Professional Development Series
An annual series of no-cost professional learning opportunities for youth-facing individuals and organizations.
The OYEA Professional Development Series is an effort to support Boston's youth population by offering high quality professional educational opportunities to the individuals and organizations who serve them every day. This annual series is planned with Boston's youth workers in mind, offering access to trainings focused on youth work including best practices, mental health, first-aid, and much more.
Furthermore, these opportunities are offered at no cost to participants. Do you work with Boston youth ages 14-25? Register for a training today to gain valuable new skills, make connections in the field, and further your personal and professional growth!
Upcoming Workshops
Click here to view and register for all trainings! Reach out to daniel.bryan@boston.gov with any questions.
| DATE | TITLE | TRAINER | LOCATION | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DATE |
Tuesday, March 18th 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | |||
| TITLE |
Understanding Anxiety: Creating Supports for Youth | |||
| TRAINER |
Anna Banerjea, MA EdS Boston Children's Hospital | |||
| LOCATION | Tobin Building | |||
| DESCRIPTION | Anxiety is one of the most prevalent behavioral health challenges for children and adolescents today with 32% of youth ages 13-28 experiencing an anxiety disorder (NIH). Through sharing information and incorporating interactive activities, this workshop hopes to increase awareness and understanding about anxiety and how it may present and impact youth. It will offer a framework to examine the relationship between anxiety and school/program avoidance. Practical strategies for supporting youth will be shared including a discussion on strengthening collaborations with schools, families, and out of school time providers. | |||
| DATE |
Thursday, April 3rd 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. | |||
| TITLE |
Youth Mental Health First Aid Certification | |||
| TRAINER | Lauren Bard, Health Resources in Action | |||
| LOCATION | Health Resources in Action | |||
| DESCRIPTION |
Offered in partnership with Health Resources in Action and trainer Lauren Bard, Youth-Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach adults who interact with youth how to recognize and respond to signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges or crisis in an adolescent. Participants will learn how to provide initial support until the youth can be connected to appropriate professional help. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations. This course requires 2-hours of pre-work online, a 5.5 hour in-person session with lunch provided, and an online post-test to receive the nationally recognized Youth Mental Health First Aid certification. For more information about the course, check out this one-pager from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. |
Past Workshops
Past WorkshopsTuesday, March 4th, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Rick Cresta, BU School of Social Work
This workshop focused on how to engage youth in an exploration of their use without increasing defensiveness. It explored the impact of chronic marijuana use in a variety of functional areas, including physical, behavioral, psychological and emotional. The impact of changes to the law on attitudes and behavior were also discussed. Rick Cresta LICSW is a Lecturer at the Boston University School of Social Work. He has a private practice working with court-involved youth. He also is a trainer and consultant for many agencies and organizations throughout the state.
Tuesday, February 25th, 10 a.m.- 1 p.m.
This course was taught by EMTs from the City of Boston Emergency Medical services. Heartsaver CPR AED is geared for anyone with limited or no medical training who wants a course completion card in CPR and AED to use to meet job, regulatory, or other requirements. Upon successful completion of the course, students received a course completion card, valid for two years. This course was a video-based, instructor-led course that teaches adult and child CPR and AED use, infant CPR, and how to relieve choking in adults, children, and infants. This course teaches skills with the American Heart Association's research-proven practice-while-watching technique, which allows instructors to observe the students, provide feedback, and guide the students’ learning of skills.
Thursday, January 23rd, 10:30 am - 1:15 pm
This session explored how to create effective development plans by understanding funding streams, leveraging community support, and cultivating meaningful donor relationships. Participants learned financial tracking basics, donor agreements, and tax-efficient giving practices, while also gaining insights into how evaluation data can strengthen storytelling and demonstrate organizational success. Walk away with actionable strategies to boost your organization's fundraising and sustainability efforts.
Tuesday, December 10, 10am-12pm
Tate Duffy, GBPFLAG
How we can all contribute to making safer and more accepting communities for LGBTQ+ students and youth? For educators, staff, and anyone who wants to help support LGBTQ+ people but don’t necessarily know where to begin. Learn LGBTQ+ basics and inclusive language, conversation techniques including micro affirmations and pronoun use. With this training, develop your skills and adapt actionable tools to create more inclusive and affirming learning spaces and communities.
Thursday, December 5, 10:30am-12:30pm
Dishon Laing and Jade Ealy, BPHC Youth Prevention Team
This workshop explored youth substance use disorder (SUD) through the lens of adolescent psychological development, highlighting key risk and protective factors that influence substance use. Participants reviewed local data to understand how youth SUD manifests in Boston. The session covered harm reduction principles and their role in addressing youth substance use, along with practical strategies and best practices for engaging young people in conversations about substances.
Tuesday, November 19, 9am-12pm
Allyson Shifley and Winston Daley, Health Resources in Action
This 3-hour training focused on exploring the concept of healthy youth and youth worker relationships in programs. Participants had the opportunity to reflect on their own values and perspectives for healthy working relationships. This training also provided participants with an opportunity to examine best practices for the four types of boundaries and ways they can continually support their youth to thrive.
Thursday, November 14, 10am-12pm
Jillie Santos, Citizens for Juvenile Justice
This training was all about the juvenile legal system with Citizens for Juvenile Justice. Juvenile Justice 101 explored how Massachusetts young people become involved with the juvenile justice system, how they move through it, and how different groups of young people are impacted by the decisions our system makes for them.
Tuesday, October 29, 10am-12pm
Rick Cresta, BU School of Social Work
This 2 part training series was engaging and interactive. The 2 parts were designed to go together but each could stand alone if participants could only attend one or the other. It covered the following topics:
- Healthy coping skill development
- Understanding and Managing Resistance
- Building Healthy Relationships
Tuesday, October 22, 10am-12pm
Rick Cresta, BU School of Social Work
This 2 part training series was engaging and interactive. The 2 parts were designed to go together but each could stand alone if participants could only attend one or the other. It covered the following topics:
- Healthy coping skill development
- Understanding and Managing Resistance
- Building Healthy Relationships
Program Partners
At OYEA, partnerships are at the heart of everything we do. We're proud to be partnered with these outstanding community organizations to provide high quality professional skills training to Boston’s youth workers.
