10th Annual Wellness Together Conference: Full Schedule

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10:30am PDT

Rooted in Purpose, Driven by Possibility: The COELSC Story and What It Means for California School Counselors

Thursday September 10, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am PDT

What does it look like when county office leaders across California unite to advance the school counseling profession — with purpose, passion, and possibility at the forefront?

COELSC — County Offices of Education Leadership for School Counseling — is a statewide network of California County Office of Education (COE) administrators who provide leadership, technical assistance, and professional development for school counseling programs and services across K-12 districts. Founded in November 2017 by a coalition of Southern California COE administrators and state leaders in school counseling, COELSC was built on a singular conviction: that school counselors across California deserve a unified, data-informed, and equity-centered system of support.

Grounded in the ASCA National Model and the California Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework, COELSC provides county-level leaders with a collaborative infrastructure to consult, coordinate, and advocate — from supporting districts with supervision and training needs to providing input to the California Department of Education (CDE) and the Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) credentialing workgroup.

This session invites school counselors, district coordinators, and county office leaders to learn how COELSC is working statewide to elevate the school counseling profession, strengthen MTSS alignment, and drive policy advocacy on behalf of California students. Participants will explore how county-level collaboration translates into on-the-ground impact — and how they can connect with and leverage COELSC in their own professional communities.

Speakers

Dr. Tanya Bulette

Coordinator, PK-12 School Counseling Services, San Diego County Office of Education

Tanya Bulette, Ed.D., serves as the Coordinator for PK-12 School Counseling Services at the San Diego County Office of Education, where she supports and advocates for school counselors across 42 districts. In this role for the past seven years, Tanya has led countywide initiatives... Read More →

Lori Narahara

College and Career Engagement Specialist, Tulare County Office of Education

Thursday September 10, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am PDT
30 D

Breakout

Audience Community Partners & Nonprofits, Corporate Leaders, District Administrators, Education Leaders, Parents & Caregivers, Policy & Advocacy Professionals, Teachers & Instructional Leaders, Human Resources Professionals, Mental Health Professionals

2:30pm PDT

From System to Student: A Collaborative, Countywide Approach to Building an Integrated System of Care

Thursday September 10, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm PDT

30 D

We are grateful to be part of a countywide effort, led by the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE), in partnership with CalOptima, Rady Children’s Health (formerly CHOC Behavioral Health), and Anaheim Elementary School District (AESD). Together, we are working to better support the behavioral health, social-emotional, and mental health needs of students and families across Orange County.
OCDE has played a key role in bringing partners together and helping us stay aligned. By connecting education with healthcare, managed care, and community-based organizations, they’ve created space for meaningful collaboration and shared problem-solving. This has allowed us to move beyond working in silos and toward a more coordinated approach.
In this session, we will share how this partnership has helped connect the bigger picture, policy, funding, and system coordination with what happens every day in schools. We’ll talk about how AESD has strengthened its Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and CYBHI Fee Schedule implementation through this collaborative work, and what we’ve learned along the way.
Together, we are building a more connected system that supports students across the full continuum from prevention and early intervention to crisis response, hospitalization, and returning to school. This work is ongoing, and it continues to grow through strong relationships, shared responsibility, and a commitment to doing better for students and families.
Participants will leave with practical insights into how partnerships across systems can come together in a more thoughtful and sustainable way to support schools and communities.

Speakers

Shirley Diaz

Program Specialist, Anaheim Elementary School District

Mayu Iwatani

Senior Administrator, Mental Health and Wellness, Orange County Department of Education

Mayu Iwatani has 25 years combined experience in School Social Work, School Counseling, Student Services, Foster Care and Mental Health and Wellness in the educational field. She started her career as a School Social Worker in a district in Orange County, California, and since has... Read More →

Gabriela Hernandez

Psychosocial Supervisor, Radys Childrens Health - Orange County

Gabriela “Gaby” Hernandez, LCSW is the Mental Health Inpatient Center Psychosocial Supervisor who joined CHOC Children’s in 2018 as one of the first therapists to open the Mental Health Inpatient Center. She oversees a team of 25 staff members including mental health therapists... Read More →

Carmen Katsarov

CalOptima Health

Thursday September 10, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm PDT
30 D

Breakout

Audience Education Leaders, School Site Admin, Teacher, Mental Health Professionals, Teachers & Instructional Leaders, Community Partners & Nonprofits

3:45pm PDT

Beyond the Headlines: How Emotional Intelligence Deepens Media Literacy

Thursday September 10, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm PDT

30 D

The presentation will showcase how RULER tools, such as Mood Meter, Meta-Moment, and Blueprint, can provide students with concrete strategies to navigate media and regulate their reactions and better engage in polarized online environments. Essentially, we are leveraging a decade of RULER integration to create an innovative approach to media literacy education. In terms of flow, we move between examples and interactive group work to explain the importance of the work we are trying to do across all grades.

Speakers

Lisa Rosenstein

The Willows Community School

Brian Tousey

Head of Media Literacy, The Willows Community School

Thursday September 10, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm PDT
30 D

Breakout

10:30am PDT

2:30pm PDT

3:45pm PDT

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