Agenda - May 28 and 29, 2008, 2- Day Conference .

Below is the schedule for the May 28 and 29, 2009 Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference which was held at the Northwestern University School of Law, 365 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Il.   This illustrates the type of workshops and speakers you can expect in November.

Thank you Chicago Dramatist Theater in Chicago for donating six tickets to HOPE VI for the conference raffle. HOPE VI will be playing from now through July 12.

Everyone who participates in the conference volunteers their time! Thank you all.  Thank you to everyone who donated time to present a workshop, or host a panel. Special thanks to our keynote speakers.
 

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Registration - 8:00 am to 9:00 am

9:00 am to 9:30 am:  Keynote and welcome:

Born To succeed But Conditioned To Fail.
Jeffrey Fields will speak on his life growing up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago and the difficulty he faced having two brothers killed, living in 11 different homes in ten years, and the daily struggle of life in a in self-contained special education classroom. He will talk about how Mentoring gave him the courage to go on to college, and be accountable to my commitments in life.

Jeffrey Fields is now the Program Coordinator for "Compromiso",  a mentoring program serving 6th-12th grade student in alternative schools Springfield IL. Jeffrey is a facilitator for youth leadership workshops designed for special education/foster children.  He is also Producer/Host  for the "Compromiso Cable Show", which is a mentoring documentary educating community on foundation, strength based, and legacy mentoring in Central Illinois.

First workshops: 9:40 am to 10:50 am - 
 

Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Strategies
Panel discussion led by leaders of tutoring and/or mentoring programs.  Leaders share strategies for recruiting volunteers from businesses, universities, professional groups who serve as tutors/mentors, and as board members, technology support, organizers, and capacity builders.  

Facilitated by Nicole White, Tutor/Mentor Connection

Panel Includes: Sarah Bird, East Village Youth Program, Alex Cornwell, Chicago Lights at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Kathryn McCabe, Cluster Tutoring Program, Scott McFarland, Serve Illinois Commission, www.serve.illinois.gov

Almost Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Your Funder, But Were Afraid to Ask

Presented by Genita Robinson, Executive Director, Lawyers Lend-a-Hand to Youth, a Sun-Times Judge Marovitz Program, www.lawyerslendahand.org

At this session, the executive director of the Sun-Times Judge Marovitz Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth Program will review Lend-A-Hand's history and its role as a funding and intermediary organization.  There will be ample time for questions and answers and a discussion about what value Lend-A-Hand will bring to the tutor/mentor community going forward.

Developing A Mentoring Program for our Children and Youth

Presented by Rev. Terry Weston, TW's Ministry

Impact Evaluation: From Basics to Best Practices, Presented by Jenny Ellis Richards, Consultant, Pratt Richards Group, Evanston, IL.
Every nonprofit struggles with the notion of impact - how to understand, define and measure it; good, ongoing, evaluation practice is the place to start. This session is will provide an overview of evaluation definitions, tips and tools useful for learning about and articulating your impact. Participants will become better acquainted with
common evaluation terms and concepts and will leave with some new ideas for,
and approaches to, evaluation work.

This session will be interactive, and is open to all - nonprofit Executive Directors and program staff, board members, volunteers.

View the PDF presentation of this workshop (posted 6/3/09).

Expungement: What is it and why do I need to know? Presented by Carolyn Frazier, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, Bluhm Legal Clinic, Northwestern School of Law, http://www.law.northwestern.edu/cfjc/

In the age of computerized record-keeping, juvenile delinquency and criminal records--even simple arrests that never led to court involvement--have a way of taking on lives of their own. When employers, schools, landlords, etc... gain access to these records (often illegally), the result can mean lost jobs, lost housing, and lost educational opportunities. Expunging a young person's record is a very important, but often overlooked, step to take to help them move forward in life. Come to this session to learn: what expungement is, who needs to expunge, when they can expunge, how to expunge, and why it is so very important to help young people expunge their records.

Second workshops: 11:00 am to 12:15 pm 

Student Recruitment - how do various programs recruit students to participate in their non-school tutoring and/or mentoring program?  

Where would tutoring and mentoring programs be without the students they serve? Find out from tutoring and mentoring professionals about ways to recruit and retain students so your program can help these students become successful.

Panel discussion led by Kathy Anderson, Wicker Park Learning Center.

Panel includes:
Jennifer Bricker, Family Matters, Karina Kelly, Jump Start, Stacy Jackson, Chicago Lights at Fourth Presbyterian Church


Issues of Non Profit Management - 10 Tips for Staying Ahead in this Economy Presented by Jennifer Paul and Liz Livingston Howard, Northwestern University Center for Non-Profit Management, www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/research/nonprofit/index.htm

All nonprofit organizations are facing significant challenges in this economy. However this is not the time to suspend fundraising and marketing activity. This session will help leaders review critical elements of successful fundraising and marketing strategies.

