Dr. Chan Hellman will present on The Power of Hope 

Chan M. Hellman is a professor of social work at the University of Oklahoma and Director of The Hope Research Center. He has written more than 100 scientific publications and has presented at numerous national and international conferences worldwide. Chan’s research is focused on hope as a psychological strength helping children and adults overcome trauma and adversity. Chan just published a new book “Hope Rising: How the Science of Hope Can Change Your Life” with his co-author Casey Gwinn published by Morgan James.

Dr. Marlene Wong will present on Trauma Leaves Children Behind:  A Time for Social Justice, Public Policy and new Case Law as Mandates for Trauma Informed Schools.  

Marleen Wong Marleen Wong, Ph.D., is Senior Vice Dean at the Suzanne Dworak Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California and the David Lawrence Stein/Violet Goldberg Sachs Endowed Professor of Mental Health. She is the Director of Field Education, Executive Director of the USC Telehealth Clinic, Clinical Advisor for the Family Nurse Practitioner Program and past Clinical Advisor to the Cohen Military Clinic. Formerly the Director of Mental Health, Crisis Intervention, Threat Assessment Teams and Suicide Prevention Programs at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), she has been engaged in a community based research partnership with RAND Health and the UCLA Partnered Health Research Center since 1997. She is the Principal Investigator for the SAMHSA funded Trauma Treatment Adaptation Center for Resilience, Hope and Wellness in Schools. Identified as one of the "pre-eminent experts in school crisis and disaster recovery" by the White House and the "architect of school-safety programs" by the Wall Street Journal, she has developed school based crisis intervention, disaster response and trauma recovery training in the US, Canada, Israel, and Asia in regard to child and youth recovery from school shootings, earthquakes, typhoons, domestic and international terrorism. In April 2018, she was appointed by the Los Angeles City Attorney to the Blue Ribbon Panel on School Safety. Dr. Wong received the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the NASW California Chapter and has been inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.

Dr. Mark Weist will present on Advancing Effective School Behavioral Health in Washington State. 

Mark D. Weist received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Virginia Tech in 1991 after completing his internship at Duke University, and is a Professor in Clinical-Community and School Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Carolina. He was on the faculty of the University of Maryland for 19 years where he helped to found and direct the Center for School Mental Health (http://csmh.umaryland.edu), providing leadership to the advancement of school mental health (SMH) policies and programs in the United States. He has edited or developed 12 books and has published and presented widely in SMH and in the areas of trauma, violence and youth, evidence-based practice, cognitive behavioral therapy, Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS), and on an Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF) for SMH and PBIS. He is currently co-leading a regional conference on school behavioral health (reflecting integrated SMH and PBIS, see www.schoolbehavioralhealth.org), and leading two randomized controlled trials exploring strategies to improve the effectiveness and impacts of SMH programs.

We look forward to seeing you at the Wenatchee Convention Center on May 23rd-24th!