2022 National Conference
In the beginning of October, Suited for Change hosted the Alliance for Career Development Nonprofits (ACDN) for their annual conference.
The event was filled with incredible speakers, all sharing their best practices to strengthen the effectiveness of services and the sustainability of community-based organizations that secure and maintain employment.
To kick off the conference, ACDN welcomed Artem Gulish, Senior Policy Strategist at Georgetown University. With a background in youth policy and race/ethnicity, gender, and economic equity, his engaging presentation, The Uncertain Pathway from Youth to a Good Job, got everyone in the mindset for the weekend: finding ways to break barriers facing our clients.
Day two began with a Trauma-Informed, Sensitive & Responsive Care training led by Kryah Altman, CEO and Co-founder of Let’s Empower, Advocate, and Do, Inc. (LEAD), followed by a lively workshop on how to Harness the Power of Perception for Your Organization by Lynda-Ross Vega.
As the industry leader in mental health and DEIJB education, LEAD’s mission is to provide training and curriculum to strengthen mental health literacy, promote lifelong well-being, and build community resilience.
In a four hour period, Kryah led dynamic discussions on how to identify indicators of the ‘panic zone’ in fellow team/community members in order to respond with intention to de-escalate, gain co-regulation techniques, and set SMART goals to build trauma-informed best practices.
Every attendee was able to find key takeaways to bring back to their organization to provide better client care on the individual level.
In the afternoon, Lynda-Ross led an engaging workshop on tapping into the power of your natural strengths and unlocking the power of your perception.
With a fascination with what makes people tick since she was a child, Lynda-Ross has always had a curiosity about human diversity and ways to bring out the best in people.
By the end of her session, everyone was thinking differently about how their perception of the world varied from the person sitting next to them, and how best to utilize these different perceptions in the workforce.
As an added bonus, every ACDN conference attendee was able to have the incredible opportunity to get a professional headshot by Violetta Markelou.
Not only a photographer but also a stylist and visual director, her portraits are created with a strong fashion emphasis. To experience a photoshoot with Violetta is a transformative experience, as she makes each of her subjects feel safe and empowered.
As a perfect way to tie together all the presentations, Christina Eanes led an energetic and hands-on workshop on the Five Strategies for Empowered Resilience, on the final day of the conference.
With a goal to inspire others to take responsibility for their success at work, Christina provided the ACDN attendees with invaluable strategies that lead to better professional and personal relationships, improved communication skills, and, ultimately, increased productivity in accomplishing personal and organizational goals.
To wrap up the conference, everyone headed over for a site visit at the Suited for Change boutique to see our facility, debrief from all of the incredible workshops, and of course – shop!
We had such a wonderful time learning from every speaker and chatting with our ACDN partners. Thank you to ACDN for hosting such an engaging and informative event. We are already looking forward to seeing everyone again next year!
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