This session is geared for nonprofit leaders and will help them review critical elements of fundraising and marking, think about key ways to maintain your strengths, and discuss current strategies to engage and cultivate stronger relationships.

 

How to Help Your Students Finance College.
Presented by Annette Phillips, Outreach Liaison, Illinois Student Assistance Commission

Yes, our students can go to college!  This interactive session will introduce you to ways to pay for college, trusted sources of information, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, and frequently asked questions.  At this can't miss session you will receive samples of ready-to-use printed materials and become aware of interactive tools on the Web to help families manage the cost of college.

Introduction to Grant Writing

Presented by Jill Zimmerman, Vice President, The Alford Group, www.alford.com

Securing funding from proposals involves both elements of fundraising-art and science. It is essential to know the essential elements to a successful proposal. This session will cover the following topics: 

The essential components of a grant proposal package
* Important writing techniques that make your proposal stand out from the pile
* Layout and design of a strong proposal
* Customizing a proposal to match a grant maker's interest and using your proposal as a relationship building tool

Creating a Program Website Using Free Online Tools

Presented by Dan Hogan, Circle Urban Ministries, www.circleurban.org

This workshop is for program leaders who desire to develop a program website but lack the money to pay a web designer or the technical expertise to know where to begin. Discover how you can use free online tools to build and maintain a website for mentor recruitment, communication to program stakeholders, and as an element of program support offered to volunteers.
 

Lunch & Networking - 12: 15 pm - 1:30 pm

12:50pm to 1:15 pm - Keynote Speaker -

Community Organizing Opportunities in the Neighborhood Barbershop. Presented by Ishmael Alamin, Owner of the Hyde Park Hair Salon, the Official Barbershop of President Barack Obama, located in Hyde Park, Ill.  Assisted by Kenya Robinson, Marketing Director for Hyde Park Hair Salon.

Hyde Park is a business that has been in the Hyde park community for over 80 years. We have seen, heard and spoken with many people of the community and around the city about numerous subjects. The barbershop has always been a place where people conversate and find out what exactly is going on in communities, politics, current events, sports, family and around the world.

The barbershop has a history of community organization, used as a measurement of political views, shaping of opinions etc. ...in short, a place to hear and tell it all. This
idea holds true rather it is a minority shop or not. This is an ideal place to speak with people from all over the community and introduce the different ways in which we can help the community. The same ideas and concerns shared in the shop should not end with conversation. Many people do not know how or what to do about many problems discussed while others don't believe there is anything that can be done about certain issues and problems. In introducing them to the Tutor/Mentor Connection, discussing tutoring and/or mentoring programs, and the RESULTS of programs that have been implemented and have actually worked. Not only should barbershops be used as a forum to express problems but as a forum to solve them or receive the tools to help.

 

First Afternoon workshops: 1:45 to 3:00pm - 

Corporate Partnerships 101, Presented by Jenne Myers, Executive Director, Working in the Schools

WITS promotes literacy and the love of reading among Chicago's youth by providing one-on-one tutoring.  WITS currently has 31 partnering organizations - the majority are corporate.  Our corporate model requires volunteers and dollars and is a popular tool for corporations to make a measurable impact in the community.

 

Leveraging Working Professionals in the NFP Sector: Community Building Tutors Experience

Presented by Bart Phillips, Executive Director, Community Building Tutors, www.cbtutors.org

This workshop is intended to present some of the common issues and strategies for attracting working professionals to join a small grassroots tutoring organization. Lessons learned from Community Building Tutors will be presented, along with the story of it's founder. This session will also highlight a number of work products that resulted from working professional contributions.
 

In School, The Right School, Finish School

Presented by Monica Mahan, MSW, Northwestern School of Law, Children and Family Justice Center, Bluhm Legal Clinic, http://www.law.northwestern.edu/cfjc/

So many court-involved children are now out of school or trapped in failing schools, that the chance for them to complete school may seem remote.  But, we can change that, child by child, question by question, by asking, again and again and again, for these three things – that each child is in school; that the school in which the child is enrolled is the right school, and that the services are in place for him or her to finish school.  We do not have to ask for much, only these three things.  And yet, by asking for these three simple opportunities, or even better, demanding them, In School, The Right School, Finish School, we could literally change their worlds and ours.  Every day in court we hear judges and others, including ourselves, say to so many kids, “You need to make your education a priority.”  Isn’t it time, that we made it our priority too?

