Convening Agenda November 13th 2026
8:15-9:00 Registration and Breakfast
9:00-9:45 Keynote with Mayda del Valle
10:00-11:30 AM Workshop Block One
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10am-11:30am (90 minutes)
Crossings: Storytelling and Healing Through Documentary Film
Maria J. Ferrera, Ph.D., LCSW, DePaul University Social Work and Center for Community Health Equity Professor and Co-Director; Anuradha Rana, Filmmaker, Professor & Director, DePaul University- School of Cinematic Arts; Johannes Favi, Founder Caged Dreams, Public Speaker; Samira Abdou-Pedila, MA, Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, JD Candidate, UIC
This session explores documentary film as a vehicle for digital storytelling about migration, safety, and belonging in the United States through the Crossings film project. Featuring the stories of Samira, Johannes, and members of Los Caribeños, presenters will examine the lived experiences of refugees and immigrants seeking asylum, including the emotional impact of migration, family separation, immigration detention, resilience, and community belonging. Presenters will introduce the Crossings educational website, which includes documentary films and expert interviews designed to support practitioners and educators in understanding asylum, migration, and the role of storytelling in healing and advocacy. Participants will identify ways to deepen understanding of the lived experiences of refugees and immigrants, describe the role of storytelling and documentary film in promoting empathy and mental health awareness, and apply strategies for listening to individuals' stories with presence while fostering belonging through community and other supportive spaces.
10am-11:30am (90 minutes)
Holding Space, Holding Place: Rooting Future Success in Past Lessons
Marie Shebeck, LCSW, Therapist & Trainer; Katy Fohrman, LCSW, Therapist & Trainer
As managers, we are trained to incorporate self-care, address implicit bias, and examine the impact of whiteness in our work. Yet we are often left with questions about how to hold space for our staff's individual needs while rooting our teams' success in effective collaboration. As leaders, we have come to understand that a one-size-fits-all management approach does not work. In this session, we will share lessons learned and practical tools for effective staff supervision, including consistent scheduling of one-on-one supervision, small and large team check-ins, dedicated time for visioning with direct service staff, self-care practices, and transparent and accountable feedback loops. Participants will leave with practical strategies to identify approaches to effective staff supervision, describe methods for supporting collaboration and staff well-being, and apply leadership practices that foster safe, supportive, and accountable work environments.
10am-11:30am (90 minutes)
Arab Americans with Disabilities: Culture, Religion and Identity Shaping a New Narrative
Itedal Shalabi, MSW, Co-Founder/Co-Executive Director Arab American Family Services
Arab Americans are a diverse community with varied migration experiences, religious affiliations, cultural traditions, languages, and socioeconomic backgrounds that contribute to a rich and complex collective identity. This community-centered session explores the intersection of Arab identity, disability, immigration, and culture while distinguishing between Arab identity and Muslim identity. Presenters will examine how immigration experiences, acculturation, cultural identity, and religious connections can influence access to disability services, as well as the impact of ableism, Islamophobia, stigma, and harmful stereotypes on Arab people with disabilities. Participants will strengthen their cultural awareness and intercultural communication skills, identify strategies for building trust with Arab individuals and families, and apply culturally responsive practices that promote accessibility, inclusion, and meaningful community partnerships.
10am-11:30am (90 minutes)
Our Wellness, Our Way: A Culturally Responsive WRAP® Approach for Immigrant Communities.
Nicolette Rivera, MS, CRSS, WRAP® ALF, Mental Health Recovery Support Specialist II, Illinois Department of Human Services-Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, David Meraz, BA, CRSS, WRAP® ALF, Student Success Specialist at Elgin Community College
This interactive session explores how the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP®) can be adapted to address the impacts of historical trauma, displacement, and acculturative stress on immigrant wellness. Presenters will examine how traditional, Indigenous, and community-based healing practices can complement the core concepts of WRAP® to support the wellness and recovery of immigrant individuals, families, and communities. Participants will identify family- and community-centered wellness strategies, develop a personalized Mini-WRAP® to strengthen individual wellness, and apply practical tools for recognizing stressors, building support systems, setting healthy boundaries, and planning for recovery and times of crisis.
