Program Managers Conference 2025 Agenda
We are excited to host this year’s event to support you in your roles as leaders.
The theme this year is “A Look Inside Program Management,” and we will be focusing on what makes program managers tick, including sessions around the brain, behavior and tools to grow.
Agenda
Wednesday, May 28
9-9:30 a.m.: Introductions and Welcomes
Zoom link: TBD
9:30-10:30 a.m.: Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Wellbeing, and Productivity in the Digital Age
Zoom link: TBD
Session description pending.
Gloria Mark, Chancellor’s Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine
10:30-11 a.m.: Break
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Breakouts:
Bridging IT & Business: Seamless Collaboration for Success
Zoom link: TBD
Join us for a fun, engaging, and informative session on leveraging IT services to enhance collaboration across business lines. We’ll explore new processes, smarter partnerships, and practical strategies to create a seamless, connected experience. Learn how IT can empower teams, streamline workflows, and drive better outcomes — together!
Sara Games, DCYF IT Training Manager
Fearless Conversations
Zoom link: TBD
This session will provide tools and strategies for engaging in meaningful, brave conversations while addressing the discomfort many feel when discussing sensitive subjects. We’ll explore how vulnerability can be a strength in these conversations and how to normalize these important topics in your environments and beyond. You’ll leave with practical insights and renewed confidence to engage with both children and adults around these complex issues.
Mike Browne, Senior Director of Community Engagement for Cultivate Learning at the University at Washington
Nick Terrones, Director of Community Relations at Rainier Valley Early Learning Campus at the University of Washington
Zoom link: TBD
All human relationships function on trust. This is especially true in the workplace, where power dynamics are everywhere lurking just below the surface. Moreover, any true collaboration – working together toward a shared goal – absolutely requires trust and there’s no way around it. This workshop will focus on how you can build an organic authority that colleagues will respect and respond to (which is essential when you have responsibility for a project but lack any direct authority).
Lee Riley, training and organizational development consultant
12:30-1:30 p.m.: Lunch
Zoom link: TBD
Turn off your camera and enjoy Indigenous Radio Hour while you eat lunch or catch up on tasks. KEXP DJ Tory J (AKA Tory Johnston) is the co-host of Sounds of Survivance, a show featuring indigenous artists from all over the world, and he has put together an hourlong program for us to enjoy during the break.
1:30-3 p.m. Breakouts:
Leadership Development in the Trenches
Zoom link: TBD
Many effective leaders attribute at least some of their success to a good mentor; someone who took the time to get to know them, help them identify their strengths, and encourage them to take that step into formal leadership. This kind of intentionality on the part of a manager is a gift to both their organization and those they lead. This workshop will cover the principles of leadership development “in the trenches” as you help others realize their potential and put it into action.
Lee Riley, training and organizational development consultant
Applying the Science of Hope to Your Work in Real Time
Zoom link: TBD
The Science of Hope is a simple but powerful framework for improving outcomes at many levels, for organizations, for leaders, for staff, for clients. This session will build on Dr. Hellman’s keynote and support understanding the basic principles of Hope Science and applying them to leadership.
Jennifer Personius, M.A., CPC, Systems of Care Administrator and Hope Navigator
Sarah Burns, Statewide Innovation Coordinator, Family and Youth Justice Programs, Administrative Office of the Courts
Kin-First Culture: Effective Search and Engagement Practices
Zoom link: TBD
Explore the importance of search and engagement with relatives in the “Kin-First Culture” at DCYF. We will discuss formal relative search efforts, the case workers continued efforts in evaluating and reevaluating family members, and collaboration with others doing similar work (Relative Engagement Unit and Wendy’s Wonderful Kids). We will walk through relative search and engagement from intake to permanency, reviewing PL 110-351 requirements, state RCW, DCYF policies, and best practices for unbiased assessment of relatives and kinship caregivers.
Geene Delaplane, Kinship and Guardianship Program Manager
Chelsea Griffin, Child Welfare Policy Administrator
3-3:30 p.m.: Break
3:30-4:30 p.m.: Project Connect
Zoom link: TBD
One thing we hear from nearly every conference planning committee is the desire to understand better what colleagues are doing across the department. This session will give you the opportunity to learn from each other about best practices, valuable strategies and how to stay engaged. You will be able to choose a topic-based breakout to engage in facilitated conversation that’s most valuable to you!
Thursday, May 29
9-10 a.m.: Unleashing Your Creativity: The Power of Slow-Motion Multitasking
Zoom link: TBD
Session description pending
Tim Harford, economist, journalist and author
10-10:30 a.m.: Break
10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.: Breakouts
Making Your Breakout Package More Attractive
Zoom link: TBD
Session description pending.
DCYF Legislative Affairs Team
Language Accessibility
Zoom link: TBD
Over half a million Washingtonians speak English less than “very well,” per the US Census. We need to support these folks in their interactions with our agency. Join members of the language access team at DCYF as we talk about what language access is, why it’s important, and how to implement best practices in your own area.
Ali Taylor, Language Access Services Coordinator
Karin Morris, DCYF ADA Administrator
Jonathan Whitby, MA, JD, DCYF ADA Operations Manager
Breakout 3 Title Pending
Zoom link: TBD
Session description pending.
Mackenzie Dunham, LICSW, CMHS, CDWF-Clinician
12-1 p.m.: Lunch
Zoom link: TBD
Turn off your camera and enjoy Indigenous Radio Hour while you eat lunch or catch up on tasks. KEXP DJ Tory J (AKA Tory Johnston) is the co-host of Sounds of Survivance, a show featuring indigenous artists from all over the world, and he has put together an hourlong program for us to enjoy during the break.
1-2 p.m.: Being A Better Ally
Zoom link: TBD
Session description pending.
Mackenzie Dunham, LICSW, CMHS, CDWF-Clinician
2-2:30 p.m.: Break
2:30-3:30 p.m.: The Science of Hope
Zoom link: TBD
Learn about the Science of Hope and strategies to improve goal setting, pathways development, and willpower in your personal and professional development. You will leave this conversation with a better sense of how to protect yourself against burnout and secondary traumatic stress.
Dr. Chan Hellman, Ph.D., professor at the Anne & Henry Zarrow School of Social Work and director of the Hope Research Center, University of Oklahoma
3:45-4:45 p.m.: Sound Bath
Zoom link: TBD
Our final session of the conference will help you transition out of learning mode back into life feeling centered and restored!
Ourah Arts