top of page
.png)
Proudly sponsored by
.png)
Goals
Reduce the stigma of mental illness
Activate and engage faith communities to help support families and individuals living with a mental health disorder
Promote a holistic approach to mental health; body, mind, spirit, and community
Provide information on resources for community members
Promote community inclusion
Create sustainable community conversations
Live webcast Plenary Sessions and Workshops hosted by each NAMI affiliate.
North Texas sessions and workshops hosted by NAMI North Texas with Production Partners: Grant Halliburton Foundation, Mental Health America of Greater Dallas, and the Mental Wellness Alliance.
We are inviting Faith leaders & their staffs, congregation members, and motivated community members to come to the conference to discuss mental health opportunities and challenges with the goal of identifying collaborative projects and programs to develop sustainable solutions for building healing communities.
We are especially reaching out to community members involved in these segments, anywhere in North Texas:
-
Mental Health Practioners: Medical, Social Workers, Recovery Centers, EMS associated with Fire, Police, etc.
-
City, County & State Government Agencies and Judicial Systems
-
Universities, Community Colleges, School Districts – Students, Teachers & Administrators, Parents
-
Community Centers in Neighborhoods
-
Members of County Behavioral Leadership Teams
-
Multi-Faith learning institutions
Activities Affiliated with the Conference
1. Pre-conference event on August 6th
-
This event was successfully held at a Community Celebration Health Fair hosted by one of the founding members of the Mental Wellness Alliance, St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church.
-
Purpose: Promote the conference and begin our “informative & collaborative” relationship building with our participants.
-
We had discussions with local community neighbors that acknowledged that some of their friends deal with mental health issues and are in need of resources. We encouraged these people to visit the table of St Luke’s Mental Health Ministry which was next to our table.
-
We talked with the exhibiting professionals at the Health Fair about the grassroots movement the conference is launching to help engage faith communities, mental health providers, NAMI North Texas members, our conference producing partners and other community partners in building sustainable coalitions in support of people living with mental health conditions. A number of them thanked us for producing this conference and said they would like to attend the conference.
-
2. Sharing Hope and/or Compartiendo Esperanza Community Conversations
-
Initial Conversations: August 26 at conference
-
More in-depth conversation weeks of September 12 & 19 – Locations TBD
NAMI North Texas will also offer Sharing Hope and Compartiendo Esperanza in July for Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.
About
FRIDAY, AUGUST 26
UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth
2200 W. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, 75235
9:30 AM Welcome
Dr. Athena Trentin, Chair, 2022 Pathways to Hope Conference for North Texas
9:35 AM Words of Inspiration
Rev. Velda Turnley, Pastor of Spiritual Growth & Discipleship
St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church
9:45 AM Remarks from a North Texas Mental Wellness Advocate
Caesar Rentie, Vice President of Pastoral Services
Methodist Hospital System
10:05 AM NAMI National Introduction
Shirley Holloway, Immediate Past President, NAMI National BoardVice President, NAMI Alaska
10:20 AM Plenary 1
Dr. Thomas Insel, psychiatrist and neuoroscientist, Co-founder and President of Mindstrong Health, Former Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Author of Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health, 2022
11:00 AM Plenary 2
“Who Moved My Happy”
Ericka Kendrick, Author, Advocate and NAMI Ambassador
11:25 AM Break and Networking
12:00 PM Discussion Topics over Lunch
Attendees will be encouraged to select a table with a topic you want to talk about. Please watch for opportunities and ways for us to collaborate on fruitful projects and programs.
WORKSHOP SESSIONS
Note: Each speaker will deliver their same message at both workshop sessions.
1:15 PM Workshop Session I
The speaker will speak for 20-25 minutes with 25 -30 minutes of discussion
A. "Brain-Healthy Households: Promoting Clarity, Connectedness, & Emotional Balance"
Lori Cook, PhD, CCC-SLP & Maria Johnson, MA, CCC-SLP
B. “The Spiritual Dimension of Mental Health Care”
Connections between mental and spiritual health
Dr. Jana Rentzel
C. Co-Occurring Disorders
"Your Eating Disorder Is Not Alone"
Patti Geolat
2:15 PM Break to Next Workshop
2:20 PM Workshop Session II
The speaker will speak for 20-25 minutes with 25 -30 minutes of discussion
A. "Brain-Healthy Households: Promoting Clarity, Connectedness, & Emotional Balance"
Lori Cook, PhD, CCC-SLP & Maria Johnson, MA, CCC-SLP
B. “The Spiritual Dimension of Mental Health Care”
Connections between mental and spiritual health
Dr. Jana Rentzel
C. Co-Occurring Disorders
"Your Eating Disorder Is Not Alone"
Patti Geolat
3:25 PM Collaboration Session All Attendees
3:50 PM Raffle & Refreshments
Mental Health America of Greater Dallas and The Center for BrainHealth will provide prizes & books for the raffle.
