PEAR - Program in Education, Afterschool & Resiliency

Moderator: Dr. Blenda J. Wilson, President & CEO, Nellie Mae Education Foundation

A presentation of strategies that seek to take the engagement of schools and afterschool to new levels by bringing about education system change.

This panel is for practioners, administrators and policy makers interested in exploring the expanding forms that partnerships are taking to serve students.

Jennifer Davis is the Co-Founder and President of Massachusetts 2020, a non-profit foundation founded in 2000 focused on expanding educational and economic opportunities for children and families across Massachusetts. Massachusetts 2020 currently focuses chiefly on efforts to expand and improve learning opportunities for Massachusetts' children during out-of-school time. In 1998, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino appointed Jennifer Davis to serve as the Executive Director of the Boston 2:00-to-6:00 After-School Initiative. In this capacity, Jennifer designed and implemented strategies to expand high quality, affordable, after-school opportunities for youth in communities across Boston. Jennifer Davis served in the Clinton Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs, at the U.S. Department of Education. Jennifer also worked as the Special Assistant to Secretary of Education Richard Riley from March of 1993 until March of 1997 where she helped to coordinate the successful Congressional passage and implementation of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. From 1989 to 1992, Jennifer was the Special Assistant to the Executive Director of the bi-partisan National Governors' Association (NGA), and advised the Director on education and health policy, management, and political issues.

Virginia Witt has more than twenty years' experience in children and youth advocacy, policy and analysis, with a special focus on education and health care. In senior roles at the Children's Defense Fund and the National Education Association, Virginia worked at the national policy level to promote the interests of children and education. Her work at the NEA focused on such key issues as advocating a multi-faceted quality public schools agenda. As a Senior Program Officer at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Virginia spearheaded public education campaigns in partnership with media companies such as CBS Television and Black Entertainment Television, to advance adolescent health and prevention efforts. For the past three years, Virginia has served as Executive Director of the San Francisco Beacon Initiative, the city's flagship youth development program based in public schools, working in close partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District. On stepping down from the Beacon Initiative in February or 2006, Virginia received a Certificate of Honor for her leadership from Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Dr. Blenda J. Wilson is the first President & Chief Executive Officer of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. Established on July 1, 1998, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation is one of the largest foundations in New England, and the largest focused exclusively on education. The Foundation's mission is to promote accessibility, quality and effectiveness of education, especially for under-served populations in New England, via grantmaking, research and policy development. Dr. Wilson was formerly the president of California State University, Northridge. She successfully led the university's recovery from the Northridge Earthquake of January 1994, which caused over $400 million in damages to the campus. Prior to her tenure at CSU - Northridge, Dr. Wilson was chancellor of the University of Michigan, Dearborn. From 1984 to 1988, she was executive director of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, where she served as an officer in the governor's cabinet. She was Vice President, Effective Sector Management, at INDEPENDENT SECTOR from 1982-1984. From 1972-1982, Dr. Wilson was senior associate dean at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Wilson began her career in higher education administration at Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1969.

The Message is the Medium: Communication Strategies for Real Change

Panelists:

Jane spent twenty-five years as a writer, producer and developer of public and commercial television programs and series. She served as Senior Producer and Project Manager of "Keeping Kids on Track," a two-year media campaign sponsored by the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, KeySpan, and Boston's ABC affiliate, WCVB-TV Channel Five. The campaign, which won the coveted National Association of Broadcasters Service to America Award, focused on the vital importance of after-school programs to children, families and communities. For almost a decade, Jane was a producer for New England's nightly television newsmagazine show, "Chronicle," where she often covered issues related to education, children, and families. She also produced several historical retrospectives for the program.

For PBS, Jane developed college telecourses in the arts and humanities, as well as children's programming, including "Long Ago & Far Away," the children's literature series hosted by James Earl Jones. Jane produced a national special about Tip O'Neill, Jr, on the occasion of his retirement, segments for "The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour," and other award-winning public affairs programs for PBS, including a business special that was nominated for a National Emmy. She was also Senior Researcher for PBS' "The American Experience."

As an independent documentary producer, Jane co-produced an hour-long documentary for PBS about famed aviator Amelia Earhart. She has also produced video documentaries for a variety of non-profit and governmental organizations, including the Centers for Women at Wellesley College, the Illinois Department on Aging, the Kellogg Foundation, and Massachusetts 2020.

