- 2023 -
Agenda
Wednesday
November 8th
The Yarrow – DoubleTree By Hilton
Park City, Utah
12:00 - 4:30 PM
Registration and Check-In
4:30 - 4:40 PM
Summit Opens and Welcome
Mark Welling
CMO of Cook Center
for Human Connection
4:40 - 5:25 PM
Creating Socially Connected Schools
Dr. Julie Radlauer
Founder and CEO of Collectively, Doctor of Public Health
5:30 - 6:30 PM
Dinner
6:45 - 7:15 PM
Transportation to
Eccles Center Park City
7:30 - 8:30 PM
Arthur Brooks Lecture
8:45 - 9:15 PM
Return Transportation to Hotel
Thursday
November 9
The Yarrow – DoubleTree By Hilton
Park City, Utah
7:30 - 8:30 AM
Breakfast
8:30 - 9:00 AM
Open
Mark Welling
CMO Cook Center for
Human Connection
Welcome
Greg and Julie Cook
Founders – Cook Center for
Human Connection
PANAS Quiz
Grace Brown
Impact Manager
9:00 - 12:00 PM
Happiness & Leadership Seminar
Arthur Brooks
Harvard Professor, Author, Social Scientist
9:00 – 10:00 AM
Leadership and Happiness
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Tabletop Workshop and Break
11:00 – 12:00 PM
Strength to Strength
12:00 – 12:30 PM
Implementation and Action:
Grace Brown Impact Manager – Cook Center for Human Connection
Michelle Bartsch VP of Education – Cook Center for Human Connection
12:30 - 1:30 PM
Lunch
1:30 - 2:15 PM
Strengthening Bonds: The Power
of Family and Community Engagement in Education
Dr. Brad Keating
Executive Director of Engagement Unit – Clark County School District
Denise Diaz
Director of Family Engagement – Clark County School District
2:15 - 3:00 PM
Tools and Resources for
Mental Wellness
Todd Stevenson
Chief Advocacy Officer – Cook Center for Human Connection
Michelle Bartsch
VP of Education – Cook Center for Human Connection
3:00 - 3:15 PM
Break
3:15 - 4:00 PM
Ask a Therapist Live: A Destigmization Conversation
Dr. Kevin Skinner
Clinical Director – ParentGuidance.org
4:00 - 4:45 PM
Why Leadership Matters: The Transformational Power and Influence of Emotional Connection
Dr. Kimberly Applewhite
Director of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Utah Center for Evidence Based Treatment
4:45 - 4:50 PM
Next Steps
Mark Welling
5:45 - 6:15 PM
Transportation to Versante
6:00 - 9:00 PM
Dinner Versante
7:30 - 9:15 PM
Transportation back to Hotel
Friday
November 10
The Yarrow – DoubleTree By Hilton
Park City, Utah
7:30 - 8:15 AM
Breakfast
8:15 - 8:45 AM
You are a 10! Concert Performance
Alex Boyé
Singer, Author, Motivational Speaker
8:45 - 9:00 AM
Break
9:00 - 10:45 AM
Speak Like a Leader
John Bates
Communication Expert and
TED Talk Coach
10:45 - 11:00 AM
Break
11:15 - 12:00 PM
The Defensive Line: The Importance of Mental Health
Martha Thomas
Co-Founder and Chief Education Officer
– The Defensive Line
Chris Thomas
Co-Founder and Chief Education Officer
– The Defensive Line
12:00 - 12:30 PM
Why Now is The Moment to Make a Difference
Anne Brown
CEO and President – Cook Center for Human Connection
12:30 PM
Summit is Adjourned
Speaker Biographies
Arthur Brooks
Harvard Professor, Author, Social Scientist
Arthur C. Brooks is the Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Public and Nonprofit Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School, where he teaches courses on leadership, happiness, and social entrepreneurship. He is also a columnist at The Atlantic, where he writes the popular weekly “How to Build a Life” column.
Brooks is the author of 13 books, including the 2023 #1 New York Times bestseller, “Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier” with co-author Oprah Winfrey and the 2022 #1 New York Times bestseller From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life.
He speaks to audiences all around the world about human happiness, and works to raise well-being within private companies, universities, public agencies, and community organizations.
