Get ready for a day packed with insightful sessions, impactful discussions, and networking opportunities at the 2025 Equity Summit. Our schedule is designed to inspire, challenge, and equip you with the tools to create meaningful change in your community and educational environments.
Opening & Keynote
April 11th, 2025 | 8:40-9:40 am
Burnout, anxiety, and inequity are real. The pandemic changed everything. With so much happening, personal well-being often takes a backseat. Dr. Julia Garcia has empowered thousands of students and parents with evidence-based social-emotional health strategies to stay connected, resilient, and hopeful. Drawing from a decade of research across schools and universities, she provides parents with practical tools and a transformative space to reconnect, believe, and pursue the impossible.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Dr. Julia is a preeminent voice for the next generation. She helps schools, universities, and organizations build a culture where students are genuinely seen and valued.
As a doctor of psychology and TEDx Speaker, Dr. J (as she is known to students) helps audiences get honest with how they feel and move forward together. Dr.J is unparalleled in her ability to connect with audiences across any demographic through her spoken word poetry and highly engaging approach. Specializing in campus culture, diversity, and mental health, Dr. Julia reminds us all to keep showing up for ourselves and each other.
Dr. Julia has over a decade of experience working with hundreds of campuses, conferences, universities, and non-profit organizations, bringing interactive experiences that shape culture and improve outcomes for all students.
Session A
April 11th, 2025 | 9:45-10:40 am
Strengthening Equity in Your Community
Connection is at the core of every healthy community, yet students and staff are feeling more disconnected than ever before. The Connection Challenge is an interactive program designed to strengthen community bonds. Through inspiring stories, evidence-based strategies, and practical activities, participants will learn how to overcome barriers, enhance communication, and build meaningful relationships that positively transform culture.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Julia is a leading voice for the next generation, helping schools and organizations create cultures where students feel seen and valued. As a psychologist, TEDx Speaker, and spoken word poet, Dr. J connects with diverse audiences to foster open dialogue and growth. Specializing in campus culture, diversity, and mental health, she empowers individuals to support themselves and each other. With over a decade of experience, Dr. Julia has worked with hundreds of campuses, conferences, and nonprofits to create interactive experiences that enhance student outcomes.
Session B
Amplifying Voices, Strengthening Equity in Your Community
This session explores the transformative power of sharing personal stories within Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) groups to build intergenerational connections among LGBTQ+ individuals. By highlighting the triumphs and challenges of our journeys, we foster resilience, solidarity, and a profound sense of community. Participants will discover how personal narratives can inspire younger members with hard-won wisdom while revitalizing seasoned voices with fresh passion and perspectives. Join us to learn how these exchanges break down isolation, empower collective experiences, and create a more connected and supportive LGBTQ+ community.
Story teller, Trainer, Coach, Founder, Our Bold Voices
Paul Iarrobino (he/his) is one of the founding members of Elder Pride Services and received their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 for providing leadership during their formative years. Paul is the proud recipient of Gay & Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest’s 2021 Queer Hero Award for his groundbreaking work engaging and inspiring community dialogues during the pandemic. His recent anthology, Defining Voices, received lots of praise. His follow up book Defiant Voices is scheduled for release in May 2025.
Session C
Academic Engagement for All Learners
This session focuses on the innovative use of Pear Deck and Zoom to create an inclusive learning environment for English Learners (ELs) and participation in physical classrooms and at our tables. This session will explore how Pear Deck’s interactive features can enhance student engagement and understanding while fostering a collaborative learning atmosphere. Additionally, we will discuss how Zoom serves as an effective translation tool, breaking down language barriers and providing real-time support for EL students. Through the showcasing of real-world examples and success stories, you will walk away with practical strategies for integrating these technologies seamlessly into your teaching practices.
Empower, Engage, Transform: The Influence of Technology on Learning Environments
Julienne Cunningham is the blue haired, liberal, Californian teacher everyone warned you about. She has been teaching in various positions for almost 20 years and has been with Options for Youth for eight years. Julienne is a fierce social justice advocate and has been active in the community since she was 14 years old. She wants to see the face of education change to make sure all students receive an equitable education.
April 11th, 2025 | 10:50-11:45 am
Amplifying Voices
This interactive experience is built exclusively for transformational leaders, who are deeply committed to shaping positive workplace cultures with purpose, values, and people-centered approaches. People want cultures that prioritize belonging; and leaders have a core responsibility to champion the workplace culture, amplifying how the organization empowers its people to thrive through values. Transformational leadership requires this level of connection, and transformational leaders make bold decisions and take decisive action—especially when things seem challenging. When leaders show up authentically and stay grounded in their values, they create the space for people to do the same. In turn, people take ownership of their own leadership, which fosters a workplace culture that celebrates a risk-taking mindset, confidence, transparency, collaboration, and innovation.
MRP, MSW founder & principal
Tre Cabrera, MRP, MSW, is founder & principal of Cabrera Advisory Group, LLC, a Black woman-owned management consulting firm based in Annapolis, Maryland. She helps audiences ignite transformational leadership to build better workplaces. Tre has 20+ years’ experience as an economic development planner, and her graduate degrees in urban and regional planning and macro social work are strong foundations for how she leads Cabrera Advisory Group, with a people-first approach to consulting. Her partnerships with bold leaders in social impact and innovative problem-solving fuel her belief that strategic work is equity work, and equity work is strategic work.
Non-traditional students share similar goals and dreams as traditional students, but they often require additional support, especially in engaging families and the community. In this session, we will explore how collaboration among teachers, counselors, and administrators is essential for creating the necessary systemic support. By understanding and applying family and community engagement best practices, we can improve achievement, access, equity, and college and career readiness for non-traditional students.
Education researcher/consultant
Randy Olson has been researching how to improve achievement, access, equity and college and career readiness for more than 15 years. He speaks regularly on these topics at a variety of regional, state and national conferences and has published articles in Leadership Magazine and American School Board Journal. He provided staff professional development for San Bernardino City USD for six and a half years as a program specialist and he is the owner of Veritas Educational LLC, an education consulting company based in Southern California.
This session will provide educators with a clear understanding of Social Emotional Learning (SEL), highlighting what SEL is, what it is not, and how to implement it effectively in the classroom while respecting boundaries. Drawing on research that demonstrates the positive impact of SEL, this session aims to equip educators with practical strategies to foster SEL in their students, helping them develop crucial skills for personal and academic success.
M.Ed. S.P.E. & M.A. SEL Special Education Teacher
Mayela Paniagua is the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants and a Special Education teacher at Options for Youth VV3 in Victorville. She has worked at OFY since 2016. She has earned a masters in Special Education and a masters in Social Emotional Learning from National University. Since being in the SEL masters program, one of her goals has been to spread SEL as far and wide as possible in order to help as many students and educators as possible.