Outside of television, Jane has served as Director of Communications for the Boston Public Schools. In that capacity, she was the superintendent's Press Secretary, created the school system's first professional media guidelines, served on the superintendent's cabinet, and guided principals and other school administrators on media relations. At the non-profit organization, Facing History and Ourselves, Jane initiated and led the effort to overhaul the organization's website. Currently, Jane is working with United Way of Massachusetts Bay on a statewide strategic communications and community mobilization effort titled "What Kids Need."

Throughout her career, Jane has written articles for newspapers, magazines and newsletters. Her work has focused largely on translating scholarly and complex topics into accessible material for public audiences.

Jane graduated Summa Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Minnesota, with a double major in Journalism and Near Eastern Studies. She studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and holds a Masters degree in Journalism from Boston University. Jane has served on the boards of several local and national organizations, including the American Jewish Committee, PEAR, and BOSTnet (Building the Out-of-School Time Network). She was also a founding board member of a Hebrew after-school program in Cambridge. Jane lives in Belmont, Massachusetts with her husband and daughter.

Peg Sprague has over thirty years experience working as a teacher, administrator, consultant and program developer in the fields of early childhood, after-school and work/life. In her current position she is responsible for the development and implementation of community-based strategies for children (early childhood and school-age) that effectively respond to identified community needs and achieve measurable community impact.

Throughout her career Peg has worked on developing innovative program models that enable the practical application of current research and actively engage adults who work with and teach children in broadening their knowledge base and improving their practice. Peg has also worked with many major U.S. Corporations, including IBM, AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, Allstate, and Texas Instruments in the development and execution of community-based strategies to meet their employees' child care and elder care needs. She was a leader on the consulting team that staffs the American Business Collaboration for Quality Dependent Care, a collaboration of 19 national corporations who have jointly invested more than $125 million to increase the supply and improve the quality of dependent care in over 65 communities nationwide.

Prior positions also include, Senior Associate, Families and Work Institute in New York, where she led the development of a video-based series of learning modules for early childhood teachers applying the latest findings from brain research, and WFD, the consulting firm in Boston, that staffs the American Business Collaboration, where she held the position of consulting Practice Leader, Community Development. Peg serves on the advisory committee of a national early childhood organization - the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood National Technical Assistance and Quality Improvement Center, and is a board member of the Lee Academy Pilot School in -the first pilot school in the Boston public schools to enroll 3 and 4 year old children. She has worked as a consultant for the National Association for the Education of Young Children and has also advised on the development of the accreditation standards and system for the national School-Age Accreditation.

For her work in directing and enhancing a school-based program for teen parents at Cambridge Ridge and Latin High School, Women in Philanthropy recognized Peg for her outstanding contribution to the community. She is a contributing author in the development of several college course curricula, and has published articles related to program accreditation and effective strategies for corporate participation in developing child care centers.

Peg holds a Bachelor's degree in Education from Simmons College where she graduated with distinction, and earned her Master's Degree in Human Services Administration at Wheelock College where she has been on the adjunct faculty.

Creating the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

Moderator: Jolie Siegel, Associate, Choate, Hall and Stuart LLP

A large number of new businesses are started by first time entrepreneurs each year. This economic activity is elemental to the local and national economies, improves the quality of many lives, and provides the US with a sustainable competitive advantage in a variety of industries. PEAR is actively engaged in developing ways to help at-risk youth discover that what they are learning in the classroom is relevant to the real world and the overall economy.

The panel will explore how the promotion of entrepreneurial literacy among youth can lead to greater understanding of the free market system, better and more educational and occupational opportunities, greater economic development, and ---ultimately, the development of enduring self esteem and life skills.

Panelists:

Gail Deegan, Executive in Residence, Simmons School of Management and Babson College

Jean Horstman, Director of Apprenticeships, Citizen Schools

Sheree Speakman, Chief Operating Officer, British Schools of America

Helen Rosenfeld, Executive Director with NFTE, manages all of NFTE's New England programmatic and operational activities. Ms. Rosenfeld was the Director of Business Development for three years before assuming her present position. Her previous experiences include a wide range of domestic and international assignments with nonprofit organizations associated with reaching economic development and empowerment goals.

She began her career with CARE, a large international aid agency, and
subsequently spent time working with micro enterprise development
organizations in India. Prior to joining NFTE, Ms. Rosenfeld worked with
the Center for Women & Enterprise, a Boston-based non-profit organization providing business advisory services to women entrepreneurs. She holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Cambridge (UK).

