VJJA's 47th Fall Juvenile Justice Institute   "CONNECTION COUNTS"
November 14 & 15, 2023

​Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Valley Conference Center, 710 S. Main Street, Harrisonburg, VA.  
A limited number of rooms are available at a discount rate of $98.00 (+tax)* per night. (Two night total +fees = $220.11) + $5.00/day parking fee. Make your hotel reservation by using this HOTEL RESERVATION LINK. The reservation deadline to ensure the conference rate is October 20th. VJJA will provide a buffet breakfast and lunch each day of the conference.

INSTITUTE AGENDA

monday, NOV 13

  • 3:00 pm - Vendor Set Up - Pre-function/Shenandoah Ballroom A (2 hours)
  • ​5:00 pm - ​Participant Early Registration - Pre-function (2 hours)
  • 6:00 pm - VJJA BOARD MEETING - Madison Boardroom (2 hours)  Agenda 

tuesday, nov 14

  • 8:00 am - ​​Breakfast- Shenandoah Ballroom B & C 
  • 8:00 am - ​​​Registration/Vendors/Logo Wear Sales/Youth Scholarship Raffle Tickets - Pre-function/Shenandoah A 
  • 9:00 am - ​OPENING REMARKS - Shenandoah Ballroom B & C​
  • 9:15 am - KEYNOTE - ANSWERING YOUR WAY TO THE DESIRED OUTCOME: ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS, GET THE RIGHT SERVICES, Natalie Handy & Challen Mabry 
  • ​10:30 am - ​​​Break/Visit with Vendors (15 minutes)
  • 12:00 pm - ​Lunch/Visit with Vendors - Shenandoah Ballroom 
  • 1:15 pm​​ - ​BREAK OUT SESSIONS​​
  • 2:45 pm - ​Break/Visit with Vendors​
  • 3:00 pm - ​BREAK OUT SESSIONS REPEAT (1.5 hours)
  • 5:00 pm - ​​PRESIDENT'S RECEPTION (1 hour)
  • 8:00 pm - NETWORKING - Shenandoah Ballroom B & C (3 hours)
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
​BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN PUBLIC SECTOR REFERRAL SOURCES AND PRIVATE PROVIDERS: MAKING AN INFORMED REFERRAL - Appalachian Ballroom A & B
​Christopher Campbell, Director of Advocacy and Program Advancement for Virginia Home for Boys and Girls
  • ​​​Identifying services for families and young people is no simple task. Matching complex child welfare and mental health needs with the most appropriate service and private provider should NOT make this task more difficult. 
  • Discussions: strengthening the relationship between Public Sector referral sources and Private Providers, the spectrum of services (community-based to the most acute, out-of-home placements), funding, how to make an informed referral to the most appropriate level of services necessary, real or perceived barriers in securing appropriate services for young people.
  • Participants will be encouraged to engage in honest and respectful dialogue on lessons learned, collaboration, and the best ways to move forward in this partnership.

​RECHARGE - FIND THE ENERGY YOU NEED (STRESS MANAGEMENT) - Appalachian Ballroom C
​Suzanne Meador & Kristina Hall, Department of Human Resource Management
  • ​Have you noticed that you get enough sleep, but you're still not feeling rested? Ready for a new concept? Sleep and rest are not the same thing and sleep doesn't provide all of the different kinds of rest we need. 
  • Feeling tired may have nothing to do with not getting enough sleep (although good sleep is still essential to your health). A new way to think about what we need is to break our rest needs into 7 categories: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, sensory, and creative. Each one requires unique activities to help reduce the rest deficit. Find out what it feels like when you have a low battery and how to energize yourself to do more of what you love.
​
FEEDBACK: MAKING IT WORK FOR YOU! - Allegheny Ballroom
Jerri Jackson, Training Manager, Organizational Development Training, Virginia DJJ
  • This interactive workshop will focus on the different components of feedback by providing an overview of the skills needed to engage in feedback, identifying feedback triggers, types of feedback, and its blind spots and boundaries.
  • Participants will have the blueprint to make feedback work.  

​SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND TRAUMA -  Shenandoah Ballroom B & C
Bethny Barrett, Director of Education and Outreach, SARA
  • This presentation will cover the foundational concepts of sexual violence and sexual trauma.
  • Learn the indicators of sexual violence and the ongoing effects of trauma. With a focus on child victims, this presentation will discuss how trauma responses appear throughout the legal system.
  • Participants should leave armed with the tools to address sexual violence and trauma in juvenile justice systems.
​

WEDNESDAY, NOV 15

  • 8:00 am - ​Breakfast- Shenandoah Ballroom B & C
  • 8:30 am - ​​Registration/Vendors/Logo Wear Sales/Youth Scholarship Raffle Tickets - Pre-function/Shenandoah A
  • 9:00 am - ​OPENING REMARKS - Shenandoah Ballroom B & C
  • 9:15 am - ​PLENARY - DOPE: A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK, First Sergeant Joe Crowder, VA State Police - Shenandoah B&C
  • 11:15 am - ​Break/Visit with Vendors
  • 11:30 pm - ​BUSINESS MEETING - Shenandoah Ballroom
  • 12:45 pm - ​​Lunch/Visit with Vendors - Shenandoah Ballroom
  • 1:45 pm - ​​PLENARY - SHIFTING GEARS, Greg Huber - Shenandoah Ballroom B & C
  • 2:30 pm - Break
  • 4:15 pm - CLOSING/GIVEAWAYS​

KEYNOTE DESCRIPTION

NATALIE HANDY
​Vice President of Government Affairs and Advocacy
HEAlth connect america

Natalie Elliott Handy, MSW, is a seasoned healthcare executive with 24+ years in the health and human services industry. Natalie joined the Health Connect America team in January 2023 where she serves as the Vice President of Government Affairs and Advocacy.  Prior to coming to HCA, Natalie served as CEO of Intercept Health.  

A servant at heart, Natalie takes pride in being seen as a mental health concierge, helping families and agencies navigate the system to find the most appropriate service. She believes in the power of advocacy, using her voice and position to bring macro level change on the local, state, and federal levels, serving on committees, task forces, planning groups, associations, and boards. In August 2022, Natalie was honored to be appointed by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to serve on the State Executive Council for Children’s Services. Natalie has a passion for training, offering education and information to positively impact others, both internally and to the community at large.
 
Originally from outside Knoxville, TN, Natalie currently lives in Roanoke with her husband Jason and fur children, Winston the Bulldog and Daisy the Beagle. When Natalie’s not working or spending time with Jason, Winston, or Daisy, you’ll find her collaborating with her sisters on their podcast, Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver. Natalie and her sisters, JJ Elliott-Hill and Emilie Elliott, founded the Sisterhood of Care, an organization offering caregivers a safe place to relate, learn, be inspired, find hope, and obtain the critical resources needed to support their loved one while also maintaining their sense of self.  Caregivers themselves, their passion project is intended to offer support, resources, and information to caregivers and the community at large via their podcast, website, and social media sites.  ​

DR. CHALLEN MABRY
​Chief clinical officer
​HOPETREE Family services

Dr. Challen Mabry is a licensed professional counselor in Virginia. Her professional experience has been focused on providing community-based behavioral health services to predominantly underserved populations. She also serves as an Assistant Professor and Co-Director of Counseling Education at Bluefield University.
​
Dr. Mabry holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Counselor Education from Virginia Tech, where she also earned her Master of Education degree in Mental Health Counseling. Challen also has Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Sociology from Hollins University. She holds a certificate of Applied Behavior Analysis and is a Trust Based Relational Practitioner (TBRI).

Prior to joining HopeTree, Dr. Mabry served as the State Clinical Director of Family Preservation Services, previously one of the largest private providers of mental and behavioral health services in Virginia. She has worked in clinical, compliance and operational roles of leadership serving in direct supervisory and program development roles.
​
Dr. Mabry is passionate about training behavioral health professionals to provide empathetic, evidence-based, trauma and culturally responsive interventions. Her research interests and service to the profession have focused on issues of social justice, rural mental health, and professional development of counselors through supervision.

