2026 Bridge Conference

Has negative self-talk sabotaged how you feel about yourself and impacted how much self-care you engage in? How can we notice and change how we speak to ourselves? Together we will explore some strategies to create healthier self-talk habits. We will also look how stress responses such as fight, flight and freeze impact how we think and feel and respond in the moment. We will use reflection and large group imagining to connect these concepts to sustainable self-care practices for youth workers.

Young people engaged in high-risk or harmful behaviors are often defined by labels rather than understood through the lens of trauma, attachment, and missed developmental experiences. As an educator and social worker, I recognized a gap in mental health programming for adolescents who were struggling and created a curriculum to respond to their needs. Rather than viewing behaviors as problems to control, I learned to see them as communication and opportunities for connection.

This interactive workshop focuses primarily on adolescents (ages 12–18) and explores how our own experiences, assumptions, and biases influence the way we show up for youth. Participants will learn how adaptive, trauma-informed practices can transform programming, strengthen relationships, and create spaces where young people feel seen, supported, and empowered. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for responding to emerging needs and building programs that honor the humanity of both youth and staff.

Young people do not begin preparing for their future when it is time to fill out a job application. It starts much earlier. It starts with helping them understand who they are, where they belong, what they are capable of, and what possibilities exist beyond what they may see around them every day.

Flow Forward is an interactive workshop focused on helping middle and high school youth connect identity, belonging, life skills, and career exposure to their future. We will explore practical ways youth development professionals can help young people recognize their strengths, build confidence, expand what they believe is possible, and begin connecting everyday experiences to education, leadership, training, and career pathways.

Participants will also take part in reflection, small-group discussion, and a hands-on pathway-mapping activity that can be adapted and used with the young people they serve. My goal is for participants to leave with more than information. I want them to leave with practical strategies and tools they can actually take back to their programs and use.