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Friday, September 11
 

8:00am PDT

Lighthouse Talk: I’m Glad You’re Here: How Unconditional Positive Regard Promotes Well-Being
Friday September 11, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am PDT
Join us for a dynamic 12-minute Lighthouse Talk, designed to showcase bold ideas, innovative practices, and inspiring stories shaping the future of student mental health and wellness. This presentation is one of four featured during this one-hour block. Due to the fast-paced format, there will be no formal Q&A, but we encourage you to connect with the speaker directly after the block to continue the conversation.

Let’s talk about how Unconditional Positive Regard for students and families cultivates a sense of belonging among students.  We’ll engage in a collaborative discussion format to explore the ways in which we may provide care and understanding to three historically marginalized communities (Newcomer students and families, Muslim students and families, & LGBTQIA+ students and families) and, in the process, improve student well-being and school culture and climate.
Speakers
avatar for Kassie Cardona

Kassie Cardona

Pupil Personnel Worker, Anne Arundel County Public Schools
My name is Kassie Cardona and I’m a Pupil Personnel Worker in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. I have worked for 20 years as a Mental Health Professional and Educator and I continue to learn as I serve children and families each day. The best way to explain my professional role is... Read More →
Friday September 11, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am PDT
30 E

8:00am PDT

Lighthouse Talk: Mind Out Loud
Friday September 11, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am PDT
Join us for a dynamic 12-minute Lighthouse Talk, designed to showcase bold ideas, innovative practices, and inspiring stories shaping the future of student mental health and wellness. This presentation is one of four featured during this one-hour block. Due to the fast-paced format, there will be no formal Q&A, but we encourage you to connect with the speaker directly after the block to continue the conversation.

Speakers
Friday September 11, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am PDT
30 E

8:00am PDT

Lighthouse Talk: Navigating the Licensure Bottleneck: Accelerating and Diversifying the Youth Mental Health Workforce
Friday September 11, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am PDT
Join us for a dynamic 12-minute Lighthouse Talk, designed to showcase bold ideas, innovative practices, and inspiring stories shaping the future of student mental health and wellness. This presentation is one of four featured during this one-hour block. Due to the fast-paced format, there will be no formal Q&A, but we encourage you to connect with the speaker directly after the block to continue the conversation.

Communities nationwide face a critical shortage of licensed mental health clinicians—especially in underserved and rural areas—while early career professionals encounter financial, structural, and policy barriers to licensure. This Session shares a multistate, real world solution: the Mental Health Workforce Acceleration Program. Grounded in lived implementation across California and Hawaiʻi, this session will guide participants through a replicable workforce navigation framework that accelerates licensure, centers equity, and strengthens youth serving systems—without losing human connection at the core.
Speakers
avatar for Dr. Kristina Gordon

Dr. Kristina Gordon

Assistant Professor, California Baptist University
Dr. Kristina West Gordon is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) Program at California Baptist University. She also serves as the Director of the Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Career Accelerator in Southern California, leading efforts to expand... Read More →
Friday September 11, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am PDT
30 E

8:00am PDT

Lighthouse Talk: The AI Sandwich & Authentic Student Learning and Leadership
Friday September 11, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am PDT
Join us for a dynamic 12-minute Lighthouse Talk, designed to showcase bold ideas, innovative practices, and inspiring stories shaping the future of student mental health and wellness. This presentation is one of four featured during this one-hour block. Due to the fast-paced format, there will be no formal Q&A, but we encourage you to connect with the speaker directly after the block to continue the conversation.

Generative AI presents a profound challenge to youth mental wellness by tempting students to short-circuit their learning process, subvert their unique voices, and disconnect from their educational communities. To address this urgent issue, this presentation offers an actionable framework grounded in Transformational Leadership and Design Thinking that teaches students how to ethically engage with technology while bringing their authentic selves to their work. Rather than fighting digital trends, attendees will learn how to leverage empathy to understand the underlying pressures driving students toward academic shortcuts, and use innovation to foster safe risk-taking and collaborative problem-solving. The core of this highly interactive session centers on the "AI Sandwich" method—a practical, easily replicable strategy for healthy tech engagement. Participants will discover how to guide students to establish their own ideas and drafts first to build honesty and authenticity (the "Top Bun"), utilize AI strictly as a collaborative brainstorming and refining partner (the "Filling"), and conduct the final edits to retain ultimate ownership and accountability (the "Bottom Bun"). By shifting the focus from digital reliance back to human connection, this evidence-based approach equips educators and clinicians with the immediate tools needed to protect academic integrity, alleviate performance anxiety, and empower the next generation of confident, authentic learners and leaders.
Speakers
avatar for Dr. Dave Heitman