10am-11:30am (90 minutes)
What If You Don’t Come Back? The Impact of Separation Fears, Trauma, and Chronic Stress on Early Relationships, Regulation, and Development
Tracy Patton, MS, National Speaker/Trainer/Consultant
Young children often experience separation long before they understand why it is happening. For immigrant children and families, separation related to immigration enforcement, deportation, or migration can profoundly affect attachment, emotional regulation, behavior, and development. This interactive session explores separation-related stress and ambiguous loss through the lens of infant and early childhood mental health, emphasizing relationship-based approaches that promote safety, resilience, and healing. Participants will recognize behavioral signs of separation-related stress, distinguish developmental behaviors from trauma responses, apply attachment-informed and culturally responsive strategies that strengthen caregivers and educators, and identify protective factors that foster resilience for young children and families experiencing chronic stress and uncertainty.
10am-11:30am (90 minutes)
SCN Threads: Crafting Conversations on Newcomer Wellness
Kiersten Nickel, LSW, Syrian Community Network Education Case Manager, Mariyam Mekhael, MSW student, Syrian Community Network Youth Education Programming Manager; Nathan Sivak, Syrian Community Network Director of Education
This interactive session introduces the Threads program, a group-based initiative designed to provide refugee and immigrant youth with opportunities to build community, strengthen social-emotional learning, and receive psychoeducational support. Through a hands-on tatreez (Arabic embroidery) activity and facilitated discussion, presenters will share the origins of the program, the community needs it was developed to address, and its vision for the future. Participants will gain introductory cross-stitching skills while exploring the role of culturally rooted, community-based approaches in promoting mental health and holistic wellness for newcomer communities. Participants will identify strategies for fostering belonging, strengthening community engagement, and increasing access to culturally responsive mental health supports.
11:45-12:45 AM Workshop Block Tw0
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11:45am-12:45pm (60 minutes)
Lessons about Belonging from Undocumented Latinas: Toward a practice of nurturing belonging rooted in community understanding
Dr. Daysi Diaz-Strong, Associate Professor, University of Illinois Chicago & Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project; Elizabeth Cervantes, Associate Executive Director & Co-Founder, Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project; Nancy Garcia, Director or Advocacy & Strategic Partnerships, Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project; Rosa Totochenko, Doctoral Student, University of Illinois Chicago; University of Illinois Chicago Community Peer Interviewers (TBD)
Amid increasing anti-immigrant sentiment and attacks on immigrant communities, this interactive session explores how belonging can be nurtured as an act of resilience and resistance. Drawing on research with undocumented Latina women, presenters will share findings demonstrating how many women claim a sense of belonging despite decades of legal exclusion and examine what these experiences can teach practitioners, advocates, researchers, and community organizations. Through facilitated discussion and roundtable dialogue, participants will identify belonging as a form of resistance, deepen their understanding of how undocumented women experience belonging, and develop practical strategies for intentionally fostering belonging within their organizations and communities.
11:45am-12:45pm (60 minutes)
Bridging the Gap: Reimagining Mental Health Access for Black Immigrant Communities in Illinois
Dr. Fasika Alem, Programs Director, United African Organization; Tiwaloluwa Ajibewa, Northwestern University;
This panel explores the structural, cultural, and systemic barriers that prevent Black immigrants from accessing mental health services while highlighting innovative, community-rooted, and culturally grounded practices that promote healing, wellness, and equitable access to care. Presenters will share insights from a new initiative designed to expand culturally responsive mental health navigation for Black immigrant communities and explore the question, "What happens when communities stop waiting for those systems and build their own?" Participants will deepen their understanding of barriers to mental health access, examine culturally responsive models that center community knowledge and lived experience, and identify strategies for strengthening community partnerships and advancing more equitable, sustainable mental health systems for Black immigrant and diasporic communities.
11:45am-12:45pm (60 minutes)
Building an Age-Inclusive Community Together: Supporting Older Adults, Caregivers, and Community Connections
Yinan Chen, Caregiver Support Services Program Coordinator, Chinese American Service League (CASL)
Family caregivers often navigate multiple, interconnected challenges, including physical and emotional stress, financial concerns, language barriers, limited knowledge of available resources, and difficulties coordinating care. This interactive workshop introduces the Chinese American Service League (CASL) Caregiver Support Services Program and demonstrates how culturally responsive, wraparound services can address the evolving needs of older adults and their families. Through a caregiver case scenario and service-mapping activity, participants will identify needs at the individual, family, community, and systems levels, develop strategies for coordinating culturally responsive supports across programs, and explore ways to strengthen cross-program collaboration within their own organizations and communities.
