2023 Sessions

Attendees will gain insight into their own negative and positive feelings resulting from helping others in their professions by taking the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) measure. Local mental health therapist, Luba Bijelic, and UNI Social Work Professor, Jaimie O’Gara, will lead self-care exercises (self-compassion, breathing, gentle movement) that can be used to prevent and address burnout and/or vicarious trauma. 

Presenters

Jaimie O’Gara, UNI Department of Social Work
Dr. O’Gara is a fatherhood and family-strengthening scholar. Her research focuses on factors and processes that contribute to youth and family wellbeing and resilience, with an emphasis on the non-residential father’s role in promoting long-term child wellbeing. Her work is intended to inform community policies and practices to equip families with the skills and resources to overcome hardships so that all families can thrive. As a clinician, Dr. O’Gara has treated a range of individuals from infancy to older adulthood facing an array of clinical concerns such as substance use issues, mental health disorders, and trauma.

Luba Bijelic, Bijelic Counseling and Consulting Services, LLC
Luba Bijelic is a licensed mental health counselor with a Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Northern Iowa. Luba works with individuals struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma, grief and other mental health issues. She is passionate about helping clients work through difficult emotions and find ways to cope with life stressors. Luba is dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment where clients can explore their thoughts, emotions and experiences. With a focus on building a trusting relationship, she utilizes evidence-based therapies such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, solution-focused and trauma-informed therapy. Luba enjoys helping clients reach their goals and achieve personal growth.

Learning Objectives

1. Gain insight into the negative and positive feelings resulting from helping others who experience trauma and suffering. 

2. Understand how one’s identity and trauma history is related to the potential for vicarious trauma. 

3. Learn the connection between self-compassion and self-care.

4. Practice and become familiar with new self-care exercises. 

This session will discuss services provided to assist those wanting to pursue further education. We will highlight the health-related programs that are eligible for the Future Ready Last Dollar Scholarship; Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

Presenters

Lovely Henderson, Assistant Director, Educational Opportunity Center, UNI-CUE
Lovely is the Assistant Director with the Educational Opportunity Center. She has served in the capacity of an Educational Counselor assisting with admissions and financial aid processing, course planning, career selection, resolving defaulted student loans and student support services available on campuses. She facilitates formal financial aid, college admission, scholarship, and career workshops to audiences of diverse backgrounds and ages. She has worked with the Educational Opportunity Center for over 11 years. Mrs Henderson has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Northern Iowa in Criminology and Sociology.

Charles Mhoon, Educational Counselor, Educational Opportunity Center, UNI-CUE
Charles is an Educational Counselor with the Educational Opportunity Center. He has served in his role for nearly 5 years. Charles holds a BA in Psychology and a MA in Postsecondary Education (Student Affairs) both from UNI. His primary focus is providing educational resources and information to adult learners in the 6 counties he serves in while also serving on community boards (Human Rights commission) and serving on a few scholarship committees. He specializes in career assessments and academic planning.

Jenna Coulter, Educational Counselor, Educational Opportunity Center
Jenna is an Educational Counselor with the Educational Opportunity Center. She has a BA in English from Coe College and a MA in Religious Studies from Loras College. She has served with TRIO programs for 10 years. She is passionate about seeing students from underrepresented populations succeed in their educational goals.  

Ruth Palmer, Educational Counselor, Educational Opportunity Center, UNI-CUE
Ruth is an Educational Counselor with the Educational Opportunity Center. She has been in this role for a year. Ruth holds a BS with a double major in Finance & Construction Management and a MA in Public Administration both from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She is very passionate about Higher education and helping others achieve their educational goals and needs.

Learning Objectives

1. Provide information on Trio programs offered at the UNI-CUE.

2. Strategies to assist with barriers for adult students wanting to obtain postsecondary education.

3. Take a look at the health-related programs that are eligible for the Future Ready Last Dollar Scholarship & Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

4. Defaulted student loans and repayment options.

Sexual Health Education is an area that many adults shy away from. We hope to show you how we provide quality education in a variety of locations and age groups that open communication lines between students and their parents. Together For Youth is a long-time trusted resource because of the strong partnerships built with each of the many locations we serve. 

