Joe shares his transformative journey from gun violence and incarceration to becoming a social worker. He highlights his motivations, including the birth of his daughter and the desire to break the cycle of crime as his “Why?” while uplifting the importance of lived experience in therapy, advocating for more clinicians with similar backgrounds and his work with the alternative-to-incarceration program CASES.

Guest Bio:
Joseph (Joe) Williams, LCSW, is a formerly incarcerated Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Psychotherapist, and Lyfe-Chess Strategist. Joe grew up in the Brownsville & East New York sections of Brooklyn. He received his Bachelors from Bard College’s Prison Initiative (BPI) in 2013 while incarcerated, and shortly after release, received his Masters of Social Work (MSW) from Columbia University. Joe is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Social Work (DSW ‘25) at NYU, with over a decade of experience providing trauma-informed talk-therapy, counseling, and success mentoring to youth, young adults, families, and communities from all walks of life.

Contact/Socials
Email: joewilllcsw@gmail.com
Instagram: joe4gi
Website: lyfechessynk.com

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Gabi and Paula converse about her career trajectory, starting out as a foster care social worker, transitioning to Founding Social Worker & Director of Social Services at Mott Haven Academy Charter School and involvement with launching a program at NYU Silver School of Social Work designed specifically to train school social workers. She highlights need for specialized training for school social workers, noting the complexity of their roles and the lack of consistent support. They emphasized the importance of community, data utilization, and professional development as well as discussed the challenges of advocating for oneself in the school system and the need for increased quality professional development opportunities.

Guest Bio:
Gabriella McBride, LCSW, DSW, earned her MSW degree from CSSW in 2006 and DSW from NYU in 2023. Following a supervisory role at New York Foundling, she joined Mott Haven Academy Charter School in 2009, where she served as a Founding Social Worker and the Director of Social Services until 2021. Gabriella has supervised MSW students since 2007 and has taught as an adjunct faculty member at NYU Silver since 2016. Gabriella's teaching is influenced by critical pedagogy, aiming to transform social work practice both within the classroom and in practicum placements. Gabriella's doctoral capstone was on using simulation in social work education and dialogic pedagogy in classrooms as an anti-racist teaching practice. Currently, Gabriella is involved with launching the School Social Work Training Academy at NYU Silver School of Social Work, a program dedicated to training school social workers serving youth and families in New York City. Gabriella is also a proud mama of two beautiful children.

Contact/Socials
Email: gc85@nyu.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriella-mcbride-6a73b069/

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Jaran shines a light on his experiences as a Functional Family Therapist and discusses some of the challenges he has observed in his work with youth and families, particularly during the early days of the pandemic, highlighting rising truancy and violence among youth. He reflects on the impact of societal and personal expectations as well as the value of self-compassion and creating safe spaces to foster growth and reflection.

Guest Bio:
Jaran David Manzanet, MSW is from The Bronx and is now a resident of Harlem. He works as a Functional Family Therapist, helping youths between the ages of 11-18 build support systems with family members and their communities. He has been in Social Service since 2014 and has helped on Community Board projects for Harlem’s District 10. Currently awaiting to retake the License Exam, Jaran David is also deciding on the best options for continuing education in the field of social work.

Contact/Socials:
Email: jmanzanet@fordham.edu
Instagram: atlasrum_87
X: @atlasrum

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Paula is joined by an awesome panel of dedicated social workers Ancy, Cindy, and Emily who discuss the origins and impact of their annual retreat for school social workers and youth mental health providers. The retreat, which began in March 2024, aims to address burnout, provide continuing education units, and foster community among professionals. Despite personal challenges, such as health issues and grief, the organizers emphasized the importance of collaboration and self-care as well as the significant positive changes identified by participants. The next retreat is scheduled for March 2025, with a focus on the youth mental health crisis.