11:45am-12:45pm (60 minutes)
Beyond the Therapy Room: Implementing a Family Support Specialist Model in Response to Operation Midway Blitz
Vero Ortiz, LCSW, Senior Director of Community Wellness, Enlace Chicago,; Laura Sevilla, LCSW, Enlace Chicago, Clinical Supervisor; Maria Rubio, Enlace Chicago, Family Support Specialist
In response to the fear, trauma, and disruption caused by Operation Midway Blitz, Enlace Chicago developed a Family Support Specialist role to bring culturally responsive mental health support directly into the community. This presentation explores how the role reduces barriers to care, connects families with critical resources, provides psychoeducation and mental health workshops, and creates safe spaces for collective healing through relationship-centered, community-rooted care. Participants will identify barriers that prevent families from accessing traditional mental health services, distinguish the unique role of a Family Support Specialist within clinical and community systems, and apply culturally responsive strategies for engaging families, strengthening community partnerships, and developing similar models within their own organizations and communities.
11:45am-12:45pm (60 minutes)
The World on Their Screens: Trauma Exposure, Identity, and Mental Health in Immigrant Youth
Dr. Layla P. Suleiman González, Esq., Partner, Nexxos
Digital media plays a powerful role in shaping how children and adolescents think, feel, and interact with the world. For immigrant youth, digital media often intersects with immigration experiences, intergenerational cultural expectations, and exposure to war, political violence, discrimination, and anti-immigrant rhetoric. This workshop explores how these experiences influence attention, emotional regulation, identity development, and peer relationships among immigrant children and adolescents. Participants will deepen their understanding of the impact of digital media and trauma on immigrant youth, identify culturally responsive strategies that support identity development and emotional well-being, and apply practical approaches to strengthening resilience in clinical, school, and community settings.
11:45am-12:45pm (60 minutes)
Leading While Undocumented: Work, Uncertainty, and Collective Power
Luna Luna
Undocumented people have long been leaders in workplaces, organizations, movements, and communities, building institutions, advocating for change, and sustaining families and essential industries despite ongoing uncertainty shaped by immigration policy. This interactive session explores what it means to lead while navigating changing work authorization, the possibility of detention or deportation, and other challenges that affect the ability to work and remain in the United States. Centering lived experience, presenters will examine leadership as a source of resilience, collective power, and community transformation. Participants will deepen their understanding of undocumented leadership, identify strategies for building systems of collective care and sustained solidarity, and apply practical approaches to supporting undocumented leaders within their organizations, networks, and communities.
12:45-1:45 Lunch and Optional Flourish & Restore Networking: Connect with other attendees while building a floral bouquet
1:45-3:15 PM Workshop Block One
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1:45-3:15 (90 minutes)
Wellness Through Asian American Narratives and Theatre (WAANT)
Ginger Leopoldo, MA, Executive Director, Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts - CIRCA Pintig; CIRCA Pintig Artist-Teachers: Larry Leopoldo, Lani T Montreal, Ginger Leopoldo, RJ Silva, Luis Pascacio; Rooshey Hasnain, UIC DHD Faculty; Yunkyung Lee, MAATC, LPC, IL LEND Trainee and Art Therapist
This interactive session introduces Wellness Through Asian American Narratives and Theatre (WAANT), a community-rooted arts and mental health initiative developed through a partnership between CIRCA-Pintig and the University of Illinois Chicago's Institute on Disability and Human Development. Through storytelling, theater, and integrated arts practices, presenters will share lived experience narratives from immigrants, refugees, students, families, caregivers, and community members while exploring how culture, migration, displacement, identity, and community shape mental health and wellness. Participants will experience arts-based activities that foster reflection, dialogue, and connection while identifying practical, culturally grounded strategies for using storytelling and the arts to reduce stigma, strengthen community healing, and promote mental health awareness, advocacy, and collective care.
1:45-3:15 (90 minutes)
"Café y Comunidad": An Introduction for Providers Working with Latino Immigrant Families
Dr. Dana Rusch, Associate Professor, University of Illinois Chicago, Institute for Juvenile Research; Dr. Susana Sosa, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Immigrant Family Mental Health Advocacy Program at University of Illinois Chicago, Institute for Juvenile Research; Priscilla Cortez, Program Coordinator, Immigrant Family Mental Health Advocacy Program at University of Illinois Chicago
Research consistently demonstrates the value of family-centered interventions that promote positive mental health outcomes for Latine youth. This workshop introduces Café y Comunidad, a culturally grounded parent engagement curriculum developed by the IFMHA Program that integrates community empowerment, healing practices, and the cultural strengths of immigrant Latine families. Presenters will provide an overview of the curriculum, its conceptual framework, and the use of pláticas and community café models to strengthen connection, support, and resilience. Participants will deepen their understanding of the research informing the model, explore practical tools and resources that support immigrant families, and identify next steps for implementing the Café y Comunidad curriculum within their own organizations and communities.