Jolie Siegel

Jolie M. Siegel is an associate in Choate Corporate Department and a member of the Private Equity, General Corporate & Securities, Mergers & Acquisitions and Business & Technology Practice Groups. Her practice focuses on transactional work, as well as general corporate representation and counseling. Ms. Siegel's practice ranges from general corporate and securities matters, including counseling on corporate governance and securities law compliance, to public offerings, private equity transactions, venture capital financings, and mergers and acquisitions.

Prior to joining Choate in 2005, Ms. Siegel practiced in the business practice group at Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, LLP.

In addition to working with her clients, Ms. Siegel has served for several years as a coach and law firm coordinator for Citizen Schools 8 th Grade Academy, a pro bono program through which attorneys work directly with Boston eighth grade students on persuasive writing skills.

While a third year law student, Ms. Siegel was selected to be an Arthur Littleton and H. Clayton Louderback Legal Writing Instructor, responsible for teaching legal writing and research skills to first year students. Additionally, while in law school, Ms. Siegel was an Associate and Senior Editor on the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Labor and Employment Law, where she published a comment entitled Project Labor Agreements and Competitive Bidding Statutes , University of Pennsylvania Journal of Labor and Employment Law, Volume 3, Number 2, Winter 2001

Active Youth: Tackling Obesity and Physical Activty in After School

Moderator: Kevin Fitzgerald, Special Assistant to the Director, Center for the Study of Sport in Society, Northeastern University

Nationwide, 29% of youth are overweight or at risk of overweight and a third of youth are getting an insufficient level of physical activity according to the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. After school is an opportunity for students to engage in physical activity, receive healthy snacks and learn the skills necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle outside of school. However, we must look beyond snacks and activities and think about creating after-school environments through programs and policies to promote and foster healthy lifestyles.

Panelists:

Dr. Lilian Cheung is a lecturer, Director of Health Promotion and Communication, and Editorial Director of the Nutrition Source website www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource at the Harvard School of Public Health's Department of Nutrition. A registered dietitian, she has extensive experience in youth-based programs and health communication including being Co-investigator at the Harvard Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity and Co-principal investigator of Eat Well & Keep Moving , an award winning school-based nutrition and physical activity program for upper elementary school children (Human Kinetics, 2001), which has been widely disseminated, nationally and internationally. Dr. Cheung served on the Steering Committee for the Massachusetts Partnership for Healthy Weight, and co-chaired the Chronic Disease Communications Task Force. She currently serves on numerous advisory boards and committees including Girls, Inc., Girls Scouts of the USA, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston. She has authored articles and books for both professionals and the public, with a focus on nutrition and physical activity for children. Her latest book is written for adolescent girls, Be Healthy! It's A Girl Thing: Food, Fitness and Feeling Great! (Crown Publishing/Random House 2003).

Dr. Christina D. Economos is the New Balance Chair in Childhood Nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. An 1996 alumna of the Friedman School, Dr. Economos is currently the Associate Director of the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Assistant Professor at the Friedman School, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at Tufts' Medical School--where she serves as the MPH Nutrition Concentration Leader--and a Scientist III at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging.

Dr. Economos earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston University, a Master of Science in Applied Physiology and Nutrition from Columbia University and a doctorate in Nutritional Biochemistry from the Friedman School at Tufts University. She is a highly respected scientist and educator, and currently the principal investigator of two large-scale studies examining children and nutrition and physical activity: The BONES (Beat Osteoporosis: Nourish and Exercise Skeletons) Project and Shape Up Somerville, EAT SMART, PLAY HARD. In the latter project, Dr. Economos has enlisted the support and involvement of the public school system and community of Somerville, Massachusetts. Dr. Economos also directs the Tufts Longitudinal Health Study, which focuses on the relationships between health knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and physiologic outcomes of college-age students over time. It is the only study of its kind in the nation. Dr. Economos' success in garnering significant research grants for these studies has led to the involvement of more than 300 students in research and training activities since 1999, many of whom she has mentored.

