Duluth Thrives Resiliency Summit 2023 March 25 will cover practices to unravel impacts of trauma

The Duluth Thrives Resiliency Summit 2023 will be from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Lyric Conference Center of downtown Duluth’s Holiday Inn, at 200 W. First St. There’s also a Zoom option for those unable to attend in person. Cost is $20; scholarships are available. The day will consist of two keynote speakers along with a panel of professionals.

“During COVID, we were all under prolonged stress. But have we been able to regain inner peace? How does the brain function when under prolonged stress? Is it possible to rewire our brain and learn healthier ways to respond under stress? These are the sorts of topics we’ll cover at the Duluth Thrives Resiliency Summit,” said Patty Salo Downs, chair of the Duluth Thrives committee and a member of the Junior League of Duluth (JLD), which is sponsoring the summit along with the St. Louis County Family Services Collaborative.

The first keynote speaker will be Christine Bright, MBA, lead consultant and trainer of the Chicago-based Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport. She will address, “The Brain and Stress: What’s Happening and What We Can Do About it.” She will identify where our beliefs, values and biases are in our brains, while also sharing strategies for helping brains heal from overwhelming stress and trauma, and for overriding bias to access beliefs and values about race and differences.

The second keynote speaker will be Jebeh Edmunds, Founder and CEO of Duluth-based Jebeh Consulting, LLC, whose topic will be, “Implicit Bias, Diversity and Inclusion, Microaggressions.” Participants will be able to self-assess their own implicit bias and learn about the three different types of microaggressions: behavioral, environmental and verbal.

The in-depth program will also include a panel discussion with Bright and Edmunds, as well as Carl Crawford, city of Duluth Human Rights Officer, and LeAnn Littlewolf, Co-Director of the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO). Suzanne Koepplinger, Founder and Consultant of Catalyst North, will moderate.

“The summit is another seed we are planting in the community garden to support growth and knowledge,” said Addie Trettel, Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and JLD member. “The vision and hope is to equip people will the knowledge and tools needed to be a positive and caring adult for a young person. All of us need that training, which is what we’ll provide. Trauma changes the brain, but healing does, too.”

Duluth Thrives Resiliency Summit 2023 is a follow-up to a 2022 summit about Adverse Childhood Experiences, organized by the same sponsors. Salo Downs said this year’s attendees need not have participated last year. She said everyone is welcome, but those who may benefit most are people who have experienced adversity and trauma and those working in the fields of social and human services, education, healthcare, youth development and caregiving.

A certificate of attendance for continuing education units will be available. Teachers, coaches, youth workers, foster care, parents, grandparents, therapists, professionals in the medical field, and trauma impacted individuals will also benefit from attending.

The full agenda for the summit, plus information about scholarships for those needing assistance, may be found at www.JuniorLeagueDuluth.org. People may register at that web address by March 22.