OneOp

Innovative Ways to Integrate Apps into Clinical Practice
2024-01-24 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
Mobile health apps (apps) are playing an increasingly important role in healthcare. Discover how these innovative tools empower Registered Dietitian Nutritionists to lead data-driven discussions, drive personalized care and help improve outcomes. In this interactive webinar, you will learn about the types and features of apps, the latest research on their potential benefits, and the challenges facing wider adoption. Through real-life case studies, learn the art and science of integrating apps into clinical practice. Don’t miss this opportunity to be at the forefront of personalized nutrition care and evolving realm of digital health!
Learning Objectives:

Identify benefits of mobile health apps for promoting positive health behaviors and enhancing clinical practice
Review potential challenges including privacy, security and safety that may limit adoption
Discuss strategies for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists to integrate apps into clinical practice

Rachel is a Lecturer in Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Weill Cornell Medicine. Rachel is passionate about empowering people with diabetes develop sustainable lifestyle changes and leverage diabetes technology and digital health to improve their health and quality of life. In her clinical role, she provides diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) and medical nutrition therapy (MNT) for adults in both individual and group settings. Rachel currently serves as Technology Chair of the Diabetes Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and is the proud recipient of the 2022 Rising Star Award from Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists. The following CE credits have been approved for this session:

This webinar is approved for 1.0 CPEU for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) and Nutrition and Dietetic Technicians, Registered (NDTRs) from the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) Eligibility for CE credit will close on 1/24/27
This webinar is approved for 1.0 CE for those Certified in Family and Consumer Sciences from the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) Eligibility for CE credit will close on 1/24/26
This webinar is approved for 1.0 CE for Certified Nutrition and Wellness Educators from the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) Eligibility for CE credit will close on 1/24/26

Webinar Slides Photo Credit: amenic181/iStock.com

IECMH: Practical Strategies to Support Attachment Relationships
2024-01-18 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
Throughout OneOp’s “That’s the Ticket” series, our expert presenters have covered how essential attachment relationships are for infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH)! Over the course of this series, we’ve heard your requests for more information on this important topic! Therefore, this webinar addresses what you, our participants, have asked for – implementing the information provided into practice.
This session discusses ideas, strategies, and resources for fostering healthy attachment. Presenters also share ideas for supporting, sustaining, or repairing when attachment might be disrupted, such as during deployment or in situations where a caregiver and child might be separated. Join us and add to your “attachment” toolbox with ideas for ensuring young children and families can develop and experience healthy attachment relationships.
Learning Objectives:
In this webinar we will:

Identify ideas, strategies, and resources for fostering healthy attachment.
Describe ideas for supporting, sustaining, or repairing when attachment might be disrupted.
Reflect on how the shared ideas, strategies, and resources can be embedded into their own practice.

Tweety Yates, Ph.D. works on the Early Intervention Training Program (EITP) Grant at the University of Illinois and The National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching and Learning (NCECDTL) contract through Vanderbilt University. She is also a consultant and faculty for the Pyramid Model Consortium. She has been involved in early childhood professional development for over 35 years.

Early Interventionists and Early Childhood Educators: This webinar offers 1.5 continuing education (CE) credits through the Early Intervention Training Program (EITP) at the University of Illinois. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 6/30/27
Illinois Early Care & Education Providers: This webinar is a Gateways to Opportunity Registry-approved Training for early care and education professionals in Illinois. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 6/30/27
Certified Family Life Educators: This webinar has been approved for 1.5 continuing education (CE) credits from the National Council on Family Relations. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 1/18/27
Certificate of attendance

Webinar Slides (PDF) Photo Credit: Storyblocks.com, CCO

Asking Powerful Questions
2024-01-18
Subscribe to the “Practicing Connection” monthly email to keep up to date on our latest podcasts, blog posts and workshops.
Join the “Practicing Connection Community” on LinkedIn. The community is designed for people who support military families in a variety of settings both on installations and in our communities. JTNDZGl2JTIwaWQlM0QlMjJidXp6c3Byb3V0LXBsYXllci0xNDI5MDk0NyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmRpdiUzRSUzQ3NjcmlwdCUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmJ1enpzcHJvdXQuY29tJTJGMjA5OTk4MyUyRjE0MjkwOTQ3LWFza2luZy1wb3dlcmZ1bC1xdWVzdGlvbnMuanMlM0Zjb250YWluZXJfaWQlM0RidXp6c3Byb3V0LXBsYXllci0xNDI5MDk0NyUyNnBsYXllciUzRHNtYWxsJTIyJTIwdHlwZSUzRCUyMnRleHQlMkZqYXZhc2NyaXB0JTIyJTIwY2hhcnNldCUzRCUyMnV0Zi04JTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGc2NyaXB0JTNF (Season 5, Episode 3)
Community engagement, co-creation and collaboration depend on meaningful conversations. Asking the right question is the most effective way of expanding a conversation, keeping it engaging and making it meaningful.
In this Practicing Connection practicast, Jessica Beckendorf shares a practice to help us engage people in the meaningful conversations we need to have in order to plan and do our work together.
“Practicasts” are shorter episodes of the podcast highlighting a specific practice to help empower us to work together to improve our resilience and readiness.
Links

Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations That Matter – Will Wise and Chad Littlefield