Among her many advisory board and professional activities, Dr. Economos served as a Faculty Fellow of the University College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts (June 2003-June 2005) and a past appointed member of the Massachusetts Governor's Committee on Physical Fitness and Sports. Dr. Economos has been a member of the Americans in Motion Advisory Panel of the American Academy of Family Physicians for the past three years. As a result of her work in early prevention of osteoporosis, Dr. Economos was invited to become a member of the National Dairy Council, 3-A-Day Advisory Panel, where she provides strategic direction for the nutrition, education, and communications components of this nationwide program. Additional Advisory Board memberships focus on children's nutrition and physical activity and include the United Way of Mass Bay, Boston Children's Museum, Massachusetts Nutrition Board at the Department of Public Health and the Tufts University Center for Children. She is a regular keynote speaker, invited to present to groups on behalf of healthcare and medical organizations, universities, women's associations, the American Dietetic Association, and the American College of Sports Medicine, among others. She is one of the key people at Tufts advising the Tufts and John Hancock Boston Marathon running teams on nutrition and fitness.

Chris Lynch is the Youth Sports Coordinator with the Boston Youth Sports Initiative (BYSI), which is under the umbrella of Boston After School & Beyond. The goal of the BYSI is to promote youth sports as a positive youth development approach by working with and for Boston's urban youth sports programs and supporters. BYSI encourages, strengthens and builds network connections, with the goals of improved information sharing, quality, scale and sustainability in the sector.

Chris has spent the past seven years in urban youth sports. Prior to becoming the Boston Youth Sports Coordinator, Lynch was the Managing Director of MetroLacrosse, an out of school time program for 500 middle and high school students from Boston, Cambridge and Chelsea which used lacrosse as a medium to teach participants about R.E.S.P.E.C.T. (responsibility, effort, sportsmanship, enthusiasm, communication and teamwork). Lynch spent five years prior to this working with SquashBusters, a Boston-based youth development program which works with middle and high school students from Boston and Cambridge to learn the sport of squash, receive academic tutoring, become involved in community service and mentoring.

Lynch was an elementary school teacher and middle school coach for over ten years before becoming involved in urban youth sports. He has a BA from Bates College and an MEd. from Lesley University.

Kevin Fitzgerald

PRESENT: SERGEANT-AT-ARMS 2003 - PRESENT

PREVIOUS: STATE REPRESENTATIVE, 1975 - 2003

ASSISTANT MAJORITY WHIP FOUNDER AND FIRST CHAIRPERSON OF THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATIVE CHILDREN'S CAUCUS

CO-FOUNDER AND CHAIRPERSON, COMMISSION ON HISPANIC AFFAIRS COMMUNITY

FORMER MEMBER, BOARD OF TRUSTEES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HOSPITALS, CITY OF BOSTON

MEMBER, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, BOSTON CENTER FOR BLIND
CHILDREN

MEMBER, BOARD OF OVERSEER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

MEMBER, BOARD OF OVERSEER WENTWORTH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

MEMBER, BOARD OF INCORPORATORS, NEW ENGLAND BAPTIST HOSPITAL

Coordinating Funding for Afterschool Programming

Moderator: Gwynn Hughes, Managing Director, Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership

Few federal funding sources support afterschool programming directly. While this decentralized funding environment has spurred afterschool leaders to develop innovative public/private partnerships to sustain their programs, the funding system is hard to navigate. Discussion will center around coordination, how some states and cities are doing this and the pro's and cons.

Panelists:

Suzanne Birdsall, Coordinator, NH 21st Century Community Learning Centers

Sarah Cahill, Director, Rhode Island Afterschool Plus Alliance

Susan O'Connor, Senior Consultant and Coordinator of the Westmost Network, Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation

John P. Albert is the Vice President of External Relations for The After-School Corporation (TASC), a non-profit organization dedicated to building publicly supported systems of high quality after-school programs. TASC supports more than 250 school-based after-school programs in New York City serving more than 40,000 students. In his role at TASC, John works to build political, public and financial support for after-school programs among federal, state and city leaders and in the private sector.

Previously, John was the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the
City of New York Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) where he was responsible for developing and pursuing the agency's legislative agenda on the state and federal levels. Prior to his work for DYCD Albert was Senior Director of Government Affairs at Safe Horizon, Inc.

John is a graduate of the University at Albany and holds a law degree
from Albany Law School. In addition to board positions with various New York City-based non-profits, he chairs the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Committee on State Affairs.

