Access, Equity and Belonging: Strategies and Resources for Creating Safe and Relevant Spaces in Positive Youth Development Work
Held January 10, 2024
About this PYD Academy Immersion
PYD Immersion Academies provide a one-day, intensive opportunity for 4-H educators to deepen their knowledge to enhance their 4-H work with youth. The goal for this session is to empower participants to better understand diverse communities, and to work towards developing, implementing, and evaluating programs with equity and inclusion as core components. Led by members of the the PLWG Access, Equity, and Belonging Committee (AEBC), this virtual 6-hour session will address key competencies needed to serve diverse audiences in a meaningful way.
Session highlights include:
~ Receiving an overview of the AEBC Committee’s work in positive youth development (PYD)
~ Understanding the 4-H Thriving Model through an intersectional lens to apply the model to diverse and multicultural youth audiences
~ Learning strategies for creating meaningful and relevant program spaces in diverse communities
~ Exploring promising practices to proactively create and maintain spaces that engage youth who reflect the diversity of the communities 4-H serves
~ Understanding what it means for 4-H educators to be working from a trauma-informed perspective in program planning, implementation and evaluation
Session One: Welcome to the PYD Academy!
Session One provides an overview of the 4-H PLWG’s Access, Equity, and Belonging Committee (AEBC) purpose, structure, and functions, including how AEBC incorporates PYD into its work.
Presenter: Phillip L. Ealy, Ph.D.
Phillip Ealy currently serves as the Coaching Coordinator for the Children, Youth and Families at-Risk grant program. In this role Phillip functions as a liaison to the Access, Equity, and Belonging committee where he works as the Youth Advisory Committee chair.
Presenter: Katherine E. Soule, Ph.D.
Katherine E. Soule, Ph.D. is the Health Equity Advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension where she conducts a research and education program to support improvements in policies, systems, and environments to increase equitable health outcomes. Dr. Soule also serves as co-chair of the Access, Equity, and Belonging Committee.
Session Two: The 4-H Thriving Model through an Intersectional Lens
Session Two provides an intersectional lens in evaluating the 4-H Thriving Model. Participants will be able to apply the 4-H Thriving Model to the different and multicultural youth audiences represented by the AEB Champion Groups. Participants will be engaged in understanding how to utilize AEB resources such as Champion Fact Sheets to achieve 4-H Thriving Model outcomes.
Presenter: Anindita (Ani) Das, Ph.D.
Ani works as the DEI Strategist for the College of Design at Iowa State University. She provides leadership and direction to our K-12 outreach and engagement initiatives, building DEI capacity for students, staff, and faculty and evaluating student/faculty/staff retention and organizational development related to DEI. She collaborates with internal and external audiences and stakeholders on key DEI initiatives and programming. She co-chairs the PLWG Access Equity Belonging Youth in Immigrant and Refugee Champion Group.
Presenter: Lena Mallory, MPA
Lena Mallory is the Marshall County Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development in West Kentucky. She has served the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service for over 24 years. Lena provides programming for the countywide Cloverbud, Elementary, and Teen-Middle 4-H Clubs; 4-H Camp; school enrichment; and substance misuse prevention programs. Lena is an alumni of the National 4-H Thriving Model Champion Network, certified 4-H Thriving Model Curriculum Trainer, and chairs the PLWG Access Equity Belonging Youth in Foster Care Champion Group.
Session Two Resource Links
Session Three: Co-Creating Relevant and Safe Spaces
Session Three explores strategies for creating meaningful and relevant program spaces in diverse communities. Presenters will outline the importance of cultural humility, ignorance as a pathway towards learning, and useful themes of identity to consider when planning and implementing youth programs. Discussion will include what the meaning of success in your communities looks like, and how to work towards engaging youth and communities in the co-creation of truly safe program spaces
Presenter: Joshua Farella
Joshua Farella is a 4-H Assistant Agent in Coconino County Arizona. He supports a wide variety of county and state programs, and has led the development of a statewide metalworking program serving counties and tribal nations across Arizona. His efforts also include supervising Arizona’s Military Teen Adventure Camps, and serving on the National 4-H PLWG Access, Equity, and Belonging Committee where he co-chairs the American Indian/Alaska Native Champions Group.
Presenter: Joe Rand
Joe Rand (he/him/his) is an Extension Professor and 4-H Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility at the University of Minnesota. He also currently serves as the Interim Director of DEI for Minnesota Extension. Joe’s passion for equity is grounded in the experiences of queer youth in rural spaces. He volunteers with local GSA’s in central Minnesota and other social justice organizations. He has facilitated equity and inclusion workshops related to his research on LGBTQ+ youth within the Minnesota 4-H program, the broader Minnesota Extension program, a variety of youth and family service organizations throughout Minnesota, and state 4-H programs across the nation. He also serves as co-chair of the Access Equity and Belonging committee of the 4-H Program Leaders Workgroup working to create equitable spaces within youth development settings for historically excluded youth. He is currently working on his PhD in Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota.
