has worked with the Obama Administration on developing the Promise Neighborhoods initiative.
Before being recruited to Governor Schwarzenegger’s Cabinet, McPeak served for seven years as President and CEO of the Bay Area Council, a major employer-led policy organization addressing regional economic prosperity issues. For three years prior, she served as the President and CEO of the Bay Area Economic Forum, a public-private partnership between the Bay Area Council and the Association of Bay Area Governments. In that position she pioneered the development and deployment of regional economic performance metrics to drive public policy. Sunne McPeak also served for more than fifteen years as a member of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors.
Sunne will be discussing bridging the the technology divide and how technology with revoluntionize the delivery of services for children, youth and families.
Conference Day One Sessions - Thursday, June 3rd
Track One- Education
Physical Education Research for Kids (PERK) - Research and Recommendations to Support PE in Schools
Presented by: Force on Youth and Workplace Wellness
Gail Woodward-Lopez, Associate Director, Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health, University of California Berkeley
Y-PLAN (Youth-Plan, Learn, Act, Now!): Project-Based Learning, Community Collaboration, and Authentic Engagement of Bay Area Youth in City Planning
Presented By: Dr. Deborah McKoy, Executive Director, Center for Cities and Schools, Berkeley
LaShonda Wilson, Management Analyst, Richmond City Manager’s Office
Inez Hudson, NURVE MLK Youth Council
April Suwalsky, M.C.P. Program Associate, Richmond Children's Foundation
Active Youth, Healthy Youth: Using Sports to Engage Youth
Presented by: Cory Wechsler, Director of Education and Training, Team Up for Youth
Track Two - Health
NEW Kids: A Childhood Obesity Program That Works!
Presented by: Andrea Menefee, Program Manager, Contra Costa Health Services
Denise Milosevich, Senior Health Education Specialist, Contra Costa Health Services
Integrating Financial Asset Development Strategies into Maternal and Child Health Programs: Three Approaches
Presented by: Padmini Parthasarathy, Life Course Initiative Coordinator, Contra Costa Health Services - Family, Maternal and Child Health Programs
Debbie Casanova, Contra Costa Health Services - Maternal and Child Health Programs
Lauren Leimbach, Executive Director, Community financial Resources
Barbara McCullough, Brighter Beginning
What We Do Best: A Strength Based Approach to Creating Partnerships to Enhance Resilience and Prevent Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence
Presented by: Devorah Levine, JD, Zero Tolerance for Domestic Violence Initiative Manager, Safe and Bright Future for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence Partnership
Kathryn Burroughs, Project Manager, Safe and Bright Futures for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence Partnership
Track Three - Community Building
Community Action Agencies: Models for Developing Community Resources
Presented by: Caylin Patterson, Administrative Analyst, Contra Costa County Employment and Human Services Department Community Services Bureau
Members of the Economic Opportunity Council
Overcoming Organizational Culture Clash: Crucial to building partnerships that work
Presented by: Dina Hatchuel, Executive Director, Center for Strategic Community Innovation
Jamie Harris, Director, The Community Schools Project, Center for Strategic Community Innovation
Replicating the Harlem Children's Zone: A Collaborative Approach
Presented by: Don Lau, Vice President, YMCA of the East Bay
Cheryl Maier, Executive Director, Opportunity West
Taalia Hassan, Executive Director, West Contra Costa Youth Services Bureau
Track Four - Innovative Youth Stratagies
Youth-Senior Mentoring: An Intergenerational Approach
Presented by: Siobhan Wallace, Program Coordinator, Center for Human Development
Creating Economically Empowered Youth and Communities
Presented by: William Thomason, III, Founder, Wall Street Wizards
Track Five - Early Childhood Education
Setting the Stage With High-Quality Early Childhood Education
Presented by: Sean Casey, Executive Director, First 5 Contra Costa,