Gwynn Hughes is the Director of the Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership, a public-private partnership dedicated to improving resources and quality for after school programming in the Commonwealth. Prior to heading the Partnership, Ms. Hughes served in the Secretariat of Health and Human Services for Massachusetts, overseeing multi-agency projects to benefit low-income children and families. Ms. Hughes has served in state government in a variety of capacities, including serving as Chief Operating Officer for the former child care agency, the Office of Child Care Services. Ms. Hughes holds a J.D. from Northeastern University, and a masters in music from the University of Virginia.

Reaching Out: Understanding and Connecting with Youth Exposed to Trauma and Violence

With the recent surge in violence, and other challenging circumstances of life, many of Greater Boston's youth cannot escape the impact of direct or indirect trauma. This workshop focuses on helping participants understand the various types of direct and indirect trauma experienced by some youth and strategies for strengthening connections and building relationships with youth who may be hard to reach.

Marilyn Anderson Chase, serving as senior vice president of Community Impact at United Way of Massachusetts Bay (UWMB), she sets the strategy for the distribution of millions of dollars in funds donated to agencies and programs in the UWMB area and the individuals and families served by them. She is a key community leader in public policy development and program planning to meet social and human service needs and is one of six senior managers shaping the vision, goals and strategic direction of the organization.

Marilyn grew up in a community that taught her exceptional values. She learned of the personal and professional rewards that come from working hard and the value of dedicating her life to public service. While her neighborhood and parents gave her the platform to succeed, it wasn't until she found a professional mentor in Percy Wilson, executive director of Roxbury Multi-Service Center, that her career really began to take shape. The experience so impressed Marilyn that she now serves as mentor for three young women, sharing the wisdom and advice she has gleaned throughout her life.

Marilyn, who holds a Masters in Social Work (M.S.W.) from the University of Michigan (where she also received a National Institute of Mental Health Fellowship), has been an adjunct professor at Boston University, Simmons College and Boston College. Before joining United Way of Mass Bay, she served as executive director and CEO of Central Boston Elder Services, managing an $8 million budget and 60 staff to deliver home care services to over 2,300 low-income, elderly Bostonians. She also worked as the director at the Governor's Office of Community Service during the 2nd Dukakis Administration and as executive director of Roxbury Multi-Service Center. One of Marilyn's greatest professional experiences was serving as chief of staff to Kitty Dukakis during the 1988 Dukakis presidential campaign. Working behind the scenes, she learned about the political process and honed her skills in leadership and individual decision-making.

Marilyn currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Boston After-School for All Partnership and the Advisory Committee of the Black Church Capacity Building Project.

Deborah Prothrow-Stith, MD is a nationally recognized public health leader. As a physician working in inner-city Boston, she broke new ground with her efforts to have youth violence defined as a public health problem; not just a criminal justice issue. Her passion for prevention was not satisfied with the emergency room work of "stitching people up and sending them out." She turned to public health and, with others, created a social movement to prevent violence that has had an impact on Boston and the nation. In 1987, she was appointed the first woman Commissioner of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In that role, she established the first Office of Violence Prevention in a state department of public health, expanded prevention programs for HIV/AIDS and increased drug treatment and rehabilitation programs.

As a chief spokesperson for a national movement to prevent violence and a frequent speaker in national media and public forums, Dr. Prothrow-Stith supports the application of rigorous scientific methods to strengthen violence prevention programs. She developed and wrote The Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents , a fore-runner of violence prevention curriculum for schools and communities. She is the author of Deadly Consequences , the first book to present the public health perspective on violence to a mass audience. She has authored and/or co-authored over 80 publications on medical and public health issues. She and co-author Howard Spivak, M.D. offer a blue print for community based violence prevention work in their book, Murder Is No Accident (Jossey Bass Publishers, 2004) and a guide for parents of girls in their book Sugar and Spice and No Longer Nice, (Jossey Bass Publishers, 2005).

Dr. Prothrow-Stith currently serves as Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor of Public Health Practice at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). At HSPH, Dr. Prothrow-Stith created and served as founding director of the Division of Public Health Practice. A Spelman College and Harvard Medical School graduate, she has received ten honorary doctorates, the 1993 World Health Day Award, the 1989 Secretary of Health and Human Service Award, and a Presidential appointment to the National Commission on Crime Control and Prevention.