Dr. Julie Radlauer
Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Collectively
Dr. Radlauer-Doerfler is a leading expert in the social influences of mental health and uses her experience to create impact within communities, systems, organizations, and individuals. Her approach is collaborative, creative, and curious as she strives to educate utilizing unique avenues including media, stage production, video production, podcasting and writing. She has extensive experience in behavioral health, public health, and organizational development for more than 25 years.
She speaks internationally and participated as a TEDx Miami speaker on social support, and social connectedness. Her research on structural racism in the behavioral health field has led to the development of a national curriculum designed to create more equitable systems. She is passionate about addressing behavioral health challenges in communities and speaks widely on the topic.
Dr. Brad Keating
Executive Director Engagement Unit, Clark County School District
Dr. Bradley Keating currently serves as the Executive Director of the Engagement Unit, which includes all family, community, and team engagement initiatives for the Clark County School District. Dr. Keating has served the students and families of CCSD for 11 years. As an educator, he worked tirelessly to provide students with disabilities the skills to become competitively employed throughout the workforce.
As the Director of Government Relations for CCSD, Dr. Keating fought for legislation that would provide better opportunities for students and families to be successful in schools, including the successful passage of a bill to overhaul Nevada’s 50-year-old funding formula, and the creation of the Handle With Care Program, a partnership between school districts and law enforcement to ensure that the emotional well-being of all children is a top priority.
Throughout his career, Dr. Keating has been incredibly fortunate to be honored as CCSD’s New Teacher of the Year in 2012, given the “Outstanding Special Education Teacher Award” in 2014, a national award given by the National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET), inducted into CCSD’s Excellence in Education Hall of Fame in 2018, and as one of Vegas Magazine’s “40 under 40” in 2020.
Denise Diaz
Director Family Engagement, Clark County School District
Ms. Denise Diaz is the Director of the Family Engagement Department in the Engagement Unit. Ms. Diaz has served the families of CCSD for 28 years. As an educator, she dedicated 16 years to the classroom. Throughout her years, it became increasingly evident that engaging families was a passion.
Ms. Diaz was inspired to become an advocate for families and served as a family engagement project facilitator for 6 years. Identifying the importance of creating a culture of engagement to impact student achievement, Ms. Diaz pursued school leadership and became an assistant principal. Driven by her passion and belief in the importance of family involvement, Ms. Diaz is dedicated to providing schools with research-based practices and programs to engage families and positively impact student achievement.
Dr. Kevin Skinner
Clinical Director, ParentGuidance.org
Kevin Skinner is a licensed marriage and family therapist and clinical director at ParentGuidance.org. He is a core faculty member of the International Institute of Trauma and Addiction Professionals, as well as the clinical director and co-founder of Addo Recovery, a therapy clinic specializing in trauma recovery. In addition to delivering parent courses and regular national webinars, Skinner is a regular contributor to Newsweek magazine
Dr. Kimberly Applewhite
Director of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Utah Center for Evidence Based Treatment
Kimberly Applewhite, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, published author, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur in the Salt Lake City area. She was a DEANS scholar at New York University (New York, NY), receiving a BA in Psychology; and went on to earn an MS in School Psychology and Doctorate of Psychology in School-Clinical Child Psychology from the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology of Yeshiva University (Bronx, NY).
Kimberly received the Leadership and Education in Adolescent Health psychology postdoctoral fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital Division of Adolescent Medicine (Boston, MA), and was a fellow at Harvard Medical School before moving to Utah. She is currently the Program Director of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy program at Utah Center for Evidence Based Treatment, a comprehensive outpatient program for those with chronic suicidality and emotion regulation concerns.
She is also an adjunct instructor at the University of Utah Department of Psychiatry, through her work at the University of Utah Health Huntsman Mental Health Institute (Salt Lake City, UT). She was a co-founder of The Black Clinicians, a consultation and mental health group serving the Black community in Utah and beyond. Kimberly is a published author on the subject of racial stress and trauma, and has presented at various conferences, including the American Psychological Association annual convention and Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies. She has been featured on numerous podcasts, including the award-winning Therapy for Black Girls podcasts. She is a proud wife of a Salt Lake City school principal and mother of two daughters.
