Session A
10:30am-12pm

Best Practices in Teen Reproductive Health: Immunizations, Screening, and an Update on Contraceptive Options (HA, EB)

Eliza Buyers, MD, Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics

The presentation will cover current best practices in teen reproductive health care including immunizations. The presentation will also cover the content of the new HealthTeam Works Contraception Guideline, which incorporates many of these best practices into one document. Participants will receive a copy of the Guideline and will learn how to access additional provider and patient information on the Health Team Works website. Participants will discuss the most effective contraceptive options for teens. Sepia Room

 

Building and Sustaining Collaboration for Change in Ft. Collins…and Beyond (CO, LD)

Diana Linden, PPRM; Sandi Lyman, The Healthy Colorado Youth Alliance; Kori Wilford

Larimer County Department of Health and Environment; Lizzy Slatt, LCSW, SAVA Center

This skill-building workshop will address how the current policy landscape is supportive of comprehensive sexual health initiatives, and will focus on the importance of building broad based collaborations between and among government departments, nonprofit agencies and community members. Participants will hear about the work of a Ft. Collins coalition and identify opportunities for strategic collaboration, investment and community education in order to maximize our capacities, build sustainability and create lasting partnerships that support healthy youth. Teal Room

 

Getting Sexual Health Education in to the Classroom (PO, AL, CO, HA)

Kristine Pasquini, Colorado Department of Education; Amy Engleman, Colorado Legacy Foundation

The education system is a challenge to navigate, particularly when it comes to the hot topic of sexuality. This workshop will provide participants with the opportunities to learn, develop, and discuss the available tools for promoting and implementing comprehensive sexual health education and clear messages for talking with decision-makers and community members about its contribution to postsecondary workforce readiness. Periwinkle Room

 

Invisible Youth: Creating LGBTIQ Inclusive Spaces (HA)

Melissa Marsh, MSW, OASIS, Boulder County Public Health

One of the number one reasons that LGBTIQ youth report higher rates of high risk behavior is because they do not feel included in or represented within their schools and communities. In this workshop we will focus on how providers and school administrators can make their agencies and schools more inclusive of LGBTIQ youth. This workshop will provide an overview of LGBTIQ terminology and risk factors and participants will gain knowledge on basic prevention and clinical skills when working with LGBTIQ youth. Magenta Room

 

By Youth for Youth: Youth Advocacy and Grassroots Mobilization (PO, AL, CO)

Hemly Ordoñez, Advocates for Youth; Joey Torres, Colorado Youth Matter

Currently, Colorado Youth Matter in partnership with Advocates for Youth is mobilizing a Youth Council that advocates for comprehensive sex education in their communities. This is part of the Cultural Advocacy Mobilization Initiative (CAMI) and is a pivotal aspect of the Advocates for Youth policy agenda. Working from an empowerment perspective, together we are building the leadership and capacity of young people to utilize media and messaging; grassroots organizing; and online advocacy. This work is rooted in the belief that all young people have the right to reproductive and sexual health information, confidential and safe services, and a secure stake in the future. This workshop provides a model of youth leadership development in sexual health advocacy and discusses the process of building grassroots youth empowerment programs. Lemon Room

 

 

 

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Session B

1:40pm-3:10pm

Progressive Abstinence Education (HA)

Lauren Cikara, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains

It is difficult to teach abstinence from a progressive perspective. Because the message of abstinence is often couched in fear and shame, it is important that we as sexual health educators learn to discuss abstinence in healthy, positive ways. This workshop will illustrate the impact the purity movement has had on sexual health education and will define a progressive framework for understanding and teaching abstinence in public schools, free of fear and shame. Sepia Room

Check Yourself: Recognizing Privilege in a Sex Ed Context (CO, AL, HA)

Shanna Katz, M.Ed, ACS; Lisa Pittari, MSW, Colorado Youth Matter

Race, class, ability, gender, orientation and other identities can significantly impact access to sex education, contraception, reproductive healthcare and more. This workshop examines how we as individuals can construct more dynamic, innovative and social justice focused approaches to inclusion in sexuality education. We’ll be discussing how to turn theory into action, impacting our roles as educators committed to exploring our privileges and increasing our awareness of systems of oppression. Teal Room

 

 

Sexuality Education in CO: A moving Picture (PO, HA)

Stefanie Winfield, Colorado Youth Matter; Lisa Olcese The Healthy Colorado Youth Alliance

