For children and adults alike, play illuminates the path toward social competency. But in a world filled with challenges that are more conducive to physical, social, and emotional harm than playfulness, play can feel like a waste of time. However, in the context of mentoring, joyful experiences enhance mental wellness and foster stronger youth-adult partnerships that can inspire a greater connection to the values and goals that make our lives meaningful.
In Building Relationships Through Collaboration and Play, the 2024 Carolinas Youth Mentoring Symposium will explore how the power of play can be leveraged to strengthen adult-youth mentoring relationships, foster cooperative group dynamics across youth-serving organizations, and form bridges that transcend differences, laying a solid foundation to foster optimism and hope for addressing some of society’s most pressing issues.
AGENDA-AT-A-GLANCE*
8:00 am – 9:00 am Doors Open | Coffee and Conversations
9:00 am – 9:10 am Welcome
9:10 am – 10:00 am Opening Panel | Collaboration Over Competition: Building Resilient Relationships
- Camille Berry, Founder and Principal, Camille Berry Consulting, Member, Chapel Hill Town Council (Moderator)
- Kyler Daniels, Be Well Coordinator, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tar River Region, Healing-Centered Mentoring™ Fellow
- Jennifer Castillo, Youth Development Professional, Healing-Centered Mentoring™ Fellow
- B.J. Council, Founder, You & Five-O, Former Deputy Chief, Durham Police Department
- Granvel Johnson, Senior Administrator, Helping Hands Mentoring Program, Wake County Public Schools System, Healing-Centered Mentoring™ Fellow
10:15 am – 11:30 am Concurrent Sessions
Professional Track
Getting to the Money: Funding Your Mentoring Program
- Sheneika Simmons, Founder & Principal Consultant, Simmons Leadership Services, LLC
Building Bridges: The TLC Approach To Effective Youth Mentoring
- Jay Z. Little, MA, LPC, Owner, Forward Counseling & Consulting
Leveraging Innovative Technologies to Engage Youth in Play-Centric Mentorship
- Geng Wang, Cofounder and CEO, Mentoring Works
- Dora Palfi, Cofounder and CEO, imagi
Youth Track
Beyond Financial Literacy: Designing Your Financial Future
- Tamara Quick Stanley, Regional Manager, VP of Triangle NC, Self-Help Credit Union
- Adrian Gonzalez, Senior Vice President, Pinnacle Financial Partners
Youth | Adult Session
Building and Sustaining Effective Mentoring Alliances
- Nori McDuffie-Williams, Youth Project Assistant, City of Durham Office on Youth
- Larry E. Thomas, Founder, Visionary and CEO, Thomas Mentor Leadership Academy
- Tiffany Swoope, Executive Director, GRACED, Inc.
11:45 am – 1:00 pm Lunch | Outstanding Youth Leaders of the Year Scholarship Awards Ceremony
- Mayor Leonardo Williams, City of Durham (Awards Keynote Speaker)
1:15 pm – 2:30 pm Concurrent Sessions | Relationship Building, Games, and Fun
Professional Track
From Potential to Success: Mentoring High School Males to Graduation
- MiUndrae Prince, Ph.D., Executive Director of Schools, Richland County School District
Strengthen Emotions Identification: Apply 4 Lenses of Depth Mentoring
- Jacob Urena, Program Associate, Boston Region | Summer Search
- Josue Theosmy, Program Associate and Alumni Board Member, Boston Region | Summer Search
- Alex Bartz, National Director of Program Implementation, Summer Search
Youth Track
Robotics, AI, and Automation: Welcome to the Global Datasphere
- Coach René Daughtry, Founder, Asiymmetry
Your Starting 5: Leveraging Mentorship to Achieve Success
- Jordan Sanders, Entrepreneur / Mentor, The Sixthman Sneaker Liaison Services (Moderator)
- Donish Uddin - Owner, Courtside NC
- Doug Elks - Speaker, Entrepreneur, AIM Podcast Host
- Richard Yeargin III - Thought Leader, Former Athlete, Professor at Clemson University College of Education
- Captain Jordan Whitaker - Naval Aviator and Mentor
- Rod Brown - Owner, Oz Roofing & Services, LLC
Life is a Game: Entrepreneurs Have a Cheat Code
- Carlo Diy, Program Manager, MINDSET, NC IDEA (Moderator)
- Frank Pollock, President, TPG Consulting
- Carl P. Webb, Sr., Partner, Forty/AM
- Tivi Jones, Founder + CEO, Hey Awesome Girl
Youth | Adult Session
Fostering Healthy Mentor-Mentee Relationships
- Douglass Coleman, Program Director, BOOST
- Michaelle Briones, Junior Coach, BOOST
- Adalo Gusa, Junior Coach, BOOST
- Kameron Wallace, Junior Coach-in-Training, BOOST
2:45 pm – 3:45 pm Closing Keynote | Gordon Bellamy
3:45 pm – 4:00 pm Conference Wrap-Up & Next Steps
CLOSING KEYNOTE SPEAKER
GORDON BELLAMY
USC Professor and Game Designer for Madden NFL Football
Gordon is a Professor of the Practice of Cinematic Arts, Interactive Media & Games at USC, helping to cultivate the next generation of leaders in our craft. He has played key business and product leadership roles at Tencent, Electronic Arts, as a designer on Madden NFL Football, and MTV, and consulted for numerous companies in the industry.
He received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 at GDC and was featured on Nickelodeon for Black History Month for his 25 years of contributions to game industry and culture.
Gordon serves as the president / CEO of the Gay Gaming Professionals and on the Board of Directors of TheWaveVR and has served as Executive Director of both the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences and the International Game Developers Association. He is a graduate of Harvard College with a BA in Engineering, and resides with his husband Joe Heally, and their dog, Colby Janet, in Los Angeles, California.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
PRESENTING SPONSOR
The mission of the Ciara Arts and Science Foundation is to identify underestimated youth who would like to develop talents in the arts or academia. The Foundation provides scholarships/grants to these children alongside organizations with similar missions. The Foundation funds awareness efforts to encourage minoritized communities to participate in these vital youth programs.
GOLD SPONSOR
CITY OF DURHAM OFFICE ON YOUTH
SILVER SPONSOR
BRONZE SPONSOR
CONCURRENT SESSION SPONSORS
COMMUNITY / EXHIBITION SPONSORS
2022 Carolinas Youth Mentoring Symposium
Interested in what a Symposium with YMC looks like? Check out details from last year's conference at The Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC.
Healing-Centered Mentoring™ Fellowship Program
YMC's inaugural Healing-Centered Mentoring™ Fellowship Program has launched with nine leaders from North & South Carolina.
From the YMC blog: June Highlights and Resources
Summer's here! Check out our June blog for an op-ed by our youth board member, plus ideas for supporting LGBTQ+ youth and youth graduating from high school.