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       Girl Talk   >  Spring 2009 Schedule
  S P R I N G 2009 S C H E D U L E
Wednesday, January 21st at 11:30 PM - 12:30 PM - Expect Respect in Your Relationships - Paredes
Wednesday, January 21st at 3:00 PM - 3:40 PM - Straight Talk from Teen Parents - Dobie
Tuesday, January 27th at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM - Safety for Wired Girls - Lamar
Wednesday, February 4th at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM - Protect Yourself - Covington
Thursday, February 5th at 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM - Straight Talk from Teen Parents - Kealing
Thursday, February 19th at 8:00 AM - 8:45 AM - Mother/Daughter: Hot Flashes and Personality Clashes - Canyon Ridge MS
Thursday, March 5th at 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM - Mean Girls: Survival Strategies for Bullying, Gossip, and Other Hazards of Being a Middle School Girl. - West Ridge MS (Parents Only)
 

Protect Yourself
In the first part of this personal safety workshop, you will learn how to identify sexual predators, develop safety instincts and plan safety strategies. In the second part, you will learn simple techniques for physical resistance and other tips for general safety.


Speaker Bio
Joy Williamson - Executive Director and Head Instructor of Sun Dragon
Joy Williamson began her martial arts training in 1995, after taking a self-defense class. She studied with Sensei Suzanne Pinette at Sun Dragon, earning her black belt in Kyokushin Karate in 2000. Joy soon began teaching at Sun Dragon, then was requested to take over leadership of the school when her teacher retired. She has been the Executive Director and Head Instructor of Sun Dragon since 2004.

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Straight Talk from Teen Parents
Straight Talk from Teen Parents is a peer education program in which teen parents encourage middle and high school students to delay becoming parents until later in life. The No Kidding Peer Educators are a team of young mothers who travel to schools telling their stories and leading their peers in highly interactive activities designed to make visible the legal issues and other realities surrounding young unmarried parenting. This presentation is provided through a unique collaboration between GENaustin and Youth Launch.

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Mean Girls: Survival Strategies for Bullying, Gossip, and Other Hazards of Being a Middle School Girl.
Girl fighting is often a painful part of middle school. Girls may express their aggression and insecurities through hurtful words, gossip and bullying. An experienced speaker will lead a discussion about bullying and bystander issues, and intergroup girl aggression. She will also address how to keep friendships strong, honest and healthy.


Barb Steinberg, a Licensed Master Social Worker, has been a presenter for over 8 years training schools and communities nationally and throughout Texas. Barb's professional background includes conducting individual, group, and family counseling. She has worked within outpatient and inpatient facilities, assisting people with numerous issues, such as depression, eating disorders, physical and sexual abuse, alcohol and drug abuse, anxiety and adjustment disorders, brain injury and other neuropsychiatric disorders. In addition, Barb has conducted support group facilitation within public schools, specializing in adolescent issues.

Expect Respect in Your Relationships
Based on SafePlace's "Expect Respect" school program, this presentation will address the promotion of safe and healthy relationships for all girls. A strong girl speaks her mind in a relationship, refuses to do things that make her uncomfortable, and expects people to treat her with respect - even when others might be angry or disappointed. The program's focus will be on helping girls communicate their feelings, increasing girls' sense of personal safety and building healthy coping skills. The SafePlace School-based education and training team will facilitate this discussion.

Speaker Bio

Randy Randolph is the School-Based Prevention Coordinator at SafePlace. Ms. Randolph has worked with SafePlace for over five years creating and providing educational programs on dating and sexual violence prevention and youth leadership. She has worked with thousands of youth and adults on promoting safe and healthy relationships through workshops and trainings. Two of these initiatives, SafeTeens and Heroes, are youth leadership training and service-learning programs which have been successful in engaging Austin youth as leaders in preventing dating and sexual violence. SafeTeens has received national recognition and funding from the National Center for Victims of Crime for its efforts in developing youth leaders. The SafeTeens Youth Leadership Program is an integral part of SafePlace’s comprehensive approach to preventing dating and sexual violence. Ms. Randolph earned a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Communication Arts from San Francisco State University.

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Safety For Wired Girls
In the first part of this personal safety workshop, you will learn how to identify sexual predators, develop safety instincts and plan safety strategies on the streets as well as on the internet. Experts will provide awareness about sexual harassment, cyberbullying and cyberstalking.



Laura Donnelly 
Speakers Bios

Upon graduating college in New Jersey, Laura Donnelly became an account executive for Ruder Finn Public Relations in their book publicity subsidiary. She continued to work in public relations for smaller firms in New York City, focusing mostly on book and non-profit promotion, until moving to Austin in 2000 to enroll in journalism graduate school. There, she co-founded Latinitas Magazine, a bilingual online magazine made for and by Latina youth. To be authentic, Latinitas developed outreach programming to cultivate contributions from Latina girls in and outside Austin. That programming includes after school journalism and technology clubs on six AISD campuses, workshops in the community and college internships.

Mother/Daughter: Hot Flashes and Personality Clashes.
Mothers and daughters learn how to use realistic approaches and practical strategies to communicate effectively and build loving and lifelong connections with each other.

Speakers Bio

Lolis Garcia Baab is a mother of two wonderful children and wife of 12-year NFL veteran Mike Baab, she is a business and community leader and a proud graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. Lolis is making her mark through The Ladies Room With Lolis. She began doing voice-over talent work in Austin while attending the University of Texas and continued this work upon her return to Austin in 1997. Among her many clients are Southwestern Bell, Bank One, and Taco Cabana. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism, Magna Cum Laude, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.

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