1:45-3:15 (90 minutes)
Breathe, Move, Organize: A Toolkit for Sustainable Community Leadership
Dr. Benjamin M. Drury, Executive Director, Chicago Education Advocacy Cooperative
Immigrant mental health is shaped by more than individual experiences. Displacement, family separation, language barriers, economic instability, discrimination, and uncertainty surrounding immigration status create ongoing stress that affects individuals, families, and communities. Breathe, Move, Organize: A Toolkit for Sustainable Community Leadership offers accessible, trauma-informed practices that participants can use personally and adapt within immigrant-serving environments. Through grounding exercises, gentle movement, relationship-building, and organizational reflection, participants will experience practical strategies for reducing stress, strengthening connection, and building more compassionate, sustainable systems of collective care. Participants will develop a personalized action plan for integrating culturally responsive wellness practices into client interactions, classrooms, community gatherings, staff meetings, and other immigrant-serving settings.
1:45-3:15 (90 minutes)
Trauma and Healing-Centered Engagement: Poetry as a Mechanism for Restoration of Cultural Identity and Pride
Dr. Yvita Bustos, Clinical Community Psychologist, Lurie Children's Hospital - Center for Childhood Resilience
This interactive workshop explores the impact of ethnoracial, collective, and intergenerational trauma on immigrant mental health while highlighting Healing-Centered Engagement practices that promote restoration of identity, cultural pride, and collective healing. Through psychoeducation, reflection, and poetry writing, presenters will examine how creativity and storytelling can strengthen resilience, build connection, and foster healing within immigrant communities. Participants will deepen their understanding of trauma and Healing-Centered Engagement practices, create an original poem that reflects on the restoration of identity, cultural pride, and resilience, have the opportunity to share their work in a supportive environment that promotes connection and collective healing, and identify strengths that support individual and community wellness through shared lived experience.
1:45-3:15 (90 minutes)
Rooted in Us: A Restorative Circle for Collective Healing
Maria Alejandra Baltuano, LCSW, Latinx Therapist Action Network/Sanar Zin Fronteras; Marilyn Rodriguez, LCSW, Latinx Therapist Action Network/Sanar Zin Fronteras
This restorative circle invites immigrant- and refugee-serving community members, healers, advocates, organizers, and practitioners to pause, reflect, and reconnect with the people, cultures, relationships, and practices that sustain them. Through communal reflection, storytelling, grounding, and Indigenous mind-body-spirit healing practices, participants will explore what they have been carrying, what they are ready to release, and what they want to cultivate for themselves and their communities. Participants will identify practices that strengthen personal and collective well-being, deepen their understanding of healing as a community-centered process, and reflect on how restoring ourselves and our relationships can help build communities where no one has to carry everything alone.
1:45-3:15 (90 minutes)
Ancestral Wisdom and Ritual Practice in Therapist Renewal
Denise I. Martinez, Esq; Dalila Duarte, Colors of Consciousness
Therapists and other helping professionals often carry the emotional weight of supporting individuals, families, and communities through uncertainty, trauma, displacement, and systemic injustice. Rooted in the belief that care providers also need spaces to receive care, this restorative workshop invites participants to slow down, reconnect with themselves, and draw upon ancestral wisdom as a source of grounding and renewal. Through guided reflection, intentional breath, heartfelt songs, and an immersive sound bath, participants will experience a nurturing space to release tension, quiet the mind, and reconnect with the body while exploring sound and communal healing as practices that have supported people across cultures and generations. Participants will reflect on the wisdom and resilience they carry from their own families, cultures, and communities, practice simple grounding and sound-based techniques, and identify ways to incorporate these restorative practices into their personal self-care to support emotional well-being and help prevent burnout.
3:30-4:30 PM Workshop Block Two
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3:30-4:30pm (60 minutes)
From Lived Experience to Collective Healing: Using Art and Storytelling to Build Connection, Belonging, and Wellness
Ali Tarokh, Risheh Institute, Founder; Akshara Das, Risheh Institute
This interactive session explores identity, belonging, displacement, and community through the Voices Through Art approach, an intergenerational and interdisciplinary model that combines storytelling, artistic expression, community dialogue, and advocacy. Centering the voices and leadership of displaced, immigrant, and refugee communities, presenters will examine how art can reposition individuals as storytellers and agents of change while fostering belonging, connection, and understanding. Participants will engage in story sharing, creative expression, and guided dialogue while identifying strategies for using storytelling and the arts to strengthen inclusion, build community partnerships, facilitate difficult conversations, and incorporate ethical storytelling practices that honor lived experience and promote empowerment and social change.