[music]
Bob Bertsch: Community engagement, co-creation, and collaboration depend on meaningful conversations. Asking the right question is the most effective way of expanding a conversation, keeping it engaging, and making it meaningful. Hi, I’m Bob Bertsch and welcome to this week’s Practicing Connection Practicast, where we highlight a specific practice you can use in your life and work. This week’s practice is focused on asking powerful questions.
This practice can help us engage people in the meaningful conversations we need to have in order to build relationships and to plan and do our work together. My Practicing Connection co-host, Jessica Beckendorf, will be guiding us through a practice to help us build rapport and ask powerful questions in a few minutes. First, let’s learn more about it. Jessica, what is a powerful question? What makes it powerful?
Jessica Beckendorf: Bob, I’m sure there’s a lot of definitions out there on powerful questions. My own very simple definition is that powerful questions are open-ended questions that touch on a person’s motivations, hopes, and stories. They’re powerful in part because they recognize the person answering the question is the expert of their own experiences. They’re also powerful because they connect people through storytelling and authentic curiosity. They’re also powerful because the sharing that occurs when a powerful question has been asked opens up possibilities for more questions, more conversation, and more connection.
Lastly, I would say that they are most powerful when the person’s intent for asking the question comes from authentic curiosity rather than a desire to lead or control the conversation or to try to make a point or because maybe they’re making an assumption about the other person they’re trying to talk to or about the group that they’re trying to talk with.
Bob Bertsch: Yes, that’s really helpful. I’m curious about how powerful questions might have helped you in your work, especially your work with groups.
Jessica Beckendorf: I didn’t start out by intentionally asking powerful questions. I didn’t think, I do group process work. I’m going to ask them powerful questions all the time and it’s going to be amazing and everything’s going to work all the time. We all have natural patterns of interaction, the things that we do automatically when we have conversations. We already know how to communicate is what I’m trying to say based on what we’ve observed or what we’ve already been taught, either through others or through trial and error our whole lives.
I was pretty good at small talk, and I really enjoyed it and I know that’s going to make a lot of people cringe, but I did, I was able to build rapport quickly and get from small talk to deeper connections, but I didn’t know how I did it for a long time. Once I started to understand more about connection and collaborative relationships and how powerful the right questions can be, I began to use them with intention. For someone who already feels like, “Ah, I’m good at that,” I’m telling you, it can help you out a lot if you do it with intention.
Then for someone who feels like, “Ooh, I’m not very good at that,” and she was already natural at it, so there’s no way that it’s going to work for me, no, that’s not true. I know people who it doesn’t come supernaturally to them and they worked at it and it works for them as well. Once I understood this, I began to use these questions with intention. When I noticed that a group I was working with was struggling, I would work on finding the right powerful question for the moment.
If I was able to, I would plan several questions ahead of time before going into the situation, or if I was in the moment, which happens, I would pull out a broader question and just trust the group to share. I think that’s so important is when we ask questions, we have to trust the person to answer from their own experience or trust the people to answer. Sometimes a really well-placed what’s essential right now asked to a whole group or a question like what matters to you in this moment can do wonders for a group that’s stuck, especially if everyone gets a chance to respond to the question.
We know people who are very excited and we also know people who will dominate a conversation. If you can give everyone a chance to answer those questions and respond on their own, that’s even more powerful. Another way that I’ve used these questions in my group process work has been to infuse connection where it’s been brushed aside. I’ve seen it brushed aside lots and lots of times.
I think what’s essential here is that without real social connections in the groups that we work with, we’re just creating more meetings and tasks and obligations for ourselves and meetings and tasks and obligations are all working toward a goal. There’s some meeting there, but it’s not the same as when there’s also some real social connections being built.
Bob Bertsch: You’re going to guide us through the practice a little bit in just a moment, but I’m just trying to get sort of a context of how these work, how powerful questions work in practice. For example, like how many do we need for our conversation and when should we use them? Do I need, plan out all my conversations in advance so I’m ready with my powerful questions?
Jessica Beckendorf: I’d say that in practice, to me, asking powerful questions begins with noticing what we’re curious about and asking questions about it. It sounds really, really simple, but we need to recognize that curiosity and how we engage with it presents itself differently for each person. Some people are wildly curious about people and some aren’t. Some are more curious about ideas or about other things, about nature. That’s perfectly okay. I’d say that developing your curiosity will help you ask powerful questions more intuitively. That’s why I like to start with curiosity.
Essentially, this is about being present to and noticing what your heart and mind are drawing you toward during your interactions with others. Notice it and engage with it by asking open-ended questions. Of course, while you’re working on your curiosity, I do also recommend starting out by having a couple of powerful questions that you enjoy hearing the answers to and that you’re willing to answer yourself. Never ask a question that you aren’t willing to answer yourself.
Connecting involves at least some mutual vulnerability. We’re not asking you to, I certainly wouldn’t start with a question like, “What’s the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?” Don’t ask that question, especially if you’re not willing to answer it. I also wouldn’t start with that question or a question like it. As far as when powerful questions should be used, the answer is going to depend on the situation. I think as a general guideline, if you’re just meeting someone or you’re just getting together for the first time as a group, you could start by just practicing your noticing and asking skills that I just mentioned a minute ago, just to build some rapport.
What you’re noticing about the person or the group that’s making you curious is what I’m talking about when I say noticing and asking. Maybe it’s even something that seems simple, like something they’re wearing or something that they’ve said about their favorite sport, right? Those aren’t powerful questions, but they are questions to ease into the deeper questions that we’re trying to get at. Then, to me, once there’s a little bit of rapport built, and this is something that I learned from Chad Littlefield and Will Wise’s work, they have a book called Ask Powerful Questions.
Once there’s a little bit of rapport between people, that’s when you can get into some more of the powerful questions. I wouldn’t use them before you’ve established just a little bit of rapport in an interaction.
Bob Bertsch: Awesome. Thanks. That was really helpful just to get us grounded in sort of what this looks like. You mentioned you had some steps to walk us through, so we’d love to hear them.
Jessica Beckendorf: All right. The first step is to have a couple of questions that you’ll always remember and have with you in the back of your mind. These should be questions, like I said before, that you love to hear the answers to and that you’re willing to share your own answer to. For example, a question that we often use on this podcast with guests is a question that I really love is, how did you get into your field or how did it find you? You can change up the word field with anything you want. How did you get into that hobby or how did it find you or anything you want that you could fill in there.
How did you get into blank or how did it find you? It’s also good to have a follow-up question, something like, “Tell me more about blank. I find it fascinating,” or, “That sounds really cool. My grandfather used to do that, but I never understood how he did X,” or whatever is leading you to ask about it. “Tell me more about blank,” is another good one to have in the background. Now, if those don’t feel natural to you, I would recommend making up your own, try to make up questions that sound natural to you that start with the words how or what, and then have a follow-up question like, “Tell me more about–” whatever language you need to use to make it sound like you is what I recommend.
Have a couple of questions as step one. Second, as you’re interacting with someone or with a group, as you’re building that rapport with them, you’re having sort of the shorter, smaller talk, whatever you want to call it. You’re meeting with them. You’re just in a meeting with them. Maybe any kind of discussion that you’re having, I want you to find your natural authentic curiosity, whatever your heart and mind is drawing you toward. You might notice this through a gut reaction and I would say, probably a positive gut reaction, like, “Ooh, that’s cool.” “Oh, I’ve always wanted to learn that. Now I know someone who does it.”
Maybe through sort of a lightness, like, “Oh my goodness, so many possibilities. My mind is firing. I’ve got lots of ideas for this person. I’d love to share with them,” or something that even just makes you go, “Huh, interesting.” You find that thing. Then step three is asking an open-ended question about it, starting with how or what. “How did you get into X?” Or, “Wow, what was your process? What were you thinking about as this was happening?”
Those are the two questions that it’s so easy to keep a how or what in your mind, just those two words in your mind as you’re in conversation with someone and you want to get to know them better. You use those two beginnings of questions to try to propel you to asking a more powerful question than something that might get you a one or two word answer. Quick recap, number one, have a couple of questions to get started. Number two, when you’re in an interaction with someone, find that natural, authentic curiosity through your internal reactions to what they’re saying. Then ask an open-ended question about something that made you curious, starting with how or what.
My advice would be to allow the conversation go where it goes and enjoy the journey. That’s it, three steps. Now you’re experts.
Bob Bertsch: There you go. Thanks. We’re all experts now. Thanks for getting us to do that, Jessica. We really appreciate it.
Jessica Beckendorf: Ah, you’re so welcome.
Bob Bertsch: That’s it for this episode. Thanks so much for joining us. We hope you’ll give this practice a try and share your experience in the Practicing Connection LinkedIn group where people supporting military families practice the skills that empower us to work together so that we can positively impact our communities and help families thrive. You’ll find the link to the group on our website at oneop.org/practicingconnection. We’ll be back next week with a practice for learning from each other. Until then, keep practicing.
Kalin Goble: The Practicing Connection Podcast is a production of OneOp and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, US Department of Defense under Award Numbers 2019-48770-30366 and 2023-48770-41333.
[music]
[00:13:42] [END OF AUDIO]

Listening for Strengths and Values
2024-01-11
Subscribe to the “Practicing Connection” monthly email to keep up to date on our latest podcasts, blog posts and workshops.
Join the “Practicing Connection Community” on LinkedIn. The community is designed for people who support military families in a variety of settings both on installations and in our communities. JTNDZGl2JTIwaWQlM0QlMjJidXp6c3Byb3V0LXBsYXllci0xNDI4NTMxNSUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmRpdiUzRSUzQ3NjcmlwdCUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmJ1enpzcHJvdXQuY29tJTJGMjA5OTk4MyUyRjE0Mjg1MzE1LWxpc3RlbmluZy1mb3Itc3RyZW5ndGhzLmpzJTNGY29udGFpbmVyX2lkJTNEYnV6enNwcm91dC1wbGF5ZXItMTQyODUzMTUlMjZwbGF5ZXIlM0RzbWFsbCUyMiUyMHR5cGUlM0QlMjJ0ZXh0JTJGamF2YXNjcmlwdCUyMiUyMGNoYXJzZXQlM0QlMjJ1dGYtOCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRnNjcmlwdCUzRQ== (Season 5, Episode 2)
When people feel that they are being listened to empathetically, attentively, and without judgment, they enter a safe state that enables them to delve deeper into their consciousness and discover new insights about themselves – even those that may challenge previously held beliefs and perceptions.
In this practicast, Jessica Beckendorf talks about the listening practice, Strength Spotting, and guides us through how to do it.
“Practicasts” are shorter episodes of the podcast highlighting a specific practice to help empower us to work together to improve our resilience and readiness.
Links

VIA Character Strengths
Army Resilience Directorate Resources
Practicing Connection podcast, “Show Your Work”