Presenters

Jean Gallmeyer, Success Link Together for Youth
Jean has been a sexual health educator for well over 20 years. Her commitment to making this awkward area of education engaging is demonstrated by her enthusiasm. She is always looking for new ways to engage students by playing games such as Jeopardy, Family Feud, The Price Is Right and more recently, Kahoot! Jean has presented to students in 25 schools in 7 northeast Iowa counties as well as in many out-of-home placement agencies.

Tiffany Criss, Success Link Together for Youth 
Tiffany Criss is a dedicated professional with a passion for adolescent sexual health education, boasting a 3-year tenure in this field. Armed with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree from the University of Northern Iowa, Tiffany combines her educational background with a compassionate approach to empower young people. Her commitment to promoting healthy relationships and informed decision-making has made her a respected figure in the realm of sexual health education. Tiffany continues to make a positive impact by equipping adolescents with the knowledge and tools they need to navigate their journey towards responsible and informed adulthood.

Learning Objectives

1. Learn about current sexual health statistics of our local teen population.

2. Share about programming, what we do and how we do it.

3. Pick up some recommended language for some of the conversations YOU may have with a young person.

The WYCC empowers young people to think critically, debate civilly, and forge consensus on the most critical issues facing our city. The WYCC seeks to harness the passion and idealism of our youth today to create a better future tomorrow. The WYCC averages over 1,000 volunteer hours per year. The WYCC was recognized with the Governor's Volunteer Service Award for their actions serving Waterloo and the greater Cedar Valley. 

Presenters

Glen Keith, Waterloo Youth City Council
Glen Keith is a retired Army officer with 25 years of military service and a former teacher at East High School. Glen is the executive director for Love INC, a non-profit that fulfills community needs in coordination with churches throughout the Cedar Valley. Glen has worked with the WYCC since its founding in 2018. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Tennessee Technological University and master’s degrees from Central Michigan University and Marine Corps Command & Staff College.

Carol Luce, Waterloo Youth City Council
Mrs. Carol Luce’s passion is working with youth in middle and high schools as a Service-Learning Coordinator and Leadership Development Director which led to numerous awards and several leadership roles in over 30 years of service. Carol currently serves as Co-Director of the WYCC which is made up of 28 high school students from Waterloo. The WYCC has focused on youth mental health and they were successful in passing a bill that will help over half a million Iowa youth with immediate access to mental health services, thanks to their QR Code designed for the back of student ID’s.

Waterloo Youth City Council Members
The Waterloo Youth City Council (WYCC) began a campaign to address youth mental health in 2020. Learn how 28 students from Waterloo schools built a movement to raise mental health awareness and changed state law. Discuss further initiatives and next steps to further grow youth voices.

Learning Objectives

1. Outreach and coalition building around youth mental health

2. Developing a layered approach to reach youth, parents, and the community

3. Listening to youth and their concerns

4. Brainstorm future initiatives for youth voices surrounding mental health

This session will discuss the basics of dementia, health disparities in dementia, potential explanations for health disparities, and action steps for narrowing the gap. Participants will understand what dementia is and how it may impact individuals, gain knowledge of how rates of dementia and quality of dementia care vary by race, and be able to critically evaluate presented explanations for these health care disparities.

Morning Presenter

Elaine Eshbaugh, UNI Department of Family, Aging & Counseling
Dr. Elaine Eshbaugh is a professor of Gerontology at the University of Northern Iowa. She teaches courses such as Families, Alzheimer’s, and Related Dementias, Psychology of Aging, and Family Relationships and has more than 25 research publications.  In February of 2022, she founded the nation’s only Dementia Simulation House, which is adjacent to the UNI campus.

Afternoon Presenter

Elsie Aslesen, UNI Department of Family, Aging & Counseling

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will understand what dementia is and how it may impact individuals.

2. Participants will gain knowledge of how rates of dementia and quality of dementia care vary by race.

3. Participants will be able to critically evaluate presented explanations for these health care disparities.