Dr. Dave Heitman

Leadership Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, JESSUP UNIVERSITY
Dave is originally from California and has studied and worked in over 30 countries. Dave has worked in higher education since 2001, completing an Ed.D. in Innovation and Leadership from University of the Pacific. Dave is passionate about developing leaders to produce change and build... Read More →
Friday September 11, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am PDT
30 E

10:30am PDT

Lighthouse Talk: allcoveTM - Where Every Youth Belongs, Chooses the Support They Need and Thrives
Friday September 11, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am PDT
Join us for a dynamic 12-minute Lighthouse Talk, designed to showcase bold ideas, innovative practices, and inspiring stories shaping the future of student mental health and wellness. This presentation is one of four featured during this one-hour block. Due to the fast-paced format, there will be no formal Q&A, but we encourage you to connect with the speaker directly after the block to continue the conversation.

The first of its kind in the U.S., allcove is developing an innovative network of integrated youth mental health centers designed with, by and for youth that reduce stigma, embrace mental wellness, increase community connection and provide access to culturally-responsive services.
allcove centers serve young people ages 12-25, providing a unique space for them to access our services, with resources and support for friends, family and the larger community. Our centers are embedded within the communities they serve and reflect the unique needs of local youth.

Speakers
avatar for DeAndre James

DeAndre James

Executive Director, Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley
As Executive Director of the Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley, DeAndre’ James takes an active role as a leader and activist in the community. He works with both the board and staff to implement the strategic plan and explores new opportunities. His personal mission is to... Read More →
Friday September 11, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am PDT
30 E

10:30am PDT

Lighthouse Talk: Empowering Youth to Create Ripple Effects in Their Communities
Friday September 11, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am PDT
Join us for a dynamic 12-minute Lighthouse Talk, designed to showcase bold ideas, innovative practices, and inspiring stories shaping the future of student mental health and wellness. This presentation is one of four featured during this one-hour block. Due to the fast-paced format, there will be no formal Q&A, but we encourage you to connect with the speaker directly after the block to continue the conversation.

Although reported percentages vary, it is well established that adolescents experience mental health challenges at high rates. Teens often do not feel “heard” by adults or comfortable reaching out to them for fear of judgment, minimization of their issue, or attempts to “fix” it. Building upon the premise that teens feel more comfortable talking to a peer who knows the unique challenges of being a teen in 2026, the session navigators will share the unique ways they have empowered youth to help one another and their respective communities.
Speakers
avatar for Cheryl Eskin

Cheryl Eskin

Senior Director, Teen Line, a Program of Didi Hirsch
Teen Line, a Program of Didi Hirsch, is a hotline for teens staffed by teens.  Los Angeles-based trained teen listeners take calls, texts or emails from teens all over the country.  No problem is too big or too small for our teen listeners.  Teen Line is open every night 6-10 PM... Read More →
Friday September 11, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am PDT
30 E

10:30am PDT

Lighthouse Talk: Nothing Heals Like Sport
Friday September 11, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am PDT
Join us for a dynamic 12-minute Lighthouse Talk, designed to showcase bold ideas, innovative practices, and inspiring stories shaping the future of student mental health and wellness. This presentation is one of four featured during this one-hour block. Due to the fast-paced format, there will be no formal Q&A, but we encourage you to connect with the speaker directly after the block to continue the conversation.

At a time when conversations about youth mental health are largely focused on problems and limitations, we want to zero in on a creative and accessible opportunity hiding in plain sight: sport.

In this session, participants will examine sport through a “brain-based” lens to draw clear connections between neurodevelopment and three inherent properties of sport - movement, connection, and manageable stress. With a deeper understanding of how the brain and nervous system develop, participants will begin to see how intentionally designed sport experiences can act as a powerful tool to support youth mental health and wellbeing.

Speakers
Friday September 11, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am PDT
30 E
 
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