Presenter: Shaina Nomee
Shaina Nomee is drawn to work for tribes and protect tribal sovereignty through positive youth development, Native community development and natural resources. She joined the University of Idaho Extension, Coeur d’Alene Reservation team in 2019. In this role, she serves as the Extension educator and principal investigator for the FRTEP program. Her job responsibilities include developing and coordinating youth programs utilizing culturally relevant, research-based curriculum, grants management, community engagement and program development. She is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and has been a Coeur d’Alene Reservation community member since 2003. Since 2019, she has continued building upon the strong partnerships of Extension in the community with stakeholders and continues the legacy of teaching and experiential learning that takes place with youth.
Session Three Resource Links
Session Four: Trauma-Informed Practices
Youth come to our program with various experiences. Some of these experiences may have caused trauma for our youth. Session Four helps participants understand what trauma-informed means and what trauma-informed practices look like for different populations. Experts share what it means for staff to be working from a trauma-informed perspective in program planning, implementation and evaluation.
Presenter: Liliana Vega
Liliana Vega (She/Her/Ella), 4-H Youth Development Advisor with the University of California. Liliana obtained her bachelor’s in Multi-Ethnic Studies/Mexican American Studies, and master’s in Adult Learning and Organizational Leadership. Her primary focus is on forming community partnerships to deliver quality youth development programs with a focus on increasing access for minority, low-income, and underserved audiences. Liliana’s expertise is in reaching and culturally adapting programs for the Latinx community and Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI). Liliana serves on the National 4-H LGBTQ+ Youth and the Immigrant and Refugee Community Champion Groups. Liliana chairs the Statewide California 4-H JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Advisory Committee and California 4-H JEDI Youth Taskforce.
Presenter: Kea Norrell-Aitch
Kea Norrell-Aitch is an Educator with Michigan State University Extension. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in Family & Community Services and her Masters Degree from Spring Arbor University in Family Counseling. Kea started with MSUE in 2006 and spent the first seven years of her career in Detroit overseeing a 4-H mentoring program. Currently, she is a Youth and teen Mental Health First Aid Instructor, ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Community Champion and provides statewide support to 4-H healthy living programs in mental health and emotional wellness. Kea is dedicated to positive youth development through community education and building resilience especially by providing more opportunities for youth and families with limited resources.
Presenter: Paulina Velez-Gomez, Ph.D.
Paulina is an Assistant Professor in the College of Human Sciences at Texas Tech University. She serves as Adjunct Faculty for the Center for Adolescent Resiliency, an outreach unit in the college. Her research focuses on understanding the factors associated with healthy developmental trajectories in youth from different socio-cultural backgrounds. Paulina is also a Visiting Professor at Universidad CES (Medellin, Colombia). She collaborates with faculty from Universidad CES on cross-culturally adapting a youth development program initially developed in the US for Colombian youth.
Presenter: Anindita (Ani) Das, Ph.D.
Ani works as the Community Engagement Strategist for the College of Design at Iowa State University. She provides leadership and direction to our K-12 outreach and engagement initiatives, building DEI capacity for students, staff, and faculty and evaluating student/faculty/staff retention and organizational development related to DEI. She collaborates with internal and external audiences and stakeholders on key DEI initiatives and programming. She co-chairs the PLWG Access Equity Belonging Youth in Immigrant and Refugee Champion Group.
Session Five: Thriving Fact Sheet Activity
4-H cannot truly be open to all without making strategic changes to ensure the program is relevant, inclusive, and equitable. In this resource-packed, interactive workshop, 4-H professionals explore promising practices to proactively create and maintain spaces that engage youth who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. Join us to reflect on your program’s successes and barriers, and identify paths to design, deliver, and evaluate programming in partnership with the diverse communities you serve.
Presenter: Kendra Lewis
Kendra is a State Specialist for Health & Wellbeing at UNH Extension. Her work focuses on coordinating and delivering social, emotional, and mental health programming to NH residents. She has extensive experience in evaluating both school-based and out-of-school-time social-emotional and positive youth development programs. She is a co-author of two mindfulness curricula, Mindful Me (ages 5-8 years old) and Mindful Mechanics (teens and adults). Kendra serves on the National 4-H PLWG Access, Equity, and Belonging Committee where she co-chairs the Mental Health & Wellbeing Champion Group.
Presenter: Alison White
Alison White (she/her) is a 4-H Regional Extension Specialist and Associate Professor at Washington State University. Her program and research areas include (1) youth empowerment, (2) diversity, equity, and inclusion, (3) arts-integrated STEM, and (4) organizational change. Alison enjoys creating and facilitating programming that explores art, design, ecology, and leadership through an equity lens aimed at real-world issues to empower youth in learning about themselves and the world around them. Alison serves on the National 4-H PLWG Access, Equity, and Belonging Committee, where she co-chairs the LGBTQ+ Youth and Community Champion Group, and is the faculty advisor to the WA State 4-H Teen Equity & Inclusion Task Force.