Debra Silverman, Early Childhood Education Program Officer, First 5 Contra Costa
Sohyla Fathi, West Area Director, Contra Costa Child Care Council
Everything Old Becomes New Again – How Renovations Create High Performance Preschools
Presented by: Chad Hamilton, AIA, Principal, Hamilton Aitken Architects
Transformative Parenting
Presented by: Dr. Barbara Bunn McCullough, Executive Director, Brighter Beginnings
Dr. Bidyut K. Bose, Executive Director, Niroga Insitute
Conference Day Two Sessions - Friday, June 4th
Track One - Education
Career Development - Providing a Career Path in an After School Environment
Presented by: Andre Griggs, Site Coordinator, KREWS Career Development Institute
Renee Lawrence, Director of After School Programs, Hughson Unified School District
RYSE Virtual Youth Center: Utilizing Web 2.0 Technology to Support Young People's Health and Wellness
Presented by: Kimberly Aceves, Co-Director, RYSE Youth Center
Lisa Smusz, Virtual Center Content Manager, RYSE Youth Center
Track Two - Health
The Wraparound Service Model: A Clinically Sound, Culturally Relevant Approach to Mental Health Services
Presented by: Marcella Strickland, Facilitator, West Contra Costa Youth Services Bureau
Marena Brown, Program Manager, West Contra Costa Youth Services Bureau
The Bill of Rights for Children and Youth: A tool to influence policy & improve outcomes in difficult times
Presented by: Larry Best, Executive Director, Peninsula Partnership Leadership Council, Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Dana Bunnett, Executive Director, Kids in Common
Track Three - Community Building
Community Engagement and Community Revitalization - the Nystrom Story
Presented by: James Becker, Vice President, Richmond Children’s Foundation
Pilar Lorenzana-Campo, MEP, Planning for Healthy Places, Public Health Law & Policy
Members of the NURVE Partnership
Working in partnership to keep communities safe: Our health depends on it.
Presented by: Virginia Lee, Program Manager, Prevention Institute
Dalila Butler, Program Coordinator, Prevention Institute
Xavier Morales, Program Manager, Prevention Institute
Shakirah Smiley, Program Assistant, Prevention Institute
Janet Pan, Program Assistant, Prevention Institute
Track Four - Innovative Youth Stratagies
Partnership in Practice: An Approach to Meaningful Youth-Adult Partnerships
Presented by: Kanwarpal Dhaliwal, Co-Director, RYSE Youth Center
John Gioia, District 1 Supervisor, Contra Costa County
Citizen Diplomacy - Connecting Youth and Government
Presented by: Nancy Kivette, District Lead, San Francisco, The Peace Alliance
Nancy Merritt, State Coordinator (Northern California), The Peace Alliance
Track Five - Early Childhood Education
Evaluating Children’s Services
Presented by: Sohyla Fathi, West Area Director, Contra Costa Child Care Council
Promoting Self-Regulating "Stars": A Focus on Social-Emotional Development and Self-Regulation
Presented by: Debbie Supple, Director, Bay Region 4 California Preschool Instructional Network
Eloisa Mendoza-Hinds, English Learner Curriculum Specialist, Bay Region 4 California Preschool Instructional Network
Afternoon Plenary Sessions
Kaiser Permanente Education Theatre Program Performance - Secrets
Secrets blends drama, humor, and music into a powerful, live performance that provides the audience with facts about abstinence, resistance to peer pressure, and positive parent-teen communitcation.
After the performance the Secrets cast members, who are trained extensively as peer health educators, will lead a question-and-answer session with the audience. Parent information and educator guides are also offered as part of the Secrets program.
McCullum Youth Court: Youth to Youth Panel Discussions
"McCullum Youth Court, Proving the Power of Peer Justice" - The mission of McCullum Youth Court is to offer youth offenders a second chance through restorative justice, peer accountability, and empowering opportunities; and to engage all youth – especially those at risk for entering the juvenile justice system -- in expansive experiences related to law and justice with the aim of changing young lives and impacting communities.
A printable version of the Summit Registration Packet can be found at Richmond Children's Foundation Home Page