Chris Womack is Program Director of Boston TenPoint Coalition; Nationally ad Internationally recognized Speaker/Youth Advocate, including at U.S. Dept of Justice & Education conferences; Ordained Minister; Sample of accomplishments include: Member of Citywide Crisis Response Team; Mediated over 100 conflicts between noted rival street gangs and significantly improved public safety in Boston's public schools and streets; Introduced performance management program into the City of Boston's Youth Unit division; Co-Founder and Program Director of God's Posse (street-based outreach program for at-risk youth/young adults); Youth Counselor, Outreach Educator/Trainer, and Instructor at community centers and alternative public schools; Numerous professional affiliations, community service, workshops, presentations, certificates and awards, including 1995 Meiko Hill Peace Award, 1998 Streetworker Award (Boston Community Centers), 2000 Citizens Award (Massachusetts Family Institute), 2002 Street Peace Day Award (Street Peace, Inc.).

Anthony Toombs Sr. is the Outreach Coordinator for the Children's Trauma Recovery Foundation and a Community Counselor Advocate. He is committed to the development of networking positive community outlets for youth in Metro Boston and possesses a unique understanding of people and multicultural ethics. By encouraging empowerment through street relationships, Anthony is able to inspire and sustain individual successes in many at the inertia stage of development. He is also an experienced and talented musician who uses performing arts as a tool to peak interest of youth in efforts of fostering education importance.

Anthony joined forces with the Trauma Center and the Children¡¯s Trauma Recovery Foundation 3 years ago. Prior Anthony worked for Roxbury Youthworks for several years.

Translating Best Practices into Multimedia Tools for After School Programs

We know that afterschool is valuable for kids, but what exactly is it about an afterschool program that's good, and in what ways can these qualities be quantified and replicated?

In this panel and workshop participants will learn about best practices and see examples of using media and outreach for staff training and program use.

Afterschool expert Beth Miller will present the broad research from the MARS project and four other studies, addressing the question about what works in afterschool and why. WGBH Producers Cynthia McKeown and Arthur Smith will present their work on the Afterschool Training Toolkits, a effort of the National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Enrichment, showing video and web examples. WGBH Outreach Coordinator Ellen Robinson will show present hands-on activities specifically designed for afterschool settings and require easy-to-find and inexpensive materials.

Beth M. Miller, Ph.D. is the President of Miller-Midzik Research Associates and Senior Research Advisor at the National Institute of Out-of-School Time (NIOST), Center for Research on Women, Wellesley College. For the past two decades, Dr. Miller's work has bridged the worlds of research, policy and practice. Recent projects include: the design of an evaluation system for the Massachusetts Department of Education's 21 st CCLC grantees; the Massachusetts Afterschool Research Study (MARS); evaluations of the Literacy Coaching Initiative and TERC's Mixing in Math initiative; and authorship of Critical Hours: Afterschool Programs and Educational Success.

Arthur R. Smith produces Web sites and enhanced DVD-Video projects for WGBH Boston. His recent projects include teacher professional development sites on teaching math, school reform in the urban high school, and effective after-school practices. He has lead the production on several successful sites on PBS Online and Learner.org including Misunderstood Minds, a program on learning differences (MIMC award winner), Discovering Psychology, a companion site to a 26-part telecourse, and Sister Wendy's American Collection, a companion site to a national PBS broadcast.

Cynthia A. McKeown produces video programs and vignettes for WGBH in Boston. In addition to capturing promising practices in afterschool programs, she has also produced two major series on subjects ranging from early literacy development ( Teaching Reading K-2: A Library of Classroom Practices ) to innovative pedagogical approaches to sciences and mathematics instruction ( Teachers As Learners: Professional Development in Science and Mathematics ) . Prior to working at WGBH, she produced professional development videos for Voices, a national program that uses multicultural children's literature to teach ethics and promote social skills development.

Ellen Robinson, WGBH Outreach Coordinator, develops science activities, leads workshops, and coordinates events for afterschool providers, librarians, teachers, and kids around PBS programs ZOOM, NOVA's Einstein's Big Idea, and upcoming FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman. Prior to working at WGBH, she was an event coordinator for Showtime Networks in New York.

Where Education and Mental Health Meet:
Innovative Ways to Change Systems and Relate to Kids

Panelists:

Marta Gredler is the Executive Director of the Full-service Schools Roundtable - a coalition established in 2000 to advance the healthy development and academic success of students in Boston through integrated school/community partnerships. Coalition members represent Boston Public School administrators and student support staff, mental health agencies, hospitals and community health centers, universities, youth development programs, state agencies, City of Boston departments, family support organizations, and other non-profits partnering with BPS.