Bob Bertsch: When people feel that they’re being listened to empathetically, attentively, and without judgment, they enter a safe state that enables them to delve deeper into their consciousness and discover new insights about themselves, even those that may challenge previous held beliefs and perceptions. Hi everyone. This is Bob Bertsch and welcome to this week’s Practicing Connection Practicast, where we highlight a specific practice you can use in your life and work.
This week’s practice is a listening practice called Strength Spotting. This practice can help you learn to listen more deeply to anyone you encounter while building deeper relationships through this validating practice. My Practicing Connection co-host Jessica Beckendorf will be guiding us through the practice in a few minutes, but first, let’s learn more about it. Hey Jessica. I’m really interested in the benefits of Strength Spotting.
Jessica Beckendorf: The beautiful thing about character strengths is that they’re both deeply personal and internal and they’re social. We’re all constantly expressing our strengths, whether we know it or not. They’re part of our contributions to the world. Knowing and using our strengths is actually connected with improving our well-being and resilience. What’s interesting is that many people don’t know their own strengths. I don’t mean that in the physical sense, like we don’t know our own strength, but no, we don’t know our strengths a lot of times.
In fact, it’s actually often a lot easier to spot strengths in others than it is to spot our own strengths. For this reason, I do recommend taking the free VIA Character Strengths Assessment, which we’ll provide the link in the show notes. You don’t have to know all about strengths or even to know your own strengths in order to do someone the kindness of noticing and appreciating the strengths of others.
We all have language that we already use around strengths. A lot of us might recognize things like being organized as a strength, which maybe isn’t the best example, but things like being organized or being brave or exhibiting kindness to others as a strength. You don’t need to know all of the language of strengths in order to do this. It really is a kindness noticing and appreciating someone else’s strengths.
In the context of relationship building, this noticing and appreciating I’ve been talking about is often called strength spotting. It’s a validating activity that can help the people around you identify their strengths. Remember I said that most people don’t know their own strengths? Well, you can help other people identify their strengths by pointing it out to them when it. This strengthens the relationship and contributes to improving their overall wellbeing, particularly as the folks in positive psychology might say, their basic psychological needs for autonomy, relationship, and competence. Those are all related to using strengths.
Even the US Army has recognized the power of character strengths by embedding it as a core part of their comprehensive soldier fitness program and as part of their global assessment tool. They emphasize not only identifying your own strengths, but also identifying strengths in others, which is what we’re talking about today, and using those strengths in practical ways on teams. If you go to the website of the Directorate of Prevention, Resilience, and Readiness and search on the term character strengths, a whole bunch of articles and resources actually pop up. It’s a really great resource for that.
I could talk all day long about how using our signature strengths in different ways every day increases things like work satisfaction and our sense of meaning, and it increases happiness and decreases feelings of depression, with the effects lasting sometimes as long as six months. This particular practicast is all about the benefits of reflecting back the strengths of those we engage with in conversation. I really want to keep it focused there because I really could talk about strengths in many different ways.
Bob: When we’re strength spotting, what kinds of things are we listening for? You gave a couple examples in your previous answer, but I’m wondering if you could go deeper on that.
Jessica: Yes, this is a really good question. Something I’ve noticed because I do a lot of interpersonal communication kinds of workshops, and this comes up a lot. While in conversation, our brains are doing so many things at once that when you try to break it down and talk about all the things our brains are doing at once in a forum like a podcast episode or a blog, it can feel oddly detailed and overwhelming.
I literally have different steps that you can go through to think about an interaction with somebody else. But for the purposes of what we’re talking about today, I’m going to keep it really simple and say that your first just listening for what you admire about the other person in relation to what they’re saying to you.
Don’t make it weird and they’re telling you about their day and you’re like, “Whoa, I really admire what an upstanding citizen you are,” when they didn’t talk anything at all about their volunteering or whatever. No, I’m talking about thinking about what you admire, what you’re finding out that you admire in what they’re saying to you, and in relation to what they’re saying to you. What was interesting to you about their story and what is it that you appreciated within that story about that person? That is the first thing I would say you’re looking for.
The second simple piece of advice that I would have is to observe and listen for their energy level. What did they get more animated about and what strength might be attached to that? For example, if they’re describing a difficult week for them, but they sounded a little lighter or more energetic when they spoke about how they came up with a new idea to present to their team, you might say something about their creativity for coming up with a new idea or their bravery since not everyone is comfortable with sharing their ideas and it’s a brave thing to share an idea because it could be rejected. Those are the two main things I would listen to; their energy and then your own energy, what you’re noticing that you admire in the other person.
Bob: What about actually paying attention? Are there tips for us to stay focused on what the other person is saying? Because honestly, I find myself thinking about what I’m going to say next or what I have to do an hour later.
Jessica: Oh yes, there are absolutely tips for staying focused. Two words, stay focused. No. Seriously, listening is a social mindfulness activity if that can be considered a thing. I’m going to make it a thing. It’s a social mindfulness activity. A let go of where you want the conversation to go. Let go of thinking ahead, trying to guess where they are going with the conversation because we love to do that, don’t we? Just be with the person or people. Frankly, you can do this in a group too. I know we’re talking about one-on-one here. A lot of our language has been around one-on-one, but you can do this absolutely in a group as well.
Just be with the person or people and keep bringing your mind back to the conversation because just like in mindfulness practice, your mind’s going to wander and it’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up for it. Just like we talk about in mindfulness practice, don’t beat yourself up for your mind wandering, just keep bringing it back. That is my main piece of advice for staying focused on what another person is saying. I’m sure that there’s lots treasure troves of advice out there, but this really is about us being together and this is an episode all about listening and so really it’s just focus and do your best. Just do your best as a human [chuckles] to be present with another human.
Bob: Awesome. Well, can you walk us through this? What does it look like in practice?
Jessica: Yes. There are three main steps. I want to recognize that our brains are doing a lot of different things all at once in the middle of a conversation. I recognize that what I’m going to break down to you in a second here is a detailed list of– it might be hard for you to initially think, “Wait, how am I going to do this in the middle of a conversation.” Like, “I want to pay attention to what they’re saying. I don’t want to be doing all these different tasks while I’m doing that.” Don’t worry about it. I’ll give you some tips after.
It’s a three-step process. The first one is labeling. Name the strength or strengths, it could be more than one, name the ones that you notice. What did you observe? That’s what you’re answering here is what do you observe? What strengths are you observing in what they’re saying to you? The next one is explaining. There’s first labeling, now there’s explaining, and this is about giving rationale for the strength that you labeled.
You could just say to someone, “Oh, I really appreciate your bravery,” and leave it there, but you really need to give it a little rationale. “I appreciated the bravery or how brave was for you to share that idea in a team meeting. I have a really hard time with that myself. I’ve just had some bad experiences and I’m not sure that I feel safe sharing my ideas. I think it’s really brave of you to do that,” right? Giving that rationale. This one’s all about answering the question, what’s the evidence that you observed for that strength? I think this is sometimes the hardest part for some people because we can recognize something and have a hard time just articulating what it was. This is about showing your work, which we have another episode on. This is sort of about that show your work like you were told in school.
Okay, so labeling, then explaining. Now the third part is appreciating. This can be, if the moment has passed, this can be about thinking about your appreciation and just noticing what it was that you appreciated and why, but hopefully you really do need to express this back to the person. I just, I do want to mention the fact that it does happen that the moment passes sometimes, but you know what you can do? You can write them a note later. You can send them an email. You can say, “Hey, you know what? I was thinking about what you said and I really appreciated the bravery that it takes for you to share an idea like that. It’s something I struggle with myself,” right, so appreciating.
Express appreciation, affirmation. How will you share that you value this person’s strength? One last time, labeling, name the strength or strengths you noticed, explain it, giving the rationale behind what you noticed, and appreciate. Express that appreciation or affirmation to the person. If the moment has passed, consider writing an email to them at some later time.
The more you practice this, the faster you’ll get at it, I promise. At first, you might only be able to label the strength you noticed and possibly not even until after the conversation is over and reflecting it back to the person feels a little impossible. It’s okay if at first you’re just noticing it after the conversation’s over, just keep practicing. It’ll start to happen. It’s really helpful to start by downloading the list of character strengths in the link that we provide in the show notes. It’s a way to learn to get to know some of the language around strengths so that you can spot it a little bit more frequently or a little more often, or you can spot new ones sometimes maybe that you don’t normally think about.
It’s also really helpful to start by practicing on characters in television shows. Start by watching a character on a television show, label a strength that you’re noticing, give it some rationale, and imagine how you might express appreciation or affirmation of the strength to the character in the show. It’s a really helpful activity that will help you get faster and better at recognizing strengths. That is how I started.
Bob: Wow, Jessica, it’s very apparent from this conversation that you are super passionate about strength spotting, and I really appreciate that passion. I appreciate it that you took the time to share that with us.
Jessica: Well, you’re very welcome. I always have time to talk about character strengths. I learned about them a long time ago, and they’ve been an important part of my work for almost a decade now.
Bob: That’s it for this episode. Thanks for joining us. We hope you’ll give this practice a try and share your experience in the Practicing Connection LinkedIn group where people supporting military families practice the skills that empower us to work together so that we can positively impact our communities and help families thrive. You can find the link to the group on our website at oneop.org/PracticingConnection. We’ll be back next week with a practice to get yourself a little bit better and also connect with others. That practice is called Asking Powerful Questions. Until then, keep practicing.
[theme music]
Kalin Goble: The Practicing Connection podcast is a production of OneOp and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, US Department of Defense under award numbers 2019-48770-30366 and 2023-48770-41333.
[00:14:47] [END OF AUDIO]

