Conference Objectives
At the completion of this conference, participants will:
- Understand how the structural inequalities beginning with the period of enslavement continue to impact African Americans and their communities today.
- Select and apply strategies to enhance empowerment for African American populations at risk, and to promote economic and social justice.
- Analyze relevant concepts of the Relationship Approach and the Philosophical Aspect of cultural difference as a basis for understanding the behaviors of African American individuals and families within their social/cultural environments.
- Examine and investigate culturally appropriate interventions including “Virtues Training” for work with African American individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.
- Understand the role that social learning theory and learned helplessness has played in the adaptive behaviors of African Americans and other racial and ethnic groups.
- Apply improvement tools in work with individuals, families and communities.
Improvement Strategies
Participants will learn about improvement as a science and its implications for supporting healing initiatives and social justice as a framework that helps to accelerate how we learn to improve. It is a user and problem centered approach to accelerate teaching and learning through action, learning by doing. As the improvement process advances, previously unknown problems often emerge and improvement activities may need to move in new directions. Rapid tests of change are suggested to guide the continued fine-tuning of new tools, processes, roles and relationships. The objective of IS then, is to facilitate a focused learning journey.
The primary goals of the training are to focus on how we improve, how we reduce stress, how to effectively problem solve and ultimately learning how to “struggle well.”
Conference Schedule
All times are Eastern Standard Time
October 8
8:30 am - Welcome and Introduction (Devotional)
9:30 am - Keynote: Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome Part 1
12:30 - Lunch Break
1:30 pm - Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome Part 2
3:45 pm - Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome Part 3
5:45pm - Wrap-up for Day 1
October 9
8:30am - Welcome (Devotional)
9:00am - Improvement Strategies: How We Improve & How We Reduce Stress
10:45am - Break Out Session #1
12:00 pm - Lunch Break
1:30pm - Keynote: Be the Healing - Engaging Communities
2:30pm - Break Out Session #2
5:00pm - Wrap-up for Day 2
Dr. Joy Angela DeGruy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication, a Master's degree in Social Work (MSW), a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology, and a PhD in Social Work Research. Dr. DeGruy is a nationally and internationally renowned researcher and educator. For over two decades, she served as an Assistant Professor at Portland State University’s School of Social Work and now serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Joy DeGruy Publications Inc.
Dr. DeGruy’s research focuses on the intersection of racism, trauma, violence and American chattel slavery. She has over thirty years of practical experience as a professional in the field of social work. She conducts workshops and trainings in the areas of intergenerational/historical trauma, mental health, social justice, improvement strategies and evidence based model development.