MIDDLETOWN — Registration is now open for the 25th Anniversary of Making Healthful Decisions Conference which will focus on Envisioning a Culture of Community: Supporting families and the individual needs of their children. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orange and Sullivan Counties, and their organizing partners including BOCES Sullivan County, Garnet Health, Maternal-Infant Services Network (MiSN), Mid-Hudson Chocolate Milk, Orange County Government (Community Outreach and Healthy Families), Sullivan 180, SUNY Bridges, and the Youth Bureau Sullivan County are thrilled to offer this event on Tuesday, March 21st with a snow date of March 28, 2023 at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, NY. “Our goal is to create a day that provides educators, human service professionals and parents the chance to find joy and respite through community connections, while learning integral information to the profound work that they do each and every day,” Julika von Stackelberg, Family and Community Resilience Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension stated. CCE is grateful to Garnet Health for being our legacy sponsor and Bethel Woods Center for the Arts for providing the historical space and Museum tours in kind.

The cost to attend the conference is $65, with a discounted rate for seniors and students of $45. The program includes a keynote presentation about Mindfulness-based programming for health promotion in school and community settings by Dr. Joshua Felver who is an extension associate of the ILR School’s Yang Tan Institute and a visiting scholar in the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research at Cornell University. The day will commence with words from Dr. Anjana Poonthota from Garnet Health who will be sharing an update on the State of Parenting. Afternoon breakout sessions will consist of Healing Happens in Relationships by Jaye Holly from the ANDRUS Sanctuary Institute, Meaningful Parental Engagement by Jaclyn Miller from MISN and Re-Thinking in-school Suspension by Candace Rivela from the Museum Education and Creative Programs department of Bethel Woods Center of the Arts. A museum tour will be part of the day’s agenda followed by a somatic experience from Sullivan County, Human Rights Commission, Executive Director, Adrienne Jensen. Scarlett Lewis, founder of the The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement will lead the group through a comprehensive journey in understanding how Choosing Love in any circumstance, situation or challenge is the BEST Solution as the closing experience.

Following the comprehensive agenda, a celebration will take place to commemorate the 25th anniversary of this conference and will highlight the topics through the years. We will be recognizing the “Founding Mothers” of the conference, Linda Byster, Pat Chisamore, Mary Jalloh, Darlene Price, Denyse Variano and Betty White, as well as longtime planning committee members, Annie Colonna and Stephanie Sosnowski.

Continuing education credits will be available. For more information and to register, please visit https://cceorangecounty.org/events/2023/03/21/25th-anniversary-edition-of-the-making-healthful-decisions-conference

For questions, please reach out to Carol McLaughlin at Cornell Cooperative Extension at 845-344-1234 or email to cm798@cornell.edu