Share Your Work
2023-12-28
Subscribe to the “Practicing Connection” monthly email to keep up to date on our latest podcasts, blog posts and workshops.
Join the “Practicing Connection Community” on LinkedIn. The community is designed for people who support military families in a variety of settings both on installations and in our communities. JTNDZGl2JTIwaWQlM0QlMjJidXp6c3Byb3V0LXBsYXllci0xNDE3MzkzMCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmRpdiUzRSUzQ3NjcmlwdCUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmJ1enpzcHJvdXQuY29tJTJGMjA5OTk4MyUyRjE0MTczOTMwLXNoYXJlLXlvdXItd29yay5qcyUzRmNvbnRhaW5lcl9pZCUzRGJ1enpzcHJvdXQtcGxheWVyLTE0MTczOTMwJTI2cGxheWVyJTNEc21hbGwlMjIlMjB0eXBlJTNEJTIydGV4dCUyRmphdmFzY3JpcHQlMjIlMjBjaGFyc2V0JTNEJTIydXRmLTglMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZzY3JpcHQlM0U= (Season 4, Episode 18)
Sharing your work, even before it is done, can make your work better, make you visible to others, and lead you to a community of support and growth. In this practicast, Jessica Beckendorf and Bob Bertsch talk about the benefits of sharing your work with others and share a practice for getting started.
“Practicasts” are shorter episodes of the podcast highlighting a specific practice to help empower us to work together to improve our resilience and readiness.
If you’re having trouble or you’re not quite ready to share your work and you’d like to practice in a safe space, you can share your work with Bob at robert.bertsch@ndsu.edu.
Links

Show Your Work by Jane Bozarth
Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon
Working Out Loud

[music]
Jessica Beckendorf: Sharing your work even before it’s done can make your work better, it can make you visible to others, and it can lead you to a community of support and growth. Hi, everyone. This is Jessica, and welcome to this week’s Practicing Connection practicast, where we highlight a specific practice you can use in your life and work. This week’s practice is about sharing your work with others. My Practicing Connection co-host, Bob Bertsch, will be guiding us through the practice in a few minutes, but first, let’s learn a little bit more about it. Hi, Bob. Can you start with sharing a little bit of background on the concept of sharing your work with others?
Bob Bertsch: Hi, Jessica. I’d be happy to. My awareness of this concept comes from back in 2014. There was a couple of books that came out then. Both of them were coincidentally titled Show Your Work, so it’s a little bit confusing. One is by Jane Bozarth, and the other is by Austin Kleon. Both books made the argument for sharing your work, especially your works in progress, as a way to connect with people. Jane Bozarth focused a little bit more on connections between people within an organization, and Austin Kleon wrote more about sharing in the open, in social media, the wild.
About a year later, John Stepper released his book called Working Out Loud. That book documented the process that John had developed to help people practice sharing their work in order to find purpose in their work and become more engaged in work. Not necessarily in their organization, if that’s not where their purpose lied, or where their engagement lie, but just in general being more connected with their work through their relationships with other people that were built through the working out loud process.
That process has been super important to our work on Practicing Connection, mostly because it includes so many practices and lessons for building relationships and networks, which is a big emphasis for us. As a concept, sharing your work or working out loud can be applied to all kinds of different contexts, from a work team to an organization or a community issue. Even though the authors that I mentioned focused on different areas, it’s really a useful tool in almost any area that involves human relationship.
Jessica: I really appreciate this history of it, for lack of a better word. It’s only back in 2014. I’m familiar with all of these books, but I didn’t realize their connections and their different specialties. Thank you for sharing that. I’m really curious to learn more about what becomes possible when we share our work. What opportunities does it create for us or for others or for our connections?
Bob: I think there are multitude, starting with some that Austin Kleon highlighted. He writes about three reasons for sharing your work. I think that these reasons are pretty practical, and you can adapt them a little bit to different situations.
First, sharing your work can improve your work. Part of the reason that does that is because it prompts you to think about and document your process. If you think about sharing something that is unfinished, whomever you’re sharing it with, you’ll need to be able to explain the stage that work is in. You’re going to have to tell somebody, hey, this is just an idea, or this is my first draft, or this is a beta version, or what stage is it at. In the process of doing that, you develop an understanding of your process, and that improves your work, and it also improves your work process because you can see how things are working.
The second thing that Austin talks about is that it makes your work visible to others without, as he puts it, “the icky feelings of self-promotion.” I can definitely relate to that.
Jessica: Same here.
Bob: If you are a longtime listener, you probably know that Jessica and I are Midwesterners, and we fit the stereotype in some ways of keeping our light under a bushel basket and not feeling super comfortable talking about ourselves. I’m sure lots of people outside of the Midwest share that as well. This is a way of getting attention, I’ll just say it that way, that helps you self-promote without self-promoting.
Then the last thing that Austin mentions is that it creates a feedback loop. The helpful feedback we receive can definitely help us improve whatever it is that we’re working on. Even unhelpful feedback can become helpful because it might lead us down new paths. Someone might make a suggestion that really isn’t relevant to what we’re working on, but that could become an idea for something else or a different project.
To add to those three things that Austin Kleon points out, I think another potential outcome of sharing your work is the idea of making yourself visible, relates to that self-promotion, but in a different way, and I think a really powerful way. When people can see what you’re working on, it gives them the opportunity to adjust to you. In a work team, showing what you’re working on can change what other team members are doing.
How that might work in the open like on social media or in an organizational sharing platform like Microsoft Teams, making your work visible could allow people to reach out to you to establish a connection. They might offer an opportunity to deepen an existing connection or even offer to collaborate. This is, I think, where the powerful part comes and where this is all going.
When people share information and connect with each other, it opens up what Steven Johnson calls the adjacent possible, and that’s the path or the door that neither person could have imagined or seen on their own. It only becomes visible when those people become visible to each other and start sharing information. Making your work visible to others opens up that adjacent possible. I think that’s a big, big benefit.
Jessica: What are then some of the things that might hold people back from sharing their work?
Bob: The main one for me is imposter syndrome. It’s that feeling that I’m not the “right person” to be sharing this idea or that I’m not an expert in the field that I’m sharing about. That can be a tough one to get over. To get past that, I try to remind myself that I am the expert in my own experience. No other person has had the exact same combination of experiences that I have had, and so I’m the expert in how a particular topic looks through my unique lens. That’s true for everybody. Everybody has their own experiences and their own lens and way of looking at things. Even though you might not be an expert in a topic, it doesn’t mean that you can’t share about it or create work in that area.
I think when we’re sharing in completely open space like social media, I know I do and a lot of us might hold back because we’re afraid of saying the wrong thing or experiencing some backlash or being made to feel less than by comments and things like that. I try to manage that feeling by just choosing how vulnerable I want to be in a particular space. Sharing with my work team, I may choose and do choose to be way more vulnerable and honest if you want to think of it that way than I would be, say, like in a private LinkedIn group.
I might be more vulnerable in a private LinkedIn group than I would be in a completely open social media platform like X or just posting on LinkedIn or Facebook. I think it’s best, no matter where you’re posting, to think about the stakes. What are the potential risks and keep those stakes low starting off so that you can build to where you are comfortable from there. I think the danger is you overshare maybe in an open space, you have a really bad experience and then it becomes such a barrier that you have trouble sharing in other venues as well. Managing that I think is a good way to get started and hopefully not fall into those things that hold us back.
Jessica: Let’s get started. If you could walk us through a practice that will help us share our work.
Bob: Sure.
Jessica: That would be great.
Bob: I’d love to. The easiest way to get ready, I think, to share your work is to start sharing what John Stepper calls the universal gifts and those gifts are attention and gratitude. These are called universal gifts because virtually, everyone enjoys them. Intentionally and authentically sharing attention and gratitude with others is a good way to practice the courage and vulnerability that it might take for us to share our work. If there’s someone you appreciate, but you haven’t told them so or if you have seen or experienced something that has benefited you, take the time to give the gifts of gratitude and/or attention. Once you’re ready to start sharing your work, start with deciding what you want to share. Here are some ideas that you could share just to get you started. You could share an idea that you have for a program or a project or just a random idea. You could share a project that’s in process that you’re working on. You could share your motivations, why do you do the work that you do? You could share a process that’s helpful for you. Maybe a process for reporting or a process for getting started on a project when you have that blank page staring at you and share that with others.
You can share something you’ve learned, or you could share a challenge that you’re facing and need some help with, or a challenge that you’re facing you’ve overcome and you’ve learned something from, and then share what you’ve learned. Once you have decided okay, this is what I’m going to share, next, think about who do I want to share this with. Who is it relevant to, who could offer supportive feedback. This goes back to earlier in our conversation when we talked about choosing a platform where you’re comfortable, where it might be low-risk, or you might get out of it what you want to get out of it while also making sure the person or people that you’re sharing with that it’s relevant to them as well.
Now that you’ve got a person or a group of people in mind, ask yourself why might they be interested. Thinking about this can really help us add context to our sharing message. For example, you might include a phrase like, I thought you would be interested in this idea because of your work on dot dot dot, or something like, I saw your post about this topic on social media so I wanted to share this with you. Why would they be interested helps you add context to that message. Thinking about why someone would be interested in what you’re sharing might also help you think of others that you could potentially share this work with.
Finally, you need to decide how you are going to share your work, like what’s the method? Are you going to send an email to just one person? Are you going to share it in a private chat like Teams or Slack? Are you going to post it in a private group or in the open on social media? Again, think about what makes you comfortable and what opportunities might be opened up by sharing your work in that particular way. If you’ve thought about all that and answered those questions, you’ve got a plan. Go ahead and share your work. If you’re having trouble or you’re not quite ready to share your work and you’d like to practice in a safe space, you can share your work with me. Just email me. My email address is robert.bertsch@ndsu.edu, and I’ll put that invitation on the show notes as well.
Jessica: What a generous invitation. Thank you so much for sharing this guide to thinking through how to share your work with others. That’s it for this episode. Thanks for joining us. We hope you’ll give this practice a try and share your experience in the Practicing Connection LinkedIn group where people supporting military families practice the skills that empower us to work together so that we can positively impact our communities and help families thrive. You’ll find the link to the group on our website at oneop.org/practicingconnection. We’ll be back next week with a new podcast episode focused on investing time in leisure, learning, and yourself. Until then, keep practicing.
Kalin Goble: The Practicing Connection podcast is a production of OneOp and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, U.S. Department of Defense under award numbers 2019-48770-30366 and 2023-48770-41333.
[00:14:09] [END OF AUDIO]

