Holistic Education Track
Holistic Education
Youth, their families and communities in low-resource settings face numerous education and workforce development challenges including poverty, language barriers, gender roles, disability, geographic location, lack of social networks that impact the ability of young people to access quality education and viable career opportunities. Efforts to promote holistic education continue to face persistent challenges, including cost burden on families, limited parental involvement, low quality education, inadequate school mental health services, and lack of access to technology. Likewise, workforce development efforts are fraught with challenges around lack of job opportunities, skill gaps, limited networking and mentorship opportunities, and financing barriers. The “Holistic Education ” track will bring together global researchers and practitioners to share findings on emerging interventions that enhance young people’s growth and development and prepare them for successful futures. The track will underscore the critical intersections between inclusive education and workforce readiness. Presentations will address current challenges and showcase innovations and structural pathways that create equitable and inclusive access to services and supportive environments for youth growth and development.
Adolescent Girls’ and Young Women’s (AGYW) Transitions
(Panel session 3B, Bellflower room. On-site access only).
Youth transitions are the experiences that young people have as they move through school and transition work and adulthood. During this period, young people experience rapid biological, psychological and physical changes, as well as shifting social and economic circumstances. For AGYW, these transitions are heightened by societal social norms, family and community expectations, stereotypes and poverty. In this session, presenters will address AGYW’s unique challenges during critical transitions and opportunities to support their growth and development. Presenters will share findings about factors that mitigate or exacerbate AGYW’s transitions and interventions that have worked to promote uncomplicated transitions.
Joy Shammah Ajuang, Presenter
Joy Shammah Ajuang is a graduate of Political Science and Public Administration with minors in Social work and community development. She is also the founder and executive director of a grassroots community-based organization called Footprints of Hope whose work revolves around enhancing the well-being of adolescents, youth and women in the rural areas. Our work aims to create enabling environments for young people and women to achieve equality and economic empowerment in our deeply patriarchal society.
Dr. Fatima Zahra, Presenter
Fatima Zahra is an associate at the GIRL Center, Population Council. She is a social demographer who specializes in transitions to adulthood in low- and middle-income countries. With gender equity at its core, her work focuses on a number of areas including education, health, child marriage, empowerment, and reproductive and mental health. In her current work, she is the principal investigator and technical lead on a range of projects including impact evaluations of child marriage interventions, and a systematic review examining causal links between education and health. Prior to joining the Council, she was a postdoctoral fellow with the Population Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Zahra holds a PhD in sociology with a specialization in demography from the University of Maryland, and a master’s in communication with a focus on health and social change communication from the University of Southern California.
Dr. Allegra Cockburn, Presenter
Allegra Cockburn is an associate and postdoctoral research fellow at the Gender, Education, Justice, and Equity (GEJE) innovation hub at the Population Council. She is an Applied Microeconomist and works on economic development topics, with a particular focus on issues related to education, gender, and the role of social norms and identity in determining outcomes for young girls. In ongoing work, she is exploring the role that identity plays in shaping the opportunities and career trajectories of high school students. She also has work on uptake of TVET in underrepresented groups and work on administrative burden in access to healthcare. At the Council, Cockburn’s research focuses on ways to improve access to schooling and the quality of education for young girls in developing countries. She also collaborates on work synthesizing evidence on gender-related barriers to education. Cockburn has a PhD in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Dr. Iheoma Iruka, Moderator
Iheoma U. Iruka, Ph.D., is a tenured professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health and the Founding Director of the Equity Research Action Coalition at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Iruka is leading projects and initiatives focused on ensuring that minoritized children and families and those from low-income households thrive through the intersection of anti-bias, anti-racist, and culturally grounded research, program, and policy. Dr. Iruka has authored over 100 books and papers and has given over 300 talks addressing systemic inequities and advancing research and action on the well-being of children and families. She serves on numerous national and local boards and committees, including the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the American Psychological Association’s Board of Educational Affairs, the National Science Foundation, and the Lancet Commission on Racism and Child Health. In addition to being on the National Advisory Committee for the U.S. Census Bureau and a Census Advisor for the National Urban League, Dr. Iruka is the recipient of the 2022 American Psychological Association Mid-Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to Benefit Children, Youth, and Families and the 2023 Association of University Centers on Disabilities Leadership for All award-winner. She is a 2023 American Psychological Association (APA) Fellow.
Panel: Substance Abuse Prevention, Education, and Research (SUPER)
(Panel session 4A, Redbud room. On-site and remote access.)
The Substance Use Prevention and Education and Research (SUPER), funded by SAMHSA, is a program that aims to strengthen community capacity to prevent the onset of substance use and reduce the progression of substance use among youth ages 11-16 living in Durham County and Granville County, NC. SUPER is a 5-year prevention initiative that offers: Free evidence-based life skills training for youth, free parenting programs for parents, free professional training/continuing education courses for people who work with youth, and public awareness events. SUPER’s objectives are to increase Durham County and Granville County’s capacity to prevent and reduce alcohol and cigarette/e-cigarette use among youth and to decrease youth substance use in Durham County and Granville County.
Dr. Carey Evans, Presenter
Carey Evans is currently the lead evaluator for the Substance Use Prevention, Education, and Research (SUPER) project, a SAMHSA funded substance use prevention initiative in Durham and Granville, NC. Prior to this, she worked for the North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center and assisted in large scale data collection, management, and analysis as well as program implementation. Dr. Evans’ research focuses on health equity, social justice, adolescent substance use, and youth violence prevention.
Dr. Tauchiana Williams, Presenter
Tauchiana Williams, DSW, is a clinical associate professor and the project manager for the Substance Use Prevention and Education Research (SUPER) program, which is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). She is a licensed clinical social worker whose practice areas include child and adolescent mental health, school social work, substance use, and trauma. Dr. Williams serves as director of the Advanced Standing MSW Program at UNC-Chapel Hill. She was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to serve on the North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board, where she holds the office of secretary/treasurer. Dr. Williams is the coordinator of the North Carolina School Social Work License program.
Ms. Brittany Allen-Albright, Presenter
Brittany Allen-Albright grew up in Erwin, NC and relocated to Chapel Hill in 2007. Throughout her experiences in the public and private school sector, residential treatment, and outpatient therapy, Mrs. Albright honed her skills and worked diligently to serve children and families across the Triangle. Her passion for helping students is rooted in her personal experiences and social work background. She looks forward to continuing her work and building relationships with the Durham Nativity School community! Ms. Allen- Albright is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker Associate (LCSWA).
Dr. Amy Blank Wilson, Moderator
Amy Blank Wilson, PhD, MSW, LSW is an Associate Professor and The Prudence F. and Peter J. Meehan Early Career Distinguished Scholar at the School of Social Work at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also the Co-director of the Tiny Homes Village, a demonstration project that seeks to expand the continuum of permanent and affordable housing options for people with mental illnesses. Dr. Blank Wilson is a national expert in the development and testing of interventions for people with mental illness involved with the criminal legal system. She uses her practice experience and research expertise to explore new ways to address the complex, interlocking problems of poverty, homelessness, substance use, and criminal legal system involvement facing many people with mental illness. Her research and scholarship include over 20 funded grants, 60 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and 90 conference presentations.