After the 2007 state law concerning Content Standards for the Instruction of Human Sexuality was adopted (HB07-1292), Colorado Youth Matter conducted a baseline assessment in 2009 to assess the sexuality education programs and policies in schools and determine whether or not the education and policies meet the standards of the law. Later that year, a statewide coalition – The Healthy Colorado Youth Alliance – was formed to  provide policy advocacy and community organizing strategies in support of the state law.  In 2010, new standards for health education were adopted by the Colorado Board of Education. This prompted additional questions and the need for another assessment in 2011, which CYM conducted in partnership with The Alliance, in order  to monitor changes in sexuality education programs and policies implemented in Colorado schools. This workshop describes key findings and the changes between the two sets of data on sexuality education in Colorado schools and what they mean for students and educators. Periwinkle Room

 

Influencing Positive Youth Development by Activating Youth as Community Leaders (EB, AL)

Sarah McCauley, Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, University of Denver; Nicole Nicotera, PhD, University of Denver, Graduate School of Social Work

This workshop engages participants with a curriculum for developing advocacy and leadership skills in high school youth with an aim for promoting positive youth development. Members of a university-community partnership - Denver Public Schools (DPS) and the University of Denver (DU) - will present a model for engaging youth leaders and share examples of how to (and how not to) collaborate with high school youth. We present evaluation data that suggest youth participants developed: a sense of efficacy and community belonging; awareness of community issues; public-speaking and collaboration skills; and the ability to advocate for change. Student participants from DPS and DU will join the presenters to share their experiences and advice for adults managing positive youth development programs. Magenta Room

Acknowledging the Obvious: Making Sexual Pleasure a Component of Sex Education (HA, AL)

Megan Andelloux, ACS, Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health; Aida Manduley, The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health.

In the modern field of sexual education, a huge gulf exists between the culturally safe subject of sexual health and the risqué research on sexual pleasure. Education that fails to address the main reason people engage in sexual behaviors only leads to unanswered questions, doubts about the validity of said presentations, and needless shame over basic functions. Research shows however that when accurate, shame-free models of education are provided to individuals, these folks are more likely to engage in healthier methods of sexual expression. Lemon Room

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Session C:

3:30pm-5pm

A Journey of Improving Sexual Health of Thousands of Teens in Colorado (EB, HA)

Shannon Sainer, Colorado Youth Matter

This session will provide a description of one Colorado community that has seen dramatic success in reducing teen birth rates and improving adolescent sexual health.  We will discuss the trends in adolescent sexual health indicators in Denver, while highlighting collaborative models that contribute to the success.  Participants will be able to discuss challenges and successes of these collaborations with a panel of presenters that represent these efforts across the county.  Sepia Room

Sexual Ability: Dis/ability Aware Sex Education (HA)

Shanna Katz, M.Ed, ACS

With the judgments placed on people with disabilities by our culture, as well as the many inaccessible spaces, many youth with disabilities are left out of important conversations about sexuality education, communication in relationships, birth control/barrier methods and more. This workshop looks at systemic issues of ableism in our culture, as well as ways to create more accessible spaces to provide sex education to youth with disabilities, in addition to working to re-frame how we view and interact with people with disabilities. Teal Room

 

HIV Prevention and Sexual Health Education: The Practicalities of Policies (PO, AL)

Lisa Olcese, The Healthy Colorado Youth Alliance; Lorena Garcia, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR); Amy Pitlik, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains (PPRM); Toni Panetta, NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado.

This workshop is designed for anyone who wants to gain a hands-on understanding of federal, state and local policies and initiatives that impact the sexual health landscape in Colorado. We will explore the current status of laws, funding streams, local district policies and resolutions, what it means when a law has ‘no teeth,’ and what we can do to both strengthen toothless policies and inform the creation of even better ones. Periwinkle Room

 

A Shifting Paradigm for Working with Youth In or Vulnerable to Human Trafficking Situations (AL, CO, HA)

Stephanie Bell, MSW, Prax(us)

Many organizations that are working to fight human trafficking focus on providing direct services to “victims” of trafficking, Prax(us) believes that the people who are most directly affected by a problem need to be leading the efforts to address it. This translates to a harm reduction model of work with individual youth and to a community organizing approach to address the root causes of why human trafficking exists in the first place.  During this workshop, we will discuss this approach and how it can be used effectively to make youth safer and more cared for, as well as having youth address the root causes of issues in their community. Magenta Room

 

Acting for Social-Activism (CO, HA)

Maya Osterman , Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center; Lizzy Slatt, LCSW, SAVA Center

Over the past eleven years, The Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center of Fort Collins, CO has been developing their “ACTivism Theatre” program. Using the versatile tool of theater, participants address the root causes of sexual violence in a profound way, challenging common mistaken beliefs and attitudes, decreasing victim blaming, encouraging conversation for healthy relationships and supporting survivors of all ages. This workshop demonstrates selections of current content as well as provides time for education on its history, support, successes, challenges and future goals. Lemon Room