Instructor:
, Phone: E-mail: marla@vermontafterschool.org |
Instructor Level
| Certified |
Education
| Bachelor's degree in Human Development & Gender Studies Master's degree in M.Ed in Leadership & Policy, Expected Summer 2025 | |
| Certified in Foundations of Dialogue Education in January 2020. | |
| has received formal instruction in adult education or in the facilitation of learning for adults. |
Work Experience
| Youth Resilience Coordinator / Vermont Afterschool / September 2023 - Present • Improve social-emotional learning (SEL) strategies, mental health trauma-informed care, and restorative practices for the afterschool field and communities through training, coaching, and consultation. • Inform communities about youth resilience and DEI, including creating engaging and interactive trainings, outreach to communities and youth work professionals, and working with community leaders and experts. • Facilitate the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), focused on sexual health and wellbeing as a part of our overall initiative to support positive youth development, including training others in the curriculum and hosting a community of practice. • Create DEI tools and strategies to assist programs in addressing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion to increase access for youth and young people. • Build partnerships with youth-serving organizations, statewide agencies, and other entities that contribute to understanding the value of afterschool, Transformative SEL, and DEI in supporting Vermont youth. • Work with VTA team members to assist in developing outreach materials, tracking data and evaluation, and helping connect to state and local partners, including Vermont’s State Trauma Group, the Vermont Department of Mental Health, and the Vermont Department of Health. Youth Program Coordinator / Vermont Works for Women / June 2021 - September 2023 • Designed youth centered program curriculums and projects for all afterschool and summer camp partnerships for middle and high school-aged girls with a strong emphasis on social-emotional learning and positive identity development. • Coordinated program schedule and larger event planning, created monthly agendas, managed mentor engagement, and fostered ongoing local school and business partnerships. • Recruited and registered youth participants for programs through outreach and engagement strategies, targeting underserved local communities. • Led activities with youth participants and served as a motivating, inspiring, fun, and engaging role model. • Created, collected, and synthesized survey data on program participant satisfaction, adjusting curricula as needed. • Assisted with developing new programming, including research, outreach, relationship/partnership building, curriculum design, and facilitator training materials for program partner sites. Education & Prevention Coordinator / Steps To End Domestic Violence / August 2018 - June 2021 • Developed, implemented, and evaluated curricula and professional development trainings for local community partners, healthcare settings, community centers, and schools. Topics included preventing gender-based violence, sexual consent, healthy relationships, and supporting survivors of domestic violence. • Provided comprehensive gender-based violence prevention education to youth in all public Chittenden County high schools. • Collaborated with the data manager to analyze qualitative and quantitative data using live polling software in classrooms. • Certified in Foundations of Dialogue Education, an audience-centered facilitation practice that creates impactful, engaging, and relevant presentations and learning engagement opportunities. • Onboarded and trained new staff, all volunteers, and interns. • Coordinated and facilitated six yearly 20-hour Community Advocate Trainings, empowering attendees to explore ways to interrupt gender-based violence in their communities, serving over 80 community members. • Informed the scope and direction of strategies designed to prevent dating violence among all ages in Chittenden County. | ||||||||||
| 5-10 years instructing adults. | ||||||||||
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Additional Information
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| Child and Youth Development (Afterschool) Curriculum and Learning Environment (Afterschool) Families and Communities (Afterschool) Professionalism and Program Organization (Afterschool) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Specific Curricula: | Youth Program Quality Assessment (YPQA) Recognized Community of Practice Facilitator | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Training Topics | Resiliency Social/Emotional Development Supportive Interactions Building Relationships with Families Parent Involvement Community Resources Curriculum Development Program Assessment and Evaluation |