The Tutor/Mentor Connection: What it Is and What it Does

Panel Discussion led by Angel Diaz, volunteer for the Tutor/Mentor Connection

Participants - Nicole White, Tutor/Mentor Connection Research and Networking Coordinator and Mike Trakan, GIS/Mapping Coordinator - Tutor/Mentor Connection, www.tutormentorconnection.org

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Second Afternoon workshops:  3:15:pm to 4:30pm

College Prep and Mentoring - What One Programs is Doing
Panel discussion led by Katherine Moone and Jane Napoli, East Village Youth Program
Hear how East Village Youth Program uses a mentoring component to complement its after school program. The speakers will discuss the structure of the mentoring program, the goals and objectives, how EVYP evaluates the program's effectiveness, and how they keep their mentors engaged.

Building Communications Skills in the Classroom and After-School
John Lybolt, Ph.D., Research Director and Catherine H. Gottfred, Ph.D., Founder of Leap Learning Systems

Participants will be introduced to two of Leap Learning Systems programs for school-age through high school students, and youth leaders who work with students in both classroom and after-school environments.

The presentation will review activities that have been successful in improving students' academic standing in schools and after-school centers in Chicago.  We will also touch on how to find funding for partnering with outside vendors and professional development providers.

E-Mentoring: An Innovation Worth Pursuing?

Presented by Mark Gesner, Director, Community Development and Dialogues, Center for Community Partnerships, University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Prof. Peter Knight, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, http://www.uwp.edu/departments/community.partnerships/

E-Mentoring is a means of providing a guided mentoring relationship using online software or e-mail. Engage in a discussion about this provocative mentoring innovation, and learn about best practices and opportunities related to E-Mentoring, including topics such as mentor training, E-Mentoring platforms, mentor/mentee matching and E-Mentoring evaluation.

Evaluation Strategies Discussion

Devon Lovell of Family Matters, http://www.familymatters.org will lead an informal discussion about strategies of evaluating your program's successes.
 

Friday, May 29, 2009

Registration - 8:00 am to 9:00 am

9:00 am to 10:00 am:

Media Panel – Media members will talk about ways they cover news like the shooting of Chicago Public School kids, and what role media should take in pointing readers to web sites where they learn ways to be volunteers, donors and/or leaders in programs that can help kids stay out of gangs and stay focused on education.

Facilitated by Monroe Anderson, cyber columnist who is a veteran Chicago journalist. Panel members include: Tracy Swartz and Phillip Thompson of the Red Eye, and Natalie Moore of WBEZ

First workshops: 10:10 am to 11:10 am - 

Incorporating Writing Strategies into a Tutoring Program.
Presented by Mara O'Brien, Patrick Shaffner, and Kait Steele, 826 CHI 
One of the largest areas of academics that students lag behind in is writing. Find out how one program incorporated writing into their tutoring program and has made writing fun for thousands of kids not just in Chicago – but in Boston, Los Angeles, Michigan, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle too!

Mentoring Program Strategies - Issues and Best Practices. Panel Discussion  

Panel includes Joel Newman, Big Brothers, Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley, Evan Witalison, Mentor Kenosha-Racine at University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Xavier Salvado, Gads Hill Center, www.gadshillcenter.org, Michael Cooper, Education 4 Life Foundation

Mentoring programs have their own special needs and issues that differ greatly from tutoring program. Talk to a panel of mentoring program leaders on ways to make your mentoring program a success!

Building Community Engagement: A Global Model with Local Foundations, Presented by Eric Davis, Founder of the Global Citizen Experience

The Global Citizenship Experience (GCE) is an innovative and replicable educational model designed in response to serious learning gaps in the system. The GCE is adopted by schools and community-based organizations which want to build a system for transforming youth into inspired learners, engage parents in their children's education, and cultivate corporate and non-profit partners.  The workshop
will be an engaging conversation how YOUR organization can do this.

Using Maps to Create Collaborative Strategies.

Presented by Daniel Bassill, President, and Mike Trakan, GIS Map Developer, of Tutor/Mentor Connection (http://www.tutormentorconnection.org  ).

Second workshops: 11:15 am to 12:25 pm - 

Engaging Athletes, Business Leaders and Celebrities as Advocates for Volunteer Based Tutor/Mentor Programs, panel discussion
In this panel discussion current and former college and professional athletes will discuss ways to draw attention and support to volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs throughout a large metropolitan area,  and ways that they might work together to build more consistent year-round support of all tutor/mentor programs in their host city.  College and professional athletes and coaches are encouraged to attend. This PDF illustrates how Kurt Kittner, University of Illinois and NFL quarterback, draws attention to Cabrini Connections, and other tutor/mentor programs in Chicago.

Facilitated by Steve Miller, President of Legacy Mortgage Corporation

Panel members:

Kurt Kittner, University of Illinois and NFL Quarterback, associate with Jones Lang LaSalle, Americas.  Commentator with Illinois Football broadcasts on WIND (560 AM) radio.