4:00 PM DAY 1 CLOSE / ONLINE CONFERENCE EVALUATION
Saturday, August 27 | VIRTUAL
9:30 AM Welcome
Dr. Athena Trentin, Chair, 2022 Pathways to Hope Conference North Texas
9:35 AM Words of Inspiration
Rev. Jessica Wright, Associate Director for the Center for Missional Outreach
North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church.
9:40 AM Introduction
Doug Beach, Chair, 2022 Pathways to Hope Conference
9:45 AM Welcome Remarks
Dan Gillison, NAMI National CEO: “Community Collaboration”
9:55 AM NAMI FaithNet
Doug Beach, Chair, 2022 Pathways to Hope Conference
10:10 AM Remarks/Award
Paul Lu, NAMI FaithNet Advisory Group, Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. Gunnar Christensen, “In Memoriam” award accepted by Susan Christensen
10:25 AM NAMI Programs
Sharing Hope/ Compartiendo Esparanza
Dawn Brown, National Director, NAMI HelpLine Services
"Community Collaboration"
Pending
11:30 AM Plenary 4
“Healing Our Communities: Outcomes after the NAMI Bridges to Care Training” (Rev Veron Blue)
12:00 PM North Texas Virtual Collaboration Session
Discussion on launching Collaborative Community Projects
1:30 PM 2022 CONFERENCE CLOSE / ONLINE CONFERENCE EVALUATION
2022 AGENDA
Dear North Texas Community Members,
My name is Bud Browne, one of the co-founders of the Mental Wellness Alliance.
I’d like to request your involvement with our Faith Community to address our mental health crisis and to utilize this enormous opportunity for us all to make progress on critical health & wellness needs.
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) has invited North Texas Community to attend the upcoming 2022 Pathways to Hope Conference on August 26 & 27. The Conference will begin to build a true grassroots movement in the Dallas/Ft. Worth and surrounding areas around mental wellness and faith.
NAMI has given us (clergy & staffs, congregation members, and motivated community members) a venue and the programming to discuss mental health opportunities and challenges with the goal of identifying collaborative projects and programs to develop sustainable solutions for building healing communities.
We are especially reaching out to community members involved in these segments, anywhere in North Texas:
-
Mental Health Practioners: Medical, Social Workers, Recovery Centers, EMS associated with Fire, Police, etc.
-
City, County & State Government Agencies and Judicial Systems
-
Universities, Community Colleges, School Districts – Students, Teachers & Administrators, Parents
-
Community Centers in Neighborhoods
-
Members of County Behavioral Leadership Teams
-
Multi-Faith learning institutions
NAMI FaithNet will provide national Plenary Speakers while NAMI North Texas & its production partners (Mental Health America of Greater Dallas, Grant Halliburton Foundation and the Mental Wellness Alliance) will provide local speakers & programming that will guide us on issues that will be most fruitful to begin our work together.
Discussions begin on Friday, August 26th at the UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth (2200 W. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, 75235), and will continue virtually on Saturday, August 27 to allow for a wider reach. Our in-person venue can accommodate 150 participants so this invitation is directed at congregation & community members who are knowledgeable and passionate about solving mental health & wellness issues.
NAMI FaithNet has provided us the funding to produce this conference so there will be no charge to the participants. SPACE IS LIMITED TO 150 REGISTRANTS SO DON’T DELAY!
CEUs will be provided to those who need them.
REGISTRATION PROCESS
The signup process is simple:
We invite you and your community, who impact or are impacted by mental health, to register:
https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/NAMI-FaithNet/Pathways-to-Hope
The Pathways to Hope production team will handle everything else with the participants.
MOVING FORWARD
Please contact Bud Browne to discuss moving forward.
972 342 4472
BudBrowne47@gmail.com
July 15, 2022
Call to Action
Virtual Presentations, beginning at 12:00 pm, Saturday, August 27
We invite participants to propose Community Collaboration Projects for attendees’ discussion at our 2022 Pathways to Hope Conference.
Proposals will be evaluated by the Conference Planning Committee.
Those that are selected will be given 3-5 minutes to make their presentation. We encourage projects to have a clear call to action and directives for community collaboration.
Please complete the Google form to submit a PDF summary of your Community Collaboration Project using this URL tinyurl.com/HopeProposals
We will be in contact with you after we review your Project.
Thank you for offering to be part of our 2022 Pathways to Hope
conference.