Presenter: Vanessa Spero
Vanessa Spero (she/her) is a Regional Specialized 4-H Extension Agent with UF/IFAS. She specializes in programming to meet underrepresented audiences with a focus on youth with disabilities. She serves as one of the co-chairs of the AEBC committee for Youth with Disabilities, leads Florida’s Opportunity for All state committee, is a Co-PI on grants such as AgrAbility, and is finishing up her EdD (Spring 2024) with a focus on Exceptional Student Education.
Presenter: Mitch Mason
Mitch Mason leads educational outreach in Cumberland County, Maine in the area of positive youth development, supporting programs and outreach to youth, families, and community partners. He oversees delivery of community clubs, Summer of Science, Teen Teaching, and Community Central in the Greater Portland Area. He also manages the Oh YEA! 4-H Grows True Leader program through northern New England. Mitch is co-chair of the national Immigrant and Refugee Youth Champion Group and is on the planning team for 4-H True Leaders in Equity Institute.
Presenter: Darcy Cole
Darcy Cole is a Regional 4-H Program Operations Educator with the University of Minnesota. In addition to this role, she leads Minnesota 4-H’s efforts in creating inclusive spaces for youth of all abilities. She is passionate about this work because of both personal and professional experience supporting youth with disabilities. She serves as one of the co-chairs of the Access Equity and Belonging Committee Youth with Disabilities Champion Group.
Presenter: Sarah Chvilicek
Sarah is the Northern Nevada 4-H Youth Development Coordinator and Program Manager for the Washoe County 4-H Youth Development Program in Reno, NV. She currently supports northern Nevada 4-H youth development professionals in implementing resiliency-based, thriving education models for school-aged youth. She is a 4-H PYD Champion and serves on numerous national committees, including co-chairing the PLWG Youth Experiencing Poverty Champion Group.
Presenter: Guadalupe Castro-Ventura
Guadalupe is the 4-H Youth Development Extension Program Specialist for the southern region of Texas with the Prairie View Extension program. She currently supports the Juntos 4-H program that is being conducted in Cameron county and Bexar county. She is the principal investigator for the the Tech Changemakers program in Texas that is being conducted in 4 different counties. Guadalupe is in numerous state and national committees and is the chair for the PLWG Latino Advisory Committee.
Presenter: Xiomara N. Diaz-Vargas
Xiomara (she/her/ella) currently serves as Dallas County AgriLife Extension Director, leading Texas’s second-largest populated county. She served as the Indiana 4-H State Specialist for New Audience Initiatives and has over 20 years of experience as a cross-culturally competent Extension Professional for the Agriculture and Natural Resources and 4-H Youth Development program areas. Xiomara has successfully implemented programs such as Juntos, Teens as Teachers, Imagine Science, and Soccer for Success in the last seven years, providing access to underserved and marginalized audiences in the 4-H program. She has extensive experience in urban and rural programming, peer mentorship, volunteer empowerment, and strategic partnerships. Xiomara is a second-generation 4-H’er and Extension Educator.
Presenter: Anindita (Ani) Das, Ph.D.
Ani works as the DEI Strategist for the College of Design at Iowa State University. She provides leadership and direction to our K-12 outreach and engagement initiatives, building DEI capacity for students, staff, and faculty and evaluating student/faculty/staff retention and organizational development related to DEI. She collaborates with internal and external audiences and stakeholders on key DEI initiatives and programming. She co-chairs the PLWG Access Equity Belonging Youth in Immigrant and Refugee Champion Group.
Session Five Resource Link
Session Six: Individual and Group Reflection on Learning, Application, and Next Steps
Presenter: Fe Moncloa, Ph.D.
Fe Moncloa, Ph.D, is a University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Cooperative Extension Advisor, Emeritus. Dr. Moncloa’s research and extension interests include culturally relevant social justice youth development and strengthening organizations to provide equitable youth development programs.
Dr. Moncloa is a member of the Committee on Promoting Learning and Development in K-12 Out of School Time Settings For Low Income and Marginalized Children and Youth, formed by the National Academy of Sciences Engineering and Math, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. She is also a recipient of the Western Metropolitan Research and Extension Center 2023-2024 Research Fellow.
Presenter: Katherine E. Soule, Ph.D.
Katherine E. Soule, Ph.D. is the Health Equity Advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension where she conducts a research and education program to support improvements in policies, systems, and environments to increase equitable health outcomes. Dr. Soule also serves as co-chair of the Access, Equity, and Belonging Committee.