Contact/Socials:
Ancy & Cindy
Email: velocityvisions@gmail.com
Website: www.velocityvisionsinc.com

Emily
Email: emily.george@nyu.edu
Instagram: emg.sw.ed
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-george-lcsw-ms-ed-a4b4ab88/

Retreat, Remix, Revive
Email: retreatremixrevive@gmail.com
Instagram: retreatremixrevive
More Info & Waitlist: bit.ly/retreatremixrevive

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Motivated by recent conversations with parents and students, Paula explores the critical importance of sleep for adolescents and other age groups, shares information on the impact of insufficient sleep on our mental and physical development/health, and suggestions to develop a sleep schedule.

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Jacob discusses his experiences navigating the complex healthcare system, emphasizing the importance of self-advocacy and caregiver support. He shares his experiences with open-heart surgeries and his interdisciplinary approach to healthcare, advocating for a multi-dimensional perspective, stressing the importance of open dialogue and much more!

Guest Bio:

Dr. Jacob Kendall demystifies health(care). He is the survivor of two open-heart surgeries in early adulthood and has formal training in gerontology, public health, social work, biology, and theology. Jacob believes the key to mastering health and being a savvy patient or caregiver is a convergent 4-dimensional approach, integrating multiple perspectives to show that health and healthcare are more than individualistic, medical, here, and now.

Contact/Socials:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobevanskendall/

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Layne, a charity auctioneer from Toronto, shared their journey of raising nearly $55 million for charity over 15 years, and discussed their transition from a financial advisor to an auctioneer after a transformative experience at a charity gala. Layne highlights the challenges of being a non-binary person in a male-dominated field and the importance of asking for help and the power that lies in community, empathy, and using one's privilege to support marginalized groups.

Guest Bio:
Layne is a non-binary, successful entrepreneur with a charming, animated personality, and armed with a collection of captivating anecdotes.

An advocate for social impact, Layne’s work as The Auctionista has raised over $40 million for charity across North America and they have taken the stage over 1,500 times. They champion the idea that no challenge is insurmountable, and no dream is unattainable.

Layne would know best. Before blazing a trail in a male-dominated industry and creating a wildly successful company, Layne changed career paths from a Financial Advisor to Director of Development at a charity, only to courageously pivot again. Through their determination and perseverance, they decided to take the leap and reinvent the role of auctioneer.

With live fundraising firmly under their belt, Layne stepped into the world of keynote speaking to deliver powerful messages about the importance of living authentically. In 2024, Layne launched The IMPACT Workshop; a DEIB-learning series targeted to organizations that is focused on helping participants understand the concepts of gender identity, and how to create a workplace and community that is inclusive and accepting of all, honoring intersections of identity including race, body size, abilities, age, etc.

Now, the ever-innovative Layne, is one of the most coveted and respected auctioneers, speakers, and workshop facilitators, with a sparkling reputation for personal storytelling that connects.

Contact/Socials:
Instagram: @theauctionista
Email: info@auctionista.ca

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Bronte shines a light on her journey and approach to language learning. She affirms the importance of understanding learning styles and the need for clarity in language learning. Bronte shares her experience starting in sixth grade and her passion for languages, which has led her to learn 11 languages! She highlights the significance of setting realistic expectations and the value of practice and encourages learners to embrace mistakes as well as recognize that rest is essential for learning.

Guest Bio:
Bront’e helps passionate polyglots and introverted language learners go from frustrated to fluent in multiple languages all without the overwhelm, frustration, and constant burnout . She is the founder and creator of the Fluency Mastery Lab, which helps language learners make more progress in their language studies with the support of monthly language coaching & a community of passionate language learners, and has been learning multiple languages for 12+ years (currently at 10+ languages and counting)! Her goal is to help more introverts become polyglots and ultimately start using the languages they’re learning in their day-to-day lives.

Contact/Socials:
Facebook: thepolyglotfox
Instagram: @thepolyglotfox
TikTok: @thepolyglotfox
Youtube: https://bit.ly/3XJiNTe
Website: https://thepolyglotfox.com/

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