Please contact Bud Browne with questions
BudBrowne47@gmail.com
Community Collaboration
Dr. Athena Trentin
Dr. Athena Trentin is the Executive Director of NAMI North Texas (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and brings more than 25 years of experience in the fields of nonprofit management, developing communities of support and cultivating future leaders. Prior to joining NAMI North Texas, Dr. Trentin was a Research Director for the Simmons School of Education & Human Development at SMU and COO of the Urban Inter-Tribal Center of Texas, a health and social services nonprofit for Native Americans. Dr. Trentin is a proud member of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, located in Harbor Springs, Michigan.
Before moving to Texas, Dr. Trentin was a well-established student affairs professional whose passion for building supportive communities focused on developing holistic, high quality services for international and underrepresented students. Her main goal was to make sure they had the support and resources they needed to meet their highest potential. She is honored to have had the opportunity to impact students at the California Institute of Technology, Columbia University, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.
After returning from South Africa as part of a People to People delegation invited to exchange expertise with social service professionals and educators, Dr. Trentin completed her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at the University of Southern California in 2008. Her Masters in Teaching and Bachelors in Public Policy were both awarded by Michigan State University. She is also an alum of the Business Council for the Arts Leadership Arts Institute and the Intercultural Communications Institute Summer Institute Fellows Program.
Rev. Velda Turnley, Pastor of Spiritual Growth & Discipleship
Rev. Velda M. Turnley is the Pastor of Spiritual Growth and Discipleship at St. Luke Community United Methodist Church in Dallas TX. Rev. Turnley has Pastoral oversight for the St. Luke Mental Health Ministry which she helped create in 2015. Throughout her integrated ministry and career journey, Rev. Turnley has been engaged in team building and collaboration efforts across multiple sectors in higher education, corporate, community, non-profit and faith-based organizations. She has a BA(Accounting), MA (Counseling), Masters of (Divinity) and is a candidate for the Doctorate in (Ministry) degree. Pastor Turnley has served in ordained ministry for over 30 years, and is a small business owner, Destiny coach, and the Chief Encouragement and Empowerment Officer for Destiny KINGSolutions.
Caesar Rentie
Methodist Health System
Vice President, Pastoral Services
Caesar is a Licensed Local Pastor for North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. Prior to his leadership role he began his chaplaincy with MHS in 1992. He also served as Sr. Pastor for Acadia Park United Methodist 2003-2011. He is currently an Associate Pastor for First United Methodist Mansfield where he serves in care ministries. He earned a BA from the University of Oklahoma in 1988; he majored in Communications, where he also played football for Barry Switzer and the Oklahoma Sooners. He attended Texas Christian University in 1997, Brite Divinity School where he received his Master of Theological Studies.
He completed six units (2 years) of CPE. In his former career he played professional football in the NFL and in the world league of American football. During that time he played for the Chicago Bears, the New York New Jersey Knights, and the Birmingham Fire. He has worked with the Pastoral Counseling Center, Project Transformation North Texas, and The Board of Visitors for Brite Divinity and a Member of Desoto Police, Community, and Clergy. He is a Board member for the South Dallas Fair Park Faith Coalition Executive Committee, Advisory member of the Dallas Fort Worth Multi Faith Collaborative; he is a member of the African American Clergy Fellowship of the North Texas Conference and serves as a mentor for Big Brother Big Sister organization. He was recognized as the Tarrant County Big Brother Big Sister of the Year. In his role as Vice President of Pastoral Services for Methodist Health System, he oversees the Pastoral Care Department and Faith Community Nursing program; he also serves on the Corporate Ethics Committee, Corporate Palliative Care Steering Committee and the Corporate Intentional Inclusion & Diversity Council. He is the husband to his lovely wife of Cynthia Rentie and the parent to three children Dennis, Carra and Chloe.
Lori Cook, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Director of Clinical Research, Center for BrainHealth
Head of Research, The BrainHealth Project
Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Dr. Lori Cook currently serves as the Director of Clinical Research for the Center for Brain Health at The University of Texas at Dallas.
A licensed speech-language pathologist, she is also a senior clinician for the Center’s translational programs as well as an adjunct assistant professor for UTD’s School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. In her roles as both a clinician and research scientist, she has focused largely on research investigating the long-term recovery of youth after brain injury, including recent work supporting youth athletes with persistent effects of concussion. She now also heads up research efforts for the Center’s landmark initiative, The Brain Health Project.
Bringing a curiosity for the developing brain as well as two decades of child and adolescent-centered research experience at the Center for Brain Health, Dr. Cook is passionate about translating cutting-edge research discoveries into practical tools to educate, empower, and equip students of all ages and levels to reach their highest brain potential.
Maria Johnson, MA, CCC-SLP
Director, Youth & Family Innovations
Lead Research Clinician, Charisma Virtual Social Coaching
Maria Johnson, Director of Youth & Family for BrainHealth®, is a dynamic leader and speaker at the forefront of leveraging the technology to engage with individuals in creative, high-impact ways.
