Break The Chains, Find Your Flame

Lorri Comeau, M.Ed., is an ADHD Parent Coach, Learning Support Specialist, and Educational Consultant. She has over 20 years of experience working with students, parents, and educators in the field of ADHD and learning disabilities. She recently co-founded Collaborative Learning Services which provides ADHD parent coaching, academic support, and educational consulting. In addition, Lorri has co-authored The Essential Six, A Parent's Guide: How to Pave the Road to Self-Advocacy for College Students with Learning Differences, published through the Association in Higher Education and Disabilities.

https://fb.me/e/gB4KBydv0 - Event

Website: https://www.mycollaborativelearning.com/

Email: [email protected]

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Collaborative-Learning-Services-101374005118791

Linkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorri-comeau-1242a6105/

Lorri's book can be found at:

https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/publications/publications-for-sale

Dr. Thomas Brown's website:

https://www.brownadhdclinic.com/

Our guest today is James Garnes. 

James is a Musician in the bands BROTHER and James and the Low Rollers. He is originally from Springfield Ma. and went to UMass Amherst majoring in Communications. He is a self proclaimed lifetime student and bear enthusiast. But more importantly he is one of the most solid people I know. His strength and grace are infectious, and if you get to bend his ear for five minutes, he will challenge your perceptions on life. We talk about addictions, positivity, connection, community and recovery, as well as where science meets spirit creating Magic!

Follow him on:

Insta: @rollin_with_brother_james

Rhana Hashemi is a Master's student in the Community Health Prevention Research Program (CHPR) at the School of Medicine. She is studying how to enhance the effectiveness of public health drug prevention and education strategies for youth. Rhana graduated with a B.A. in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley with Honors and was the President of their Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter. In 2016 she co-founded the Center for Political Drug Education where she today designs compassionate, engaging, and empowering drug education programs for school districts and community partners such as Oakland Unified School District, Berkeley Student Cooperative,  and Seeding Change.

Links:

Instagram @therealdruglady

Website thedruglady.org

Example of a comprehensive district-wide and school-based drug education program I have co-created. TUPE @ OUSD 

NVC Needs Inventory 

Angelica was drawn to the beauty of yoga in her early teenage years. However, it wasn't until college while struggling with grief from the death of her brother and a history of sexual trauma at the hand's of her father that she learned the healing power of yoga. After a decade of committed practice, Angelica decided to pursue yoga teacher training in order to assist others in finding tools to heal themselves. She is a graduate of Yoga Sanctuary's 200-hour yoga teacher training program. She has also completed teacher training certification programs with the Veteran's Yoga Project, Yoga 4 Cancer and Transcending Sexual Trauma through Yoga. She is currently enrolled in a program with the Prison  Yoga Project. Angelica uses movement and alignment cues in her classes to help her students feel a sense of agency, embodiment and empowerment. She currently teaches at Yoga Sanctuary (Community, BIPOC & Spanish), Breathing Space (where I teach public classes and bring yoga to people in recovery homes and prisons) and Bienestar (a program through Umass that offers wellness classes for the spanish speaking community).

Bryna Rogers, MS is a Senior Director at Bay State Community Services, overseeing the Quincy Family Resource Center (QFRC), The Dianne DeVanna Center, and serves as the agency's Infant Specialist. Bryna works with youth and families to insure they have the services, supports, and resources needed for success in school, at home, and in the community. This often involves working with schools, the juvenile court system, and various state agencies and providers. Prior to becoming a Senior Director at Bay State, Bryna spent over 15 years working with youth in school, home, and therapeutic settings. Since 2017, Bryna has served on the DCF Coastal Advisory Board, now serving as Vice President. With a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling, she has also trained at the Brazelton Center with Boston Children’s Hospital in the Touchpoints and Newborn Observation curriculum. When not at the office, Bryna enjoys spending time with her husband and two boys, ages 21 and 19, walking her dogs Delilah and Cooper, spending time at the beach, and hanging out with her family and friends

Aimeé Boettcher is the owner of Two Moons Creative, a graphic design and social media marketing company. She works with small businesses, coaching and helping create authentic and successful marketing campaigns to connect local businesses with their community on social media. Her goal is to take the technicality out of marketing and branding, so you can focus on the heart of your business and do what you truly love!

https://linktr.ee/Twomoonscreative

Hollee A. McGinnis, MSW, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Social Work. She is a prominent scholar, policy expert, and community organizer on adoption and child welfare. Her research examines social and cultural determinants of children’s mental health, with a focus on improving outcomes for youth and adults with histories of childhood trauma and involvement in systems of child welfare locally and globally. Her current study will explore adult outcomes of adopted and foster care alumni. Prior to obtaining her doctorate in social work at Washington University in St. Louis, Dr. McGinnis was the policy director at the Donaldson Adoption Institute, a national organization focused on adoption policy and practice in the U.S., where she headed a national study on adoption and racial identity among adopted adults. She received her Master of Science from Columbia University School of Social Work (New York City) and completed a post-master’s clinical social work fellowship at the Yale University Child Study Center. In 1996, she founded Also-Known-As, Inc., a non-profit adult intercountry adoptee organization providing post-adoption services to international adoptees and adoptive families. Dr. McGinnis speaks regularly at national conferences and organizations, and has numerous published scholarly articles, book chapters, and essays. In 2008 she was recognized by the U.S. government with a Congressional Angel in Adoption award for her work in adoption. She is regularly sought out by the news media including interviewed about her research on South Korea’s child welfare system and overseas Korean adoptees by the New York Times Magazine, BBC News, and NPR.

Dr. Khadijah Tuitt is a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner who completed her terminal degree at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. She in an alumna of the Partnership Fellow’s Program for emerging Leaders of Color and received honorable mention for the prestigious National Compassionate Caregiver of the Year (NCCY) Award.

As a child Khadijah experienced homelessness and neglect and by the time she reached adulthood she was a convicted felon. She is often invited as a panelist or keynote speaker and uses her story of trials to triumphs to help organizations understand the barriers that many Black and underserved individuals face.

Dr. Tuitt works to increase awareness around understanding the power of culture, diversity, and inclusivity. She also mentors in the community and is frequently invited to speak about the effects of substance use and mental illness on individuals, families, and society. She is passionate about increasing awareness regarding mental health disparities in underserved communities and in communities of color.