When it comes to educating its young citizens, rural and mountain communities face similar challenges. They also come up with unique and innovative solutions to create effective, locally driven opportunities for its youth — which afterschool educators and advocates will share and discuss at the upcoming PwrHrs Rural Afterschool Conference.
The three-day conference, slated for Nov. 13-15 at Beaver Creek, Colo., is presented by the Vail Valley Foundation’s YouthPower365, an Eagle County-based education nonprofit, in collaboration with the Afterschool Alliance, Colorado Afterschool Partnership, and the National Afterschool Association.
The conference has already generated considerable excitement and engagement among afterschool experts and rural educators, with attendees and speakers coming from across Colorado and the country.
“At the conference, we’ll get to hear from some communities who have come up with amazing solutions,” said Sara Amberg, YouthPower365’s director of sustainability, capacity and grants. “It will be a time to share the enormous amount of innovation and community-based work that has come from rural afterschool programs around the country.”
Learn more about keynote speakers and special presenters
Sarah Smarsh —author, educator and journalist
Smarsh is the author of the bestselling memoir “Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth.” Written to her unborn daughter, her book narrates her childhood as part of a generational story, one which beautifully captures the triumphs and trials of rural America. Smarsh has also written about the socioeconomic divide, poverty and rural issues, and is an outspoken advocate for low income and minority students.
Matthew Emerzian – founder of Every Monday Matters
Emerzian’s new book, “Every Monday Matters – How to Kick Your Week Off with Passion, Purpose, and Positivity,” has been hailed by Oprah.com, The TODAY Show, The Huffington Post, and several other media outlets. Over the past ten years, Emerzian has traveled the country sharing his life-changing message focused on sustained personal and social change that happens by stepping outside of ourselves.
Carrie Morgridge — Vice President of the Morgridge Family Foundation
Morgridge and her husband John have created several foundations dedicated to empowering and advancing youth and educators. She is the author of “Every Gift Matters — How your Passion Can Change the World,” and “The Spirit of the Trail.”
Carrie Hauser, President of Colorado Mountain College
Since 2013, Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser has served as president and CEO of Colorado Mountain College, a public institution enrolling nearly 20,000 students annually at eleven campuses in the central Rocky Mountains. Previous to CMC, Hauser held leadership roles at the Kauffman Foundation, Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Daniels Fund.
Nicole Bosworth, Ed.D – Director, District Partnerships at InClassToday
Bosworth develops collaborative relationships with districts across the country to help strategically reduce absenteeism which is a proven link to lower academic performance, lower attainment of critical and social and emotional skills, and lower high school graduation rates.
Alexis Steines – Afterschool Alliance
Steines serves as the liaison between the Afterschool Alliance and its growing network of afterschool providers. She keeps the field up-to-date on the ever-changing afterschool policy landscape and mobilizes them to affect the development of afterschool-related public policy. Alexis directs the Afterschool Alliance’s national AmeriCorps VISTA project focused on creating sustainable afterschool programs, increasing participation in the afterschool and summer meal programs and expanding access to STEM education afterschool.
Malgosia Kostecka, The Grove Consultants International
Malgosia Kostecka specializes in creating interactive visual frameworks for group collaboration and strategic visioning. With a background in education and project coordination, Malgosia is dedicated to leading participants in their process design, using creativity to achieve fruitful outcomes.
Register Today
Prices for the 2019 Conference will increase on September 15. Scholarships, discounts and group rates are available. Learn more at conference.youthpower365.org