Maria is committed to assisting youth and young adult organizations, clinicians, teachers and families, helping them discover – through research and development of evidence-based, research- supported
solutions – how to best support social, emotional and cognitive brain health and performance for neurodiverse minds.
With more than 20 years of clinical expertise working with individuals with neurodiverse minds, Maria is passionate about building awareness and connecting communities of social learners across the globe. To further enhance understanding of virtual learning and the important role cognition and perspective have on social brain health, her team’s work has now expanded programs from individual, research-focused studies to offering real- world opportunities for students, schools and social coaches to take advantage of CharismaTM Virtual Social Training using BrainHealth’s proprietary virtual platform.
Dr. Jana Rentzel
Dr. Jana Rentzel holds a Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology and a PhD in Psycho-Spiritual Counseling. She is a certified Spiritual Director through SMU Perkins School of Theology and is now a member of its faculty. Jana has served as a chaplain resident for Baylor University Medical Center and as a hospice counselor for Vitas Healthcare in Dallas, Texas.
A life-long advocate of returning our individual and cultural spirituality to its rightful place at the heart of our lives, she has studied, practiced and lived the contemplative paths of Christian, Buddhist, Native American, and Perennial Wisdom traditions. Jana brings this experience - along with her warmth, verve, and ability to clarify/simplify complex truths - to her love of teaching and helping people grow spiritually and emotionally.
Jana teaches online classes on such topics as Christian contemplative prayer, the Christian mystical tradition, and deepening relationship with God. She has been in private practice for over 25 years, specializing in faith-based counseling.
Title of Talk: The Spiritual Dimension of Mental Health Care
A growing body of empirical research reveals the highly positive relationship between spirituality and mental health. Spirituality is that sacred realm of human experience that produces in us such qualities as love, peace, patience, compassion, faith, and hope – qualities that are essential to mental health.
Furthermore, even though spirituality remains a peripheral issue for many mental health professionals, it has become increasingly clear that spirituality is of central importance to people who are struggling with the pain and confusion of mental health issues.
In this workshop, we will explore the ways in which spirituality can form the heart of mind-body wellness, as well as the importance of more fully integrating spiritual care into mental health care. We will discuss the positive impacts of spiritual care and ways to improve spiritual health, including the practice of mindfulness meditation and participation in spiritual community.
Patti Geolat
Patti is the founder of Something for Kelly, which she created in memory of her niece, Kelly, who died of an eating disorder. The foundation raises awareness and supports people with these disorders.
Although we knew that Kelly was battling this monster, we could not fathom that she could go to bed one night, after what seemed like a normal day, and not wake up. The Foundation has been established to prevent this tragic and needless loss from happening to other families.
Patti is founder and CEO of Geolat Companies, and a widely known authority on the appraisal and sale of fine jewelry. She is a published author and sought after public speaker with a distinguished reputation for excellence, confidentiality and professionalism. Patti has a Graduate Gemologist Degree from the Gemological Institute of America, is a Fellow of the Gemological Association of Great Britain. Patti’s professional affiliations include a 15-year term of service on the Board of Directors of Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co., the jewelry industry’s leading insurer, including nine as chairman, and a one-year term as the company’s interim CEO. Currently she serves on the boards of the North Texas Crime Commission, Jewelers’ Security Alliance and the Women’s Jewelry Association. Patti lives in Dallas, TX and travels the world extensively on behalf of her distinguished clients.
Title of Talk: Your Eating Disorder Is Not Alone
What else is going on when someone battles against an eating disorder. The truth is, it gets kind of crowded inside that person. In addition to the mental and medical battle with an eating disorder, there are often additional struggles that have either helped the eating disorder to develop or worsened it.
Join us for a walk inside.
Rev. Jessica Wright
Rev. Jessica Wright serves as Associate Director for the Center for Missional Outreach (CMO) for the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. The mission of the CMO is to help local churches make disciples through ministry with their neighbors, particularly the poor and marginalized.
Jessica earned a Master of Divinity from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. She became an Elder in the United Methodist Church in 2009. Jessica has served in a variety of local churches in North Texas as well as the Denton Wesley Foundation campus ministry at the University of North Texas and as a reserve chaplain with the US Air Force.
Beyond local church ministry, Jessica was elected to a term as president of the Allen Ministerial Alliance. She also led as an “area champion” with Unite Greater Dallas, an organization whose mission is to connect Christian leaders to each other as well as resources to address urgent social challenges.
Most recently, Jessica became the North Texas facilitator for the Neighboring Movement, empowering
individuals and faith communities to live into our calling to love God and love neighbor through simple,
practical steps.
PLENARY SPEAKERS
Please click here for a list of plenary speakers.
Speakers
bottom of page