Prior to assuming the leadership of the Roundtable, Marta served for ten years on the board and staff of Parents United for Child Care, an intermediary focused on strengthening and expanding the quality, accessibility and affordability of out-of-school time services. While there, she was the Director of Programs and was one of the co-founders of Achieve Boston, a citywide professional development system-building effort.

Marta received her B.A. from Clark University and a M.Ed. from Antioch University. Her career spans 30+ years as an after school provider and director, educator, consultant, adjunct faculty, and advocate for youth and family issues.

Susan Ayers. In 1988, Ms. Susan C. Ayers, LICSW became the Executive Director of The Guidance Center, Inc. (GCI), which is located in Cambridge, MA. During her 18 years of leadership, she has assembled and led an extraordinarily talented, visionary team. In dynamic partnerships with community colleagues, GCI's Board of Directors and various private funders (both public and private), GCI has grown tenfold. The agency is driven by systems of care principles and the desire to bridge the gap between research and community-based practice. Ms. Ayers is a passionate advocate for innovative family-centered, coordinated community-based services that are supported by smart public policy.

The Development of a Community-Based System of Care by Ms. Ayers and Dr. D. Russell Lyman and The Ecology of Intensive Community-Based Intervention by Dr. Lyman and Mr. Borja Alvarez de Toledo are two chapters detailing the distinctive work of The Guidance Center, Inc. These can be found in Handbook of Community Based Clinical Practice, edited by Anita Lightburn and Phoebe Sessions and published by Oxford University Press in 2006.

Jennifer Maylone, LCSW, is the Education and Site Director for the RALLY (Responsive Advocacy for Life and Learning in Youth) Program at Mary Curley Middle School. Jennifer was a Peace and Global Studies and African/African American Studies Major at Earlham College, and served in the Peace Corps in Mauritania. Prior to coming to PEAR, she led wilderness programs for high risk populations in the Bay Area, combining experiential education curriculum and adventure therapy principles to promote change and growth in young people and adults. Jennifer is certified as a school-based counselor, received her MSW from the University of Michigan, and has co-authored several papers on Adventure Based Counseling as an intervention for children with Conduct Disorder and other behavioral problems.

Henry White, M.D. has served as Clinical Director at the Brookline Community Mental Health Center since 1984. In this capacity, he provides consultation to staff at Brookline High School (BHS) as well as being a member of School's Crisis Intervention Team. Dr. White is Project Director of the Brookline High Risk Youth Taskforce, an innovative program at BHS funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that provides a range of clinical, social, and academic supports to youth in transition from hospital to community. He is Clinical Instructor at Harvard Medical School.

Richard Weissbourd is currently a Lecturer in Education at Harvard's Graduate School of Education and Kennedy School of Government. His work focuses on vulnerability and resilience in childhood, moral development and effective schools and services for children. For several years he worked as a psychologist in community mental health centers as well as on the Annie Casey Foundation's New Futures Project, an effort to prevent children from dropping out of school. He is a founder of several interventions for at-risk children, including ReadBoston and WriteBoston, city-wide literacy initiatives, led by Mayor Menino, a new pilot school that begins with children at 3 years old, and Project ASPIRE, a social and ethical development intervention in three Boston schools. He has advised on the city, state and federal levels on family policy and school reform. He has written for numerous scholarly and popular publications, including The New York Times , The New Republic , The Chicago Tribune , The Boston Globe , The Christian Science Monitor , Daedalus and The American Prospect . He is the author of The Vulnerable Child: What Really Hurts America's Children and What We Can Do About It (Addison-Wesley, 1996). He is currently working on a book on moral development(Houghton Mifflin, 2007).

A New Way: Ambitious Strategies to Change Education

The Message is the Medium: Communication Strategies for Real Change

Panelists:

Creating the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

Active Youth: Tackling Obesity and Physical Activty in After School

Coordinating Funding for Afterschool Programming

Reaching Out: Understanding and Connecting with Youth Exposed to Trauma and Violence

Translating Best Practices into Multimedia Tools for After School Programs

Where Education and Mental Health Meet: Innovative Ways to Change Systems and Relate to Kids

Where Education and Mental Health Meet:
Innovative Ways to Change Systems and Relate to Kids