Over the years
The Adolescent Health Initiative is proud to have celebrated eight years of our Connection Sessions.
We are grateful for the opportunities we’ve had each year to bring together multidisciplinary communities of adolescent health professionals to cover pertinent topics in the field. Learn more about previous Connection Sessions below.
Summary of Past Trainings
2021 Connection Session: Racial Equity in Adolescent Health Care: Developing an Anti-Racist Practice
The 2021 Connection Session, Racial Equity in Adolescent Health Care: Developing an Anti-Racist Practice, was the largest event in its six-year history, as nearly 300 interdisciplinary health care professionals convened to better understand the impacts of racism on adolescent health.
Highlights included a framing session by Jannah Bierens, MPH, MA, a session on Structural Racism and Adolescent Health by J’Mag Karbeah, MPH, Ph.D. Candidate, a panel discussion on the Impacts of Racism on Adolescent Health with Teresa Springer, MA, Dr. Veenod Chulani, and youth panelists Saida Abshir, Jessica Taylor, and Ashanti Campbell, and a strategy session on CARE NOT PUNISHMENT: Rejecting carceral logics as part of anti-racist practice, with Maria Thomas, MA, MPA.
As a result of this training, a majority of participants reported that they intend to make changes to their practice around developing strategies to address implicit bias and engage anti-racist principles. Following this training, there was a significant increase in attendees who reported that their ability to identify and develop actionable strategies to manage implicit bias and implement anti-racist principles in their professional practice grew as a result of the event. Similarly, many attendees reported that as a result of the event, their ability to explain the health impacts of racial inequities in adolescent health care for youth with intersecting marginalized identities increased.
The event also paid particular attention to accessibility, defined as the removal of barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, all aspects of the Connection Session by people with diverse abilities. Participants said that the event was “one of the most accessible sessions I’ve ever attended.”
Access the session recordings below.