Fostering Connection in Meetings
2023-12-21
Subscribe to the “Practicing Connection” monthly email to keep up to date on our latest podcasts, blog posts and workshops.
Join the “Practicing Connection Community” on LinkedIn. The community is designed for people who support military families in a variety of settings both on installations and in our communities. JTNDZGl2JTIwaWQlM0QlMjJidXp6c3Byb3V0LXBsYXllci0xNDAyODY0OSUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmRpdiUzRSUzQ3NjcmlwdCUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmJ1enpzcHJvdXQuY29tJTJGMjA5OTk4MyUyRjE0MDI4NjQ5LWZvc3RlcmluZy1jb25uZWN0aW9uLWluLW1lZXRpbmdzLmpzJTNGY29udGFpbmVyX2lkJTNEYnV6enNwcm91dC1wbGF5ZXItMTQwMjg2NDklMjZwbGF5ZXIlM0RzbWFsbCUyMiUyMHR5cGUlM0QlMjJ0ZXh0JTJGamF2YXNjcmlwdCUyMiUyMGNoYXJzZXQlM0QlMjJ1dGYtOCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRnNjcmlwdCUzRQ== (Season 4, Episode 17)
We know that relationships are important, but with so much focus on tasks we rarely take time to work on relationships in meetings. IN this episode, Jessica Beckendorf talks about why relationships are so important to collaboration and guides us through some activities we can use in meetings to help build those relationships.
“Practicasts” are shorter episodes of the podcast highlighting a specific practice to help empower us to work together to improve our resilience and readiness.
Links

The Thin Book of Trust by Charles Feltman
Training to Imagine by Kat Koppett

[music]
Bob: We know that relationships are important, but with so much focus on tasks, we rarely take time to work on relationships in our meetings. Hi, everyone. This is Bob, and welcome to this week’s Practicing Connection practicast, where we highlight a specific practice you can use in your life and work. This week’s practice is a group activity to foster connections in meetings.
My Practicing Connection co-host, Jessica Beckendorf, will be guiding us through the practice in a few minutes, but first, let’s learn more about it. Jessica, why are relationships important in collaborations?
Jessica Beckendorf: Well, [chuckles] one of the things I say in some of the workshops I teach is that, we all seem to recognize that relationships are important, but we don’t take the time to build them effectively beyond coming together for a quick meeting to connect about, or to assign tasks. In fact, sometimes people actively push back against relationship-building components during meetings.
I think, especially, when they feel like the activity is trite, or strictly an icebreaker. I do think that there are a lot of icebreakers and activities that fall into these categories. There’s nothing wrong with them, but to some people, they can come off as really inauthentic. Some people love these activities, but many don’t. It goes beyond whether people like doing an icebreaker type of activity.
What I’ve actually seen happen is that, activities that are intended to connect people, are sometimes devalued as frivolous, when compared to the actual “work” that needs to be done. Don’t get me wrong. The outputs and the outcomes that we’re all trying to work toward, are central to why we’re in the same room to begin with. They’re really important.
In collaborative efforts, part of the work that needs to be done, is building trust in relationships among group members, who have committed to working together. You might say, so that they can commit to working together, even when they maybe don’t want to.
Charles Feltman in The Thin Book of Trust, defines trust as containing four elements. Our assessment of a person’s sincerity, their reliability, their competence, and care. Care is, perhaps, the most important– One of those elements, yet, we arrange our meetings around things that only touch on two of those, reliability, and competence. It’s really baked into our culture that if we’re not doing tasks, then we must not be doing anything useful at all.
Because trust is a key element in any collaboration, relationship-building is a useful outcome of our work together. I want you to get that in your head. Relationship-building is a useful outcome of our work together. It helps us understand new perspectives, and build empathy for how we each experience an issue. It can help us develop an appreciation for how each of us works, and how, the kinds of contributions we make to projects, which in the end, can help us utilize the strengths of each team member better.
It leaves room for innovative solutions, because we aren’t shutting ideas down right away, because we know that person, and we’re more willing to hear them out, or we’ve developed an understanding of that person or empathy for that person, or whatever that is, and we’re more willing to hear them out.
Bob: I’m curious to learn more about what goes into choosing a question for a check-in, or how we design these connecting activities.
Jessica: Yes, that’s a really good question. I think I just did it very automatically, until you asked this question. I had to think about it and break it down. I guess, first, I like to consider whether the group already knows each other, or whether they’re a more newly formed group. If the group is new to each other, they often actually expect some sort of activity that encourages connection at the beginning, at least at first.
If the group is not new to each other, maybe they’ve been getting together for a while. Then, I think you’d want to consider two things. First, what’s the current group culture? Think about things like who’s in the group? What are their communication styles and preferences? How well do they already know each other, and work together? Are there difficult power dynamics at play?
Then, the other thing to consider would be, what is the purpose that they’re coming together for? What are they there in the same room around? Whether it’s a new group or not, it’s always important to consider psychological safety. Things like encouraging participation, but making it absolutely okay to pass, or making sure your activity contains elements of anonymity along with the sharing, so that there are activities that, in fact, I would start with the activities that bring in a little bit of anonymity.
Sometimes, it just depends on the group, after considering all of that, the questions and activities I like to choose, for connecting people usually involve something that connects them to their humanity, something that connects them to each other. Then, a third, something that connects them to this moment, why they’re here in the room together.
Bob: I like that point about this moment. What’s the importance of this moment? Why are we here? What are we here to do? Connecting around that purpose as well. As a facilitator in a meeting, if we’re doing one of these activities, or asking a check-in question, what kinds of things do you think we need to be prepared for?
Jessica: I would say be prepared for mixed responses, [chuckles] be prepared for groaning, eye rolls, and reluctance from some. Be prepared for some to just go through the motions, and comply with what you’re asking them to do, and be prepared for some of them to be enthusiastic about it, and to want more of it. I think you’ll also want to recognize that you’re asking for a lot from some of the group members.
Not everyone loves sharing about themselves, and sometimes you can even voice that. You can say, “Hey, guys, I know I’m asking for a lot here. I completely get that.” Then, sometimes if you just model it a little bit, and show a little bit of vulnerability to start with, it makes it a little bit easier for others.
It’s also important to read the room a little bit, and always, always, always have other activities or check-in questions ready in the background, if the mood of the room isn’t a match for the activity, or questions you planned. This works in virtual rooms also. Be willing to adapt your plan.
Then last, I would be prepared to include connection activities more often, because groups will expect it a little at the beginning, but nobody expects to be given a connection activity once the group’s been going for a while. I would recommend thinking about including connection activities more often, and ramp them up a bit when a new person joins the group, right?
You want to onboard them. You want to make them feel connected to the group. You want to make the group feel connected to them. Make connection part of the group rituals and culture.
Bob: Can you guide us through how this might work? Walk us through a couple of practices.
Jessica: Yes, I have two that I’ll walk you through, since one of them is a simple check-in question for when you’re really short on time. I think it’s a question that gives everyone a peek into who we are as humans, while preserving a tight schedule. I would caution you to try to, at least occasionally, leave time for longer connecting activities. I wouldn’t always go for the short question at the beginning.
Try to, at least occasionally, leave time for longer activities like the second one that I’ll tell you about. The first activity is a simple check-in question. If possible, have your group get into a circle, if you’re not already. You’re going to have each person share their name, and ask them to add one to two words your friends would use to describe you. That’s it.
If it’s a really large group, you can have them split up into smaller groups, but I think it’s really beneficial to have everyone to be able to hear what everyone is saying. The second activity is called the story of your name, and it comes from one of my favorite books for activities like this, Training to Imagine by Kat Koppett. It will take about one to two minutes per participant.
This activity is really powerful when everyone can hear everyone else’s story, but if you have a larger group, you can split them up into smaller groups if you need to. If possible, again, get everyone into a circle. Have each participant share the story of their name. Let them know that they can tell the story of their first name, their last name, a nickname, their middle name, whatever they like.
Model the process by going first, giving them an example. As a facilitator, it’s sometimes helpful, because you might be a little nervous, sometimes helpful just to have prepared it ahead of time. Then, they’re going to go around the circle, and you’ll help to facilitate, making sure that they’re passing it on to the next person. Allow people to pass, if they’re not yet ready.
Make sure that you’re asking them, “Hey, it’s okay if you’re not ready, we can come back to you.” If someone says they have no story about their name, then prompt them to share about that, or how they feel about their name. It’s okay if their story is short. I’ve had plenty of people say, “I don’t really have a story. My parents gave me this name.” That’s totally fine
actually. Make them feel comfortable that, that’s totally fine. I recommend, at least, debriefing with one or two questions, and here’s a couple to get you started. How did that feel? What’s the value of learning personal information about each other? Did you discover anything about yourself that you didn’t know? What did you learn about the group in general? Then finally, in what ways do you feel different from before we began the exercise? That’s it.
Bob: Thanks for guiding us through that, Jessica. I love the check-in question, and yes, this activity, I think is going to be really great. I’m anxious to use it.
Jessica: Thank you. I’ve seen that story of your name. I’ve seen both of those activities actually yield some really interesting results and connections. I really love helping people to connect differently beyond the, “How was your weekend?” Or, “What do you do?” Questions. I hope that this has been helpful.
Bob: That’s it for this episode. Thanks for joining us. We hope you’ll give this practice a try, and share your experience in the Practicing Connection LinkedIn group, where people supporting military families, practice the skills that empower us to work together, so that we can positively impact our communities, and help families thrive. You’ll find the link to the group on our website at oneop.org/practicingconnection. We’ll be back next week with another practice to help you be a better collaborator called Share Your Work. Until then, keep practicing.
Kalin Goble: The Practicing Connection podcast is a production of OneOp and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, US Department of Defense under award numbers 2019-48770-30366, and 2023-48770-41333.
[music]
[00:12:09] [END OF AUDIO]

