Healing-Centered Engagement in Action Panel Presentation 

Healing-Centered Engagement is a framework for working with young people that moves beyond asking, “What has happened to you?” to “What is right with you?” The term, coined by Dr. Shawn Ginwright in 2018, describes an asset-based and culturally rooted approach to collective healing and well-being for young people of color and their adult allies.

As a follow up to Dr. Ginwright's presentation to the Iowa ACEs 360 network on May 7, we are hosting this panel presentation to explore what healing-centered engagement looks like in practice. Panelists will offer perspectives on what is meaningful about this approach to them; how they have applied this framework in various sectors, including education, government, and nonprofit; and what they have learned in that process.

Panelists: 

Nixson BenÍtez, Racial Justice Youth Action Squad Member, Iowa Dept. of Human Rights, and student, University of Northern Iowa

Brianna Deason, student, University of Iowa

Christine Her, Executive Director, ArtForce Iowa

Pashion Muhammad, Restoration and Safety Coordinator, Des Moines Public Schools

Kayla Powell, NYTD and Youth Development Coordinator, Iowa Dept. of Human Rights