3:30-4:30pm (60 minutes)
Cultivating Belonging and Wellness for Immigrant Youth
Celia De Leon, School Social Worker, Township High School District 214/John Hersey High School; Charo Mendoza, EL Bilingual School Social Worker, Highland Park High School/District 113
Immigration enforcement, anti-immigrant rhetoric, and systemic barriers create climates of fear and uncertainty that can profoundly affect the identity development, emotional well-being, and sense of belonging of immigrant youth. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, García Coll's Integrative Model, and Yosso's Community Cultural Wealth framework, this presentation explores how macrosystem influences shape the experiences of first- and second-generation Latiné students and highlights the critical role of school social workers in fostering safe, culturally responsive school environments. Participants will apply these frameworks to identify environmental risks and protective cultural assets, examine school-based strategies that promote belonging and resilience, and implement trauma-informed practices that strengthen school-family partnerships and reduce systemic barriers for immigrant students.
3:30-4:30pm (60 minutes)
Witness and Accompaniment as Collective Care: The Intersection of Capacity Development and Advocacy
Dr. Maria Vidal de Haymes, Professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work; Elisa Leyva Cea, Doctoral Candidate; Yohanan Salmeron Chaparro, Grad Student in International Relations, Loyola University Chicago; Dr. Cary Rositas-Sheftel, Community Affiliate & Internship Supervisor, CIRA, Loyola University Chicago, School of Social Work
Recent changes in U.S. immigration policy and enforcement have intensified the vulnerability of immigrant children, youth, and families while creating new barriers to safety, health care, education, legal protection, and other essential services. Grounded in frameworks of direct, structural, and cultural violence, this presentation explores how witnessing and accompaniment can serve as forms of collective care while strengthening advocacy, interdisciplinary collaboration, and community capacity. Presenters will highlight three Loyola University Chicago initiatives that integrate trauma-informed forensic mental health evaluations, peer-led dialogue and support groups, and immigration court observation to support immigrant communities. Participants will identify practical strategies for incorporating witnessing, accompaniment, advocacy, and interdisciplinary partnerships into their own education, practice, and community engagement to strengthen collective care and help prevent further harm.
3:30-4:30pm (60 minutes)
Carrying Home Across Borders: Trauma, Resilience, and Healing in Refugee Communities
Hadia Zarzour, LCPC, Co-Founder & Mental Health Therapist, Insan for Psychosocial Support
Carrying Home Across Borders: Trauma, Resilience, and Healing in Refugee Communities is an interactive, skill-building session exploring how displacement, trauma, culture, loss, and resilience shape the experiences of refugees and newcomers. Through case examples, reflection, and interactive exercises, participants will explore culturally responsive approaches for building trust, recognizing trauma and cultural expressions of distress, and engaging refugee individuals and families with cultural humility and a strengths-based perspective. Participants will identify strategies for supporting mental health and healing by recognizing protective factors, cultural identity, relationships, and community strengths while connecting refugee individuals and families with appropriate mental health, psychosocial, and community resources.
3:30-4:30pm (60 minutes)
Immigration and Mental Health: What happened, where we are, and what more do we need
Any Huamni, MPA, Director of Organizing, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC); Vanessa Dominguez
Recent immigration enforcement actions continue to have lasting effects on the mental health and well-being of immigrant individuals, families, and communities. This facilitated conversation explores the long-term impact of immigration enforcement in Chicago, including the community needs and service gaps that have emerged in response to Operation Midway Blitz. Presenters will examine approaches that promote healing, collective care, and holistic community responses while moving beyond punitive systems. Participants will identify opportunities to strengthen collaboration, engage in citywide efforts that support immigrant communities, and advance community-centered strategies that foster healing, resilience, and access to needed resources.
3:30-4:30pm (60 minutes)
Integrating Your Care Into Your Service
Hillary Buzaid Moreno, LCSW, Founder & Psychotherapist, When We Counseling, Taller de Jose Intern Supervisor
Service providers, caregivers, community space holders, and immigrants supporting their families and communities each have their own unique ways of restoring energy and sustaining their capacity to support others. This interactive workshop invites participants to reflect on the intersection of their personal and professional values, identities, and roles, including the experience of caring for others while navigating their own lived experiences, while exploring a more grounded, holistic approach to self-care and burnout prevention. Through guided reflection, discussion, and practical grounding techniques, participants will examine common assumptions about self-care, identify strategies that align with their own lives and work, and develop sustainable practices that promote personal well-being, strengthen community care, and prevent burnout.