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 |
Thursday, April 3 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. | |||
| DATE |
Tuesday, April 29 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. | |||
| TITLE |
Real Talk: Healthy Relationships, Conflict Resolution, and Trauma-Informed Care | |||
| TRAINER | Janae Lewis, Boston Public Health Commission | |||
| LOCATION | Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building | |||
| DESCRIPTION | We want participants to think about the different types of relationships out there, ones they hear about and see around them, whether good or bad. This workshop aims to encourage that regardless of the relationship or formality, we can incorporate as many healthy characteristics as possible. We understand that conflict is often a natural occurrence in relationships, but how can we think about conflict resolution in spaces where we employ young people? What does conflict resolution look like between an adult staff and a teen / parent when there is already tension or uncertainty present? Motivational Interviewing and SEEK are trauma-informed practices and tools to begin working through healthy conflict. We encourage participants to bring their own personal experiences and think back to when they were a teen for this workshop. | |||
| DATE |
Thursday, May 8 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. | |||
| TITLE |
Retention and Recruitment of Youth | |||
| TRAINER | Lauren Bard & Paul Gregg, Health Resources in Action | |||
| LOCATION | Northeastern Crossing | |||
| DESCRIPTION |
This three-hour training will focus on best practices for the recruitment and retention of youth in summer programming. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on what motivates youth to engage in their summer programs and identify barriers to recruitment. Participants will also review their program practices to ensure that high levels of engagement and a sense of belonging lead young people to persist in programming. Through interactive activities and reflection, participants will break down barriers, share creative solutions, and strengthen their overall programming. Learning objectives:As a result of this training, participants will:
| |||
| DATE |
Thursday, May 15th 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | |||
| TITLE |
Introduction to Restorative Justice for Youth Workers | |||
| TRAINER | Laurie Chroney, Phillips Brooks House Association | |||
| LOCATION | Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building | |||
| DESCRIPTION | Restorative Justice (RJ) is a transformative approach that shifts the focus from punishment to healing and accountability. This interactive training equips youth workers with the knowledge and tools to implement RJ practices in their work, fostering stronger relationships, reducing harm, and creating inclusive, supportive environments for young people. | |||
| DATE |
Thursday, May 22 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. | |||
| TITLE |
Level Up! Improve Your Program’s Quality | |||
| TRAINER | Karen O’Neill, National Institute on Out-of-School Time | |||
| LOCATION | Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building | |||
| DESCRIPTION |
We all want what’s best for youth. But do you have a clear vision of what that means at your program? Do you know how and when to make changes to improve the quality of your program? Do you celebrate not just your participants’ successes but your own as well? Come explore how you can make positive, lasting changes at your program and leave with at least one concrete next step you can take to get started. Topics include:
|
Past Workshops
Past WorkshopsTuesday, March 18th, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Anna Banerjea, MA EdS
Shella Dennery, PhD, LICSW
Molly Jordan, LICSW
Boston Children's Hospital
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 aimed to increase awareness and understanding about anxiety and how it may present and impact youth. It also offered a framework to examine the relationship between anxiety and school/program avoidance. Practical strategies for supporting youth were shared including a discussion on strengthening collaborations with schools, families, and out of school time providers.
Tuesday, 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.
