Mentoring Research Symposium this Thursday - Reasons to Attend

I'm part of an email list serve that connects mentoring researchers and evaluators from around the world. Dr. David DuBois, host of the group, posted this message today to encourage participation in a Research Symposium that is being held this Thursday, May 26.

For those within manageable travel distance to the Chicago area, I hope you will consider attending the Illinois Mentoring Partnership’s 2016 Research Symposium on Positive Youth Development and Youth Mentoring this Thursday, May 26 from 9:am till 3:pm in Matteson, Illinois at the Holiday Inn Chicago Matteson Conference Center.  

Leading researchers from around the state will share their cutting- edge studies and engage in conversations to support program practices that are evidence-informed. The event agenda with full details is attached. For what it’s worth, affording staff this type of opportunity is invariably a win-win for mentoring programs, as it improves staff perceptions of organizational support for their professional development and their sense of community with the broader field while at the same time providing a highly cost-efficient and stimulating opportunity for the organization to remain current with the latest research and scholarly work.

All participants will attend the opening presentation on Closing the Opportunity Gap for Youth, led by Dr. David DuBois from UIC’s Institute for Health Research and Policy, as well as our lunchtime panel on Translating Research into Practice to Promote Youth Outcomes.

In addition, attendees may choose 2 of the following 7 Breakout Sessions:

Advancing Attunement: Results from Attunement Training with Mentoring Staff Presented by Julia Pryce, Ph.D., LCSW Essential Group Processes in Forming Close Peer Mentoring Relationships Among Boys of Color Presented by Kevin Pinkston, Ph.D., Bernadette Sánchez, Ph.D., and Shelby Wyatt, Ph.D.

Incorporating Youth Voice in Positive Youth Development and Mentoring Programs Presented by Jill Bowers, Ph.D., CFSLE Mentoring When It Matters: Exploring Trauma-Informed and Restorative Mentoring Practices That Develop Youth Empowerment and Leadership Presented by Troy Harden, Ph.D.

Nurturing Resiliency Among Low-Income Urban Youth Living in Chicago: Results from a Cross-Age Peer Mentoring Program Presented by Maryse Richards, Ph.D. and Katherine Tyson McCrea, Ph.D.

with Cordelia Grimes, Mirinda Morency, Amzie Moore, and Darrick Scott Program Evaluation: A Case Study of the Randomized Control Trial Process Presented by Michelle Morrison, LCSW, Wendy Fine, and John Wolf, MAT Top 5 Lessons from School-Based Prevention Literature for Mentoring Presented by Michael Kelly, Ph.D.

Use discount code MENTOR for $50 tickets on Eventbrite: http://tinyurl.com/research-symposium-2016

Further information is also available on the IMP website at www.ilmentoring.org<http://www.ilmentoring.org>

For those who need to take public transportation, you can get a Metra train out of Mellinium Station, that leaves at 7:48 am.  A shuttle is available to provide transportation to the Holiday Inn.

For those who cannot attend, I encourage you to browse the different sections of this concept map, showing research articles hosted in my Tutor/Mentor web library. 

I'll be at the Summit Thursday, and look forward to connecting with people who want to build and sustain mentor-rich programs that reach k-12 youth in all high poverty areas of the Chicago region.   Connect with me there, or on Twitter, Facebook, Linked IN, or in the Tutor/Mentor Forum that I've hosted since 2007.  See links to these sites here.