BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and LGBTQIA+ youth are both over-represented in systems of care and, unfortunately, face relentless bias and discrimination from the very adults tasked with their care. In order to adequately address the needs of these youth, providers must be equipped with both an intersectional lens and cultural humility to inform their conversations, interventions, services, and organizational policies. In this webinar, participants will review and practice using Multicultural Existential Helping and Healing Centered Engagement, two evidence-based frameworks that have proven effective with marginalized and minoritized youth. Through interactive activities, learn how to demonstrate empathy instead of sympathy, how to “hold space” for youth who have experienced racial and anti-LGBTQIA+ trauma, and tangible tools that empower youth to have ownership of their own healing as they transition to adulthood.

Nia Clark has spent over fifteen years working as a child welfare consultant, trainer, and LGBTQ+ youth advocate. She was a direct care counselor and activities coordinator at The Home for Little Wanderers, one of the nation’s oldest youth-serving agencies.  Nia was the Mentoring Coordinator at LifeWorks, the youth development and mentoring program at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. In 2016, she was the consulting producer of the Emmy-nominated MTV documentary, Transformation, a film featuring herself and six trans & gender-diverse youth. Nia is currently an Expert Trainer & Technical Assistance Specialist for the Human Rights Campaign’s All Children – All Families Project, an initiative that helps child welfare agencies achieve safety, permanency, and well-being for queer youth in foster care. She also serves as a National LGBTQ+ Mentoring Coach for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, which aims to provide more inclusive mentoring services and resources to queer youth and mentors across America. Nia holds a master’s degree in Social Work from Simmons University.