Alex Boyé
Performer, Author, and Motivational Speaker
Alex Boyé is truly a multicultural, multigenerational, global artist and Speaker! With over 1 billion views on his YouTube channel, Boyé’s diverse blend of African-infused pop music and vibrant dynamic visuals have captured a loyal legion of online followers turning him into a viral sensation!Alex Boye released a new book You Are a 10! in May 2023 and has presented at dozens of schools across the country.
John Bates
Executive communication expert and TED Talk coach
John is a Leadership Communications Expert, Executive Coach, Author, and Keynote Speaker. His highly effective approach, coaching, training, and keynotes are based on the neurobiology and evolutionary biology of how human beings communicate, lead, inspire, and influence each other. This perspective gives John a deeply transformative ability to support those with the “hard skills” to become better communicators and leaders. And the principles he shares work for everyone and anyone because they are based in science.
John is also one of the world’s most prolific TED format coaches. Executives from organizations like Johnson & Johnson’s JLABS, NASA (including the Astronauts), US Navy Special Operations, GE Aviation, Boston Scientific, and more recommend him to their colleagues as the best leadership communications coach working today. He knows the power being TED-Worthy can bring to anyone – in business and life.
Chris Thomas
Chief Executive Officer and cofounder,
The Defensive Line
Chris Thomas co-founded The Defensive Line to honor his daughter, Ella, and to bring a message of hope and help to other at-risk young people. As a senior executive at Procter & Gamble, Frito-Lay and Alberto Culver among others, Chris brought a drive for excellence to his work, earning recognition and industry awards including Salesperson of the Year and Supplier of the Year. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, as well as Touched By Suicide (TBS) board member, AFSP Project 2025 board member, and College of Wooster Ad Hoc Alumni Trustee. Martha, Chris, and Solomon were recipients of the 2019 AFSP Lifesaver Award.
Martha Thomas
Chief Executive Officer and cofounder,
The Defensive Line
Martha Thomas exudes warmth and welcome to everyone she meets. Her 30-plus years as an educator have proven invaluable to The Defensive Line where she serves as Chief Education Officer. Her insight of the realities of the classroom provides an understanding of what teachers are faced with every day. She left teaching in 2022 to work full-time with The Defensive Line where she continues to educate through our Suicide Prevention Workshops and D-LINES training.
Martha co-founded The Defensive Line to honor her daughter, Ella, and to bring a message of hope and help to other at-risk young people. She is a respected voice in the field of mental health, a popular podcast guest, an inspiring keynote speaker, and the true north of our organization.
She has led programming partnerships in Dallas ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Clark County SD, Baylor University and Stanford University. Speaking engagements include Mental Health America/GD, Neuroscience Education Institute Congress, and United Healthcare Town Hall. She and Chris serve as faculty members of American Academy of Pediatrics, Echo Program, and have appeared on NFL Network, ESPN, and CNN. The Thomas family were honored to receive the 2019 AFSP Lifesaver award.
Anne Brown
President and Chief Executive Officer Cook Center for Human Connection
Her decades of experience as a public school teacher and an Ed Tech Executive have given her a unique ability to bring aspects of education, corporate and non-profit leadership together to solve the real world crisis of suicide.
As an ed-tech executive, Anne led marketing, implementation, sales, curriculum development, government relations, business development and product development all of which brings a wealth of talent and abilities to her role. However, more important than the skills Anne offers, it is her early life that gives her a heart for this work. With a father who suffered from alcoholism and bi-polar disorder and a grandfather who died by suicide, Anne understands first-hand how mental illness and suicide not only affects the person suffering but all of those around them. Family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances all are impacted greatly when one individual is struggling.
In her role with the Cook Center for Human Connection, Anne oversees the work of the Foundation, develops strategy and leads collaborative efforts between stakeholders in this work. Before joining the Cook Center, Anne worked for several organizations including Salt Lake City School District, Pearson, and Waterford.Org. Anne is thrilled to join Greg and Julie Cook to deliver critical programs, partnerships, research and policy to impact suicide prevention and mental health programs.