Supporting Military Teens: Community Healthy Living and Food Security Programs
2023-12-07 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
Community support and education can have a great impact on bolstering food security. Our access to and relationship with food connects to our overall health, wellness, and lived experiences. Engaging military teens through programs focusing on food access, nutrition literacy, and healthy eating habits can equip kids with the knowledge to help them learn and grow.
One such community-based initiative is the Georgia 4-H VISTA AmeriCorps Summer program. Through this program, AmeriCorp Associates engage youth through 4-H Summer Health Squad lessons and support local communities with food security initiatives. Summer VISTA Associates deliver healthy living and food security lessons and engage community members with hands-on learning around topics like food access, addressing food insecurity, mindfulness and healthy eating, and other topics relevant to their unique area. Through this webinar learn about the goals and management of the AmeriCorps VISTA project, and receive examples of how to implement similar lessons in work with supporting families experiencing food insecurity. Join us to learn more about programs and initiatives bridging the gap between resources and teens and families needing those resources.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:

Describe the benefit and importance of addressing food security and health initiatives within communities
Identify ways to incorporate healthy living and food security initiatives locally
Discuss the AmeriCorps VISTA 4-H Partnership and identify resources offered through this partnership

Keri Gandy Hobbs serves as Senior Public Service Associate and Extension 4-H Specialist for the University of Georgia Extension – Georgia 4-H. In this role, she creates volunteer leadership resources and professional development opportunities for more than 5,500 volunteers annually. Keri was named the 2021 recipient of the distinguished UGA Public Service and Outreach Walter B. Hill Award. She holds a Master of Public Administration from Valdosta State University and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Georgia. She is a proud graduate of UGA’s Public Service and Outreach (PSO) Vivian H. Fisher Leadership Academy, the UGA Facilitation Academy, and the UGA PSO Scholarship Academy.
She has also served on the National Extension Conference on Volunteerism Planning Committee for four years and has served as the Principal Investigator of the AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) project for Georgia 4-H for the past six years, where she created the 4-H Summer Health Squads to address food insecurity. Keri has given 78 presentations for international and national audiences and is currently serving on the leadership team of the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program for Next Generation Agriculture. The following CE credits will be submitted for this session:

Certified Family Life Educators: This program has been approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.5 CE credits for CFLEs. Eligibility for CE will close on 12/7/28
Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) and Nutrition and Dietetic Technicians, Registered (NDTRs): This webinar is approved by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) for 1.5 CPEUs for RDNs and NDTRs. Eligibility for CE will close on 12/7/26
OneOp Certificates of Attendance are available for those interested in documenting additional professional development activities

Photo Credit: Kosamtu, iStock 876584068
Food Security in Focus
Take advantage of OneOp’s Food Security in Focus collection, offering live and on-demand programming related to food security.
Food Security in Focus

Energy & Engagement Tracking
2023-11-30
Subscribe to the “Practicing Connection” monthly email to keep up to date on our latest podcasts, blog posts and workshops.
Join the “Practicing Connection Community” on LinkedIn. The community is designed for people who support military families in a variety of settings both on installations and in our communities. JTNDZGl2JTIwaWQlM0QlMjJidXp6c3Byb3V0LXBsYXllci0xMzk5MTg2OCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmRpdiUzRSUzQ3NjcmlwdCUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmJ1enpzcHJvdXQuY29tJTJGMjA5OTk4MyUyRjEzOTkxODY4LWVuZXJneS1hbmQtZW5nYWdlbWVudC10cmFja2luZy5qcyUzRmNvbnRhaW5lcl9pZCUzRGJ1enpzcHJvdXQtcGxheWVyLTEzOTkxODY4JTI2cGxheWVyJTNEc21hbGwlMjIlMjB0eXBlJTNEJTIydGV4dCUyRmphdmFzY3JpcHQlMjIlMjBjaGFyc2V0JTNEJTIydXRmLTglMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZzY3JpcHQlM0U= (Season 4, Episode 14)
The more you understand about yourself, the better you’ll be able to align your life with the things that are really meaningful to you.
In this practicast, Practicing Connection co-host, Jessica Beckendorf, shares her experience with energy and engagement tracking, a practice adapted from Bill Burnett and Dave Evans’ book, “Designing Your Life.”
“Practicasts” are shorter episodes of the podcast highlighting a specific practice to help empower us to work together to improve our resilience and readiness.
Links

Energy & Engagement Tracking Activity Log
Designing Your Life (Book)

