Presenters and Collaborating Organizations
Justis Lopez
Justis Lopez (also known as DJ Faro) is the founder and Chief Enthusiasm Officer (CEO) of Just Experience LLC, a startup company that strives to educate, entertain, and empower communities across the world. As a community organizer, he focuses on ways to create spaces of radical joy, justice, and possibility through the arts. He is currently pursuing his M.S.ED degree in Educational Entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania. He has served various roles both locally and nationally as a teacher, consultant, and advocate. When Justis isn’t teaching, he can be found DJing or dancing down the street. He enjoys long hikes, funfetti cupcakes, and long walks on the beach.
Javier Sanchez
Javier is recognized both nationally and internationally as a leader in developing effective strategies for personal/professional development as well as community mobilization. His experience and expertise come from more than 20 years of work with the Youth to Youth International Program. Javier received his BA in Behavioral Studies from Capital University. In 2003 he was awarded the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Developing Leaders in Reducing Substance Abuse Fellowship and is a graduate of the Ray Miller Institute for Change and Leadership. His company, R.E.A.C.H. Communications, Inc., is a boutique marketing firm focusing on developing cutting-edge health and wellness messaging strategies.
As an author, performer, and speaker, Javier has the opportunity to deliver life-building messages to youth and adults all over the world. He has written two books, delivered a TEDx Talk, and makes spending quality time with his family a top priority.
Ty Sells
Not just a speaker, Ty brings over 30 years of experience in drug prevention, community service, and youth development. Ty is an Ohio Certified Prevention Consultant, has a BA in Communication from the Ohio State University, and is currently the Director of Speaker Services for Youth to Youth International in Columbus, Ohio. In 2012, Ty was awarded the “Prevention Innovator of the Year” Award by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for his development of creative prevention trainings and consultation with schools and organizations across the state. Ty has developed a number of trainings, workshops, and presentations for both youth and adults to address the many complex issues that confront today’s young people.
State Student Advisory Council on Education
The Connecticut General Assembly created the State Student Advisory Council on Education (SSACE) in 1998 to give Connecticut students a voice in education planning. The Council has enabled the state board of education, the commissioner of education, State Department of Education personnel, the governor, and state legislators to become familiar with high school students’ perspectives on key issues. In its 20+ years of existence, SSACE has influenced legislation to adapt it to the changing needs of Connecticut students and has developed recommendations on critical topics such as reducing the achievement gap, reforming standardized testing, and instituting programs promoting health and wellness. Most recently, the SSACE has been conducting research on School Transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic: How should education be changed to improve students’ lives? In this session, students will make recommendations on strategies that educators can use to support mental health and connect with families and communities to support student needs.
Student Equity Advisory Board
The Student Equity Advisory Board (SEAB) brings awareness to inequity in Connecticut and collaborates on ways to enhance inclusion in schools for all students. Student members develop and implement ideas and action plans to bring back to their respective leagues, schools, and communities. In this session, advisory board members will discuss some of the work they do on the board, share some of their own perspectives on inequity in education, and facilitate a discussion about how inequity may influence factors for students such as mental health, connection, self-esteem, and identity.
Youth to Youth
Youth to Youth’s mission is to engage young people through meaningful discussions, activities, and experiences to develop and implement their own ideas to create positive change. For over 33 years, Youth to Youth has led the way in effective prevention programming with youth in the forefront. It has brought youth together with a common bond of living free of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, allowing them to serve as role models to their peers and younger students.