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL
​DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY and PROGRAM ADVANCEMENT, VA Home for Boys & Girls 

Christopher Campbell's 28+ year career in the Child Welfare, Youth Mental Health, and Family Services fields range from Direct Care Practitioner to Administrator in Residential Treatment programs, Group Homes, Private Day Schools, ILA Programs, and Community-Based Services. Christopher serves on Virginia’s Safe and Sound Task Force, Chesterfield’s CPMT, VDSS’s Institutional Review Board, Child Welfare Advisory Committee (CWAC), and is a long-term Board Member at Harvest Outreach Center and Beacon Academy in Rustburg, VA. He holds an Associate’s Degree in Law Enforcement Technology, a Bachelor’s of Science in Management and a Master’s in Public Administration and Business Administration. 

SUZANNE MEADOR
​Wellness Consultant
​Office of Health Benefits

KRISTINA HALL
​WELLNESS CONSULTANT
​OFFICE OF HEALTH BENEFITS
​Since 2008, Suzanne has served the Southwestern Region, which includes over 125 state agencies and local choice groups. She helps design and implements statewide and individual agency employee wellness programs as a part of the Office of Health Benefits in the Department of Human Resource Management. Her passions and specialties include aquatic rehab and therapy and personal training and group exercise instruction. She loves spreading her love of wellness and fitness to her community in Bluefield, Southwest Virginia, as well as neighboring Southern West Virginia.
Kristina has served the Shenandoah Valley Region, which includes 45 state agencies and 57 local choice groups, since 2008. She helps design and implements statewide and individual agency employee wellness programs as a part of the Office of Health Benefits in the Department of Human Resource Management. She has been nominated for a Governor’s Award for Department of Human Resource Management and shows a passion for healthy living and caring for her community in Staunton. 

JERRI L. JACKSON
​TRAINING MANAGER,  ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING TEAM, Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice

Jerri Jackson’s career spans over 35 years in training, leadership and law enforcement. She began her career in 1996 as a certified criminal justice instructor with the Hampton Roads Criminal Justice Training Academy. After 19 years with the academy, Jerri joined the Newport News Sheriff’s Office as the training sergeant and was promoted to Lieutenant of the Professional Standards Bureau, overseeing recruitment, accreditation, investigations and training. In 2006, Governor Tim Kaine appointed Jerri to serve on the Criminal Justice Services Board, where she served 4 years. In 2011, she accepted a position with the Department of Criminal Justice Services as a Law Enforcement Program Coordinator. In 2013, Jerri joined the Department of Juvenile Justice. In her current role, she oversees leadership training programs and organizational development for the agency.  Mrs. Jackson is also a certified mediator and conflict coach.

BETHNY BARRETT
​Director of Education and Outreach,
​SARA

​Bethny Barrett has spent the past decade advocating for survivors of violence, for reproductive justice, and for LGBTQ+ rights. Bethny is the Director of Education and Outreach for SARA Inc. in Roanoke and she represents children as a guardian ad litem. She graduated from Hollins University in 2014 and from Washington & Lee University School of Law in 2019.  She was previously an Associate at Slovensky Law PLLC. Bethny sits on the boards of Virginia NOW and the Lean In Project. 

PLENARY SPEAKERS

FIRST SERGEANT JOE CROWDER
​Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC), Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Drug Enforcement Section

1st Sergeant Crowder has spent the past 24+ years in law enforcement conducting investigations, supervising assigned staff, providing guidance and support, and coordinating with Federal, State, and Local law enforcement agencies to curtail criminal activity and stop the flow of illegal narcotics into our communities. Sergeant Crowder has participated in numerous special assignments and has been the recipient of multiple awards for his work in the community.  He has served the local communities of Roanoke, Salem, and Lexington. 

GREG HUBER
​President
​signature teambuilding

Greg Huber has been delivering experience-based team building and leadership development programs for 35 years to everyone from small companies to Fortune 100 executives around the world.  His approach is not only hands-on but also fun and engaging and filled with practical information and ideas that can be used at work and in all parts of everyday life. 

Shifting Gears is one of five programs Signature Teambuilding has designed. All you will need is an open mind and a willingness to get out of your comfort zone to participate. You don’t need to be strong, fast, or agile and you’ll have a choice in everything we will be doing. Shifting Gears is designed to be fun, engaging, and enlightening with solid lessons about relationship building, teamwork and leadership.
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