[music]
Bob Bertsch: The more you understand about yourself, the better you’ll be able to align your life with the things that are really meaningful to you. Hi, everyone. I’m Bob Bertsch. Welcome to this week’s Practicing Connection practicast, where we highlight a specific practice you can use in your personal and professional growth. This week’s practice is Energy and Engagement Tracking from Bill Burnett and Dave Evans’s book Designing Your Life. Here to share her experience with the practice is my practicing connection co-host Jessica Beckendorf.
Jessica Beckendorf: I love this activity. It has helped me to understand which activities, projects, and tasks I am most connected to. I’m excited to share my slightly modified version with all of you.
Bob: Can you tell us a little bit about Energy and Engagement Tracking?
Jessica: Absolutely. Energy and Engagement Tracking is all about reflecting on the activities, projects, and tasks that make you feel energized and engaged, and inflow, or some combination of all three. The goal here isn’t to ensure that everything you do is always energizing, engaging, and puts you in flow. The goal is to understand exactly what energizes and engages you and which tasks put you into flow and then examine how much time you’re spending doing the things that make you feel energized and engaged and the amount of time you’re spending on doing things that drain you.
When you have that, I guess, figured out, from there, you can figure out how you’re going to do more of what you love and a little bit less of what drains you. I know that this can sound almost impossible if you feel like you have no control over what you do or the tasks that you have in your work or frankly at home sometimes, but you do have some agency over your career or over some bigger picture pieces.
An example that Bill Burnett and Dave Evans share where an engineer realized what he loved to do and what drained him. Prior to doing this activity, he was considering going back to school for a business degree. After doing this activity, he realized it would’ve really been a big mistake because what he discovered was that he really loved engineering, so he ended up doubling down and getting an advanced degree in engineering instead.
He concentrated on an area that allowed him to solve complex problems because that’s the thing that he loved the most, was solving complex problems and minimizing the activities that were bogging him down like administrative details. I don’t know who loves administrative details, but I know that there are probably people who do.
Bob: Some people do.
Jessica: Yes. Sorry. Obviously, that is my own self coming out there. [laughs] I don’t love administrative details. What I like about using this activity to follow what lights you up, activity you mentioned or even a values exploration, you could also use this to follow up a values exploration, is that it helps you to see what you love to do in the context of what lights you up and the things that you value and care about.
Bob: I know you’ve done this tracking yourself. How has it helped you?
Jessica: Yes, I’ve gone through this activity a few times. Usually, I’ll go through the activity when I’m feeling a little bogged down, or sometimes when I’m feeling overwhelmed, or when I’m having trouble feeling motivated. I would say that the activity has helped me a few different ways. One way it has helped me is to see patterns in what I enjoy doing.
When I realized that I’m energized and engaged when I have a microphone in my hand, which is a little embarrassing to admit. [chuckles] I have to say it’s a little embarrassing. [laughs] When I looked at my energy and engagement tracker, I realized that my current job provided me with many opportunities to have a figurative microphone in my hand, even if it’s not usually a literal one.
Facilitating, for example. It helped me to see my facilitating work differently and enjoy it even more than I already did. I already love facilitating, but there were times when I just felt very drained by it depending on the circumstance. When I realized that facilitating was one path toward that thing I really love, which is I guess in a way entertaining or performing– When I realized that that was something– it was a pathway towards something I loved, it helped me to see facilitating even in those moments where it would’ve been more draining in the past.
It helped me to see those moments as something that I love as well. Another way this activity has helped me was to point out that I was spending a lot more time on things that really drained me. While I couldn’t rid myself of all of those tasks, there were a few I was able to pinpoint to identify and negotiate for someone else to take those tasks on, like being the primary point of contact for a small program that I ran. It drained me to think that I might be a bottleneck.
If I’m being honest, it drained me to know that I was a bottleneck. I was able to negotiate with one of our administrative staff to be the primary point of contact for that program, only involving me when there was a more complex issue that required my attention. For the things that I couldn’t offload, it was still really helpful to know that those tasks drained me because I could plan to do them when I had the most energy for them or I could plan to co-work with a colleague to make it a little more fun.
Bob: When we do this practice, how are we able to tell what gives us energy or gets us engaged, or at least, how did you tell that for yourself?
Jessica: This is a really good question. I think it’s probably a lot easier for some of us to know what drains us versus what gives us energy and puts us into a flow. I bet anyone listening, and I bet you can as well, think of some things off the top of your head that you hate doing. A lot of times these are the things that you procrastinate on. They’re the things that you can’t muster the energy to do because it drains your energy so much that you don’t even want to get started on it. Those are the things that you know will drain you. I want you to track those just as much as the things that give you energy and engagement.
How I knew is when I thought about the activities that made me feel energized and engaged. It was more of a gut reaction for me. I’ll give you a couple of clues. Reflecting back on how I felt doing that activity or working on that project, so really trying to immerse myself in that moment, even though the moment has passed, and really reflect back, “How did I feel doing that? How did I feel about the people I was working with, and how did it feel to work with them?”
For me, when I thought about an activity that made me feel energized or engaged, I just felt a little lighter. I maybe even smiled a little when I thought about it. Then, I would think about, “Okay, was it energizing or engaging or a little bit of both?” Then after I figured out what level I felt like I was energized or engaged, I would think about, “Okay, was that a flow activity?” I would remember the energy I was feeling in the moment and how it felt to engage in that activity.
I remembered how focused I was on the activity task or project. Those are the two main things to think about. How did you feel like? Were you energized by the task, or the project, or the activity? How did it feel to engage in that activity? Were you highly engaged? Were you sitting back and just listening? Then, how focused were you on the activity, task, or project?
If you weren’t very focused on it at all, then it was not a flow moment. I can tell you that. [chuckles] The questions to ask yourself when you think about flow is, were you so focused that the next time you looked at your clock, it was hours later and you only looked up because you were hungry? That’s a good sign that you found an activity that puts you in flow.
I would say most of the activities that I track, anytime I do this activity, most of them are not flow activities, but tracking when you’re in flow is still a really good way to tell which activities put you in flow.
There are a few activities though that were also contextual for me. Writing is one of those activities that seems to show up as an activity that gives me energy and really engages me. It can even put me in flow, but not always. It depends on what I’m writing, what mood I’m in, whether I’m feeling rushed by other projects, or whether I’m feeling overwhelmed in general. Sometimes, an activity could be contextual. I always have been a person who felt like writing was part of my identity. When I saw that I was drained by writing, it was disappointing. I just got curious about that, and I investigated that a little more, and I realized it was contextual.
Bob: I think it’s time to give this a try, Jessica. Would you mind walking us through the steps?
Jessica: Yes, of course. It’s really a pretty easy activity. I’ll walk you through it the way I like to practice it, which is a slight modification of how Bill Burnett and Dave Evans teach it. First, you’ll want to start a page in your journal or start a note in your favorite app or you can download the worksheet at the link that we provided in the show notes. Next, you’re going to reflect on your activities over the past three to four weeks.
Now, this is the way I do it. Sometimes, getting out your calendar and looking at the same time can help. If looking back three to four weeks is too long of a time period for you, you can instead just reflect on the past week, and then you can repeat the activity for the next 2-3 weeks so that you have a little more data to work with. On the far left of your page, you’re going to list the activities, tasks, and projects that you recall doing. I’m not talking about taking out the trash, although if you want to list it, you’re very welcome to do that. I’m talking about the activities, tasks, and projects that were more significant.
Then for each item on your list, you’re going to rate your energy level on a 1-5 scale, or of course, if you’re using the downloadable, there’s a little scale that you can use. Rate your energy level on a 1-5 scale with 1 being low. You’ll then rate your engagement level on a scale of 1-5, again with 1 being low. Write the word flow next to any activity for what you feel you might have been in flow. Again, flow is the state of being so energized and focused that you might even lose track of time. Next, once you have 3-4 weeks of data, take a look at it and see if you find any patterns, trends, or new insights. Think about what specifically contributed to your energy and engagement ratings.
For example, was it the meeting itself that was energizing, or was it something that happened at the meeting or something that you contributed to the meeting that was energizing for you? Was it because you were able to dig into something with no interruptions, or was it because there was a group of people involved and everyone was building on an idea together? Be as specific as it’s helpful for you to fully understand why an activity was draining or energizing and engaging.
Finally, brainstorm some ideas on how you can make some adjustments that will allow you to do a little more of what you love and a little less of what you don’t. You can take it a little further by imagining some bigger goals if you like. For now, just even small tweaks to our current situation could go a long way when we’re coming from a place of self-knowledge and intention.
Bob: Thanks for guiding us through that, Jessica.
Jessica: You’re welcome. I really enjoy this activity because it has been so eye-opening for me in the past.
Bob: That’s it for this episode. Thanks for joining us. We hope you’ll give this practice a try and share your experience in the practicing connection community on LinkedIn, where people supporting military families practice the skills that empower us to work together so that we can positively impact our communities and help families thrive. You’ll find the link to the community on our website at oneop.org/practicingconnection. We’ll be back next week with an in-depth podcast episode sharing reflections from some of our guests from the past years on the topic of finding balance. Until then, keep practicing.
Kalin Goble: The Practicing Connection Podcast is a production of OneOp and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Military, Family Readiness Policy, US Department of Defense, under award numbers 2019-48770-30366 and 2023-48770-41333.
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[00:13:35] [END OF AUDIO]