Chasda Martin, Northwestern University Football and current Social Service Network Coordinator for the Betty Shabazz International Charter Schools, http://www.bsics.net/

El Da'Sheon Nix, Northwestern University Football and current Administrative Coordinator of Cabrini Connections

Torri Stuckey, Northwestern University Football, currently an Account Manager for Industrial Products, Norfolk Southern Corporation, http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/

How Universities can use Their Students to Help Non-Profits.
Panel discussion with Molly Day of Campus Catalyst, Bradley Troast, Northwestern Public Interest Program Fellow at Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection for 2009-2010 Princeton Project 55 – led by Chris Warren, a NU PIP Fellow with Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection

Universities are the host to thousands of creative and talented students who have the skills, energy, and intelligence to greatly help non-profits. Find out about how some local universities have helped out the non-profits in their communities through their students.

What Can Businesses do to Support Employee Involvement in Volunteer Based Tutor/Mentor Programs Throughout a Metropolitan Area?
Please join Chicago area Human Resource leaders in this workshop to discuss ways to tap into corporations' vast number of potential volunteers. The session is designed to help generate ideas to reach these volunteers ultimately help support and grow your tutor/mentor programs. The workshop is designed to include leaders and volunteers who are interested in brainstorming about increasing volunteerism, as well as HR leaders of Chicago area businesses who are leading volunteer involvement activities in their companies.

The session will be facilitated by Susan Wilson, Managing Director of MJ Scott Search Partners. She will be joined by Toyin Ogun who is a seasoned Human Resource professional who has held senior level HR positions at Borden, Pepsico, and Limited Brand. Most recently he was the VP Chief Talent Officer at Sears Holdings.  Also participating will be Lawrence Krema, Senior Vice President at Hub International, and Brad Seigfreid, Community Relations, OfficeMax.

 

Tutoring Strategies
Facilitated by Devon Lovell and Jennifer Bricker, Family Matters,
 

Lunch & Networking - 12: 30 pm - 1:20pm

1:20pm to 1:45 pm - Keynote Speaker -

The Hon. Judge Thomas Donnelly, member of Executive Board, SunTimes, Judge Marovitz Lawyers Lend A Hand to Youth Program

Friday afternoon workshops: 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm - 

Incorporating a College Preparation Program into your Tutor/Mentor Program
Presented by Carla Reyes, Volunteer with Cabrini Connections

One of the main goals of every tutoring and mentoring program is that every child will have graduated from college, be in school, or have a career by the time they are 25. But, how do you give your students the support and resources to get them into college on a limited budget? Find out how one program used the power of volunteers to make their college program happen!



Challenges of operating mentoring activity - 
Panel discussion describing challenges of creating a school-based or community based mentoring program. The panel members have worked closely this year on a project with youth from Phillips High School, and will show some highlights from a documentary the young men put together. They will use this program to show the challenges mentoring can face as a school based or community based program. We are going to use Dr. Hall's book "Mentoring Young Men of Color" as an outline, we will have open/honest conversation about where we 'dropped the ball' and where we stand now. We want to commit 30 to 40 minutes covering the program and sharing scenes from the documentary leaving 20 to 30 minutes for questions and discussion.  Facilitated by Robert Harris, Centers for New Horizons

Panel includes:
Dr. Horace Hall from DePaul University and founder of the REAL Program 
Steve Callen, of the REAL Program 
 

Leadership with children  - Panel Discussion.
Often times when the word leadership is used in a setting that involves tutoring it can become confusing. Confusing because the usual idea people have about tutoring is to help a student develop good academic skills. There is more to it than having good academic disciplines - the student needs examples of quality of life. This can be accomplished through positive leadership.

This discussion targets everyone who is involved in tutoring young students. The presentation will provide a perspective on realistic values that young people have, their social struggles, and what this means to those who are helping them succeed. 

Panel includes:

Stephen L. Sherwin, MPA from IIT, Retired Chicago Police  Sergeant, a Midtown tutor for nine years, currently teaching Criminal  Justice courses at Lewis University.

Karen Loaiza, Masters in Education, Masters in Math, has a tutoring agency,
currently teaches math in a Chicago Elementary School.

Social Media Game - Twitter - How It Can Benefit Tutoring and Mentoring Programs

Presented by Lovette Ajayi is Community Media Workshop's Marketing Coordinator and resident Twitterati.  http://www.newstips.org

It's easy to get overwhelmed deciding which social media tools your organization should use. Play the Social Media Game with Community Media Workshop to think about how to intentionally use those tools despite, or even because of, resource challenges. 

Also, if you're wondering what the hype about Twitter is and how it benefits you, this workshop is the one for you. Join as we discuss Twitter best practices and ways your organization can use it to further your mission.