Grounding Chair Meditation
2023-11-23
Subscribe to the “Practicing Connection” monthly email to keep up to date on our latest podcasts, blog posts and workshops.
Join the “Practicing Connection Community” on LinkedIn. The community is designed for people who support military families in a variety of settings both on installations and in our communities. JTNDZGl2JTIwaWQlM0QlMjJidXp6c3Byb3V0LXBsYXllci0xMzk5MDI2NCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmRpdiUzRSUzQ3NjcmlwdCUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmJ1enpzcHJvdXQuY29tJTJGMjA5OTk4MyUyRjEzOTkwMjY0LWdyb3VuZGluZy1jaGFpci1tZWRpdGF0aW9uLmpzJTNGY29udGFpbmVyX2lkJTNEYnV6enNwcm91dC1wbGF5ZXItMTM5OTAyNjQlMjZwbGF5ZXIlM0RzbWFsbCUyMiUyMHR5cGUlM0QlMjJ0ZXh0JTJGamF2YXNjcmlwdCUyMiUyMGNoYXJzZXQlM0QlMjJ1dGYtOCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRnNjcmlwdCUzRQ== (Season 4, Episode 13)
When it comes to reducing the effects of stress on our bodies, a growing amount of research supports meditation as a practice that pays off in a big way.
In this practicast, Practicing Connection co-host, Bob Bertsch, guides us through a grounding chair meditation, a practice that can help reduce stress levels in the moment, while helping to restore calm.
“Practicasts” are shorter episodes of the podcast highlighting a specific practice to help empower us to work together to improve our resilience and readiness.
Links

Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress (Mayo Clinic)

[music]
Jessica Beckendorf: When it comes to reducing the effects of stress on our bodies, a growing amount of research supports meditation as a practice that pays off in a big way. Hi, everyone. This is Jessica, and welcome to this week’s Practicing Connection practicast, where we highlight a specific practice to help empower us to work together to improve our resilience and readiness. We’ll continue to share our monthly in-depth episode with you, but now, you can also listen in for a few minutes each week to get inspired by a new practice on the practicast. We hope you’ll give these practices a try and find them useful.
This week’s practice is a grounding chair meditation. This practice can help reduce stress levels in the moment while helping to restore calm. It’s easy to do and can take as little as two minutes or less. My Practicing Connection co-host, Bob Bertsch, will be guiding us through the practice in a few minutes, but first, let’s learn a little bit more about it. Hi, Bob.
Bob Bertsch: Hey, Jessica. I’m excited for this conversation. The grounding chair meditation is something I do often to help me when I’m feeling worried, or stressed out, or overwhelmed, and I am looking forward to sharing it on the practicast.
Jessica: I am too. It’s actually a practice that I have struggled with, but I do it anyway sometimes because even though I struggle with it, it still helps me in the moment. What has your experience been with this activity?
Bob: I’ve been practicing meditation for a little more than three years. It started during the pandemic, actually. Jessica got me started. Thank you for sending me the link to that app, and that really got me going. Grounding meditations like the one we’ll be sharing today are a regular part of my practice. They can be really important as a mindfulness practice because they’re designed to help you focus your attention.
I also am able to notice the benefits of grounding meditations a little bit more than other kinds of meditation. I can feel my stress level decrease a little bit, and I’ve noticed that I stay attentive to a task a little bit longer. In general, I practice meditation because I just want to be happier and be a better person, but the progress I’m making towards those goals isn’t always the most noticeable. It’s much easier to see the benefits I’m getting from grounding meditation, and that keeps me going on my meditation practice as well.
I also use grounding meditation in the moment when I’m feeling particularly stressed or overwhelmed. For example, if I’m in a meeting and something’s happening that’s making me feel anxious or angry, I just take a few seconds to pay attention to my body and its connection with the physical world. That can be feeling my hands touching the arms of my chair, or I might put my hands on the surface of my desk or the table in front of me, and just focus on the contact that I can feel there.
If I feel like I want to be maybe a little less obvious in my movements, if we’re in a face-to-face meeting, I might press my feet a little harder down on the floor, so I can feel that contact between the bottom of my feet and the floor, something physical. For me, paying attention to those points of contact reminds me that I exist, we all exist in a physical world, and that physical world is different than the world that we create in our minds.
Jessica: I’m curious to learn more about some of the research behind meditation. You clearly have had some benefits from it, but can you share a little bit about some of the research behind this?
Bob: Yes, so I’ll just highlight a few studies. There’s many studies out there about mindfulness practices, specifically. Meditation and mindfulness practices have been shown to decrease your perception of how much stress you’re feeling and increase your resilience. There was a study conducted with US Marine Corps reservists that showed participation in mindfulness programming was associated with fewer attention lapses when performing demanding tasks, so that’s the focus part. Especially with grounding meditation where we’re talking about how do we improve our concentration or our focus. A group of oncology nurses in the University of California San Diego Health System showed decreases in compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary trauma after practicing a structured meditation five days a week for four weeks. That’s just a few.
Jessica: I just have one last question before we get to the instructions. I’d like to talk a little bit about perfectionism in meditation. I know that when I began to use guided meditation, I struggled a little because sometimes, I was very comfortably lying down, for example, but the instructions were to sit up with a straight spine. I wondered if I was already starting the meditation out wrong and if I wouldn’t get the full benefits. I would say that my start to meditation was a little rocky and hit-and-miss because I didn’t– I would skip it for a while because I didn’t feel like sitting up in a dining room chair to do it. [chuckles]
Bob: Yes, I could completely get that. I think that it’s difficult any time that you have something that’s guided when you’re getting instructions, you feel like you want to follow the instructions and that you might be doing things wrong. There really isn’t any wrong way, no matter what the instructions are. I’m going to give some specific instructions about grounding meditation. All you really need to take away from it is I’m spending some time focusing on my contact with the physical world. You could be sitting up, or laying down, or standing, or walking, as long as you are focusing on that point of contact between your body and the physical world, you’re going to get some kind of benefit out of it.
Definitely don’t get caught up in, “Am I doing this right?” Focus maybe on the main point, which in this case, in grounding meditation, is just focusing on that contact with the physical world and let the other stuff fall away.
Jessica: Let’s get started. Bob, would you please walk us through this practice?
Bob: Sure. The first thing is that if you would like to or able to, sit down in a chair, on a bench. If you are sitting, having your feet touching the ground can be helpful, the ground or the floor. Now, if you’re comfortable with this, close your eyes. If you’re not comfortable closing your eyes, you’re not in a space where you’re comfortable closing your eyes, you can just soften your gaze, lower your gaze. I find it helpful to take a couple of deep breaths to relax and center myself on the practice. Breathe in deeply, and as you breathe out, try and let go of whatever was happening before you started this practice. If you feel any tension in your body, try to let that tension go as you breathe out, and soften the area around your eyes, soften the tension in your jaw, in your shoulders.
Now, if you can bring your attention to your body, think about how does your body feel sitting. We sit all the time without really being aware of how it feels to be sitting. The meditation teacher, Joseph Goldstein, uses the phrase, “Sit and know your sitting.” Try to feel the places where your body is contacting the chair or bench or whatever you are sitting or laying on. Feel your weight against the seat. How does that feel? Is the seat hard or soft? Are there sensations of warm or cold? What other sensations are there? Maybe some pressure or vibration.
Now, if your chair has a back, you can get that sense of sitting by feeling your back touching the back of the chair. If you’re on a bench or a stool, just try to feel your spine holding your body upright. Some teachers will recommend if you’re having trouble with that, to think about a string attached to the top of your head, pulling you up a little bit, so you can feel that uprightness.
Now, see if you can feel the texture of the material on the chair, whatever your chair or bench is made of. If your chair has arms, you can feel the surface of the arms. If not, reach down and touch the seat of the chair. How does that feel? Is it rough or smooth? Again, is it warm or cold? Can you feel any other sensations there? Maybe it’s vibrating.
Now that you’ve centered your body and gotten used to that contact to the physical world, press your feet lightly into the floor or ground. Just put a little bit of pressure onto your feet so you can feel the bottoms of your feet on the floor. Shift your awareness there and think about what you can feel there. Can you feel the increase in pressure? Is there any vibration? Maybe you feel something in your feet, whether it’s pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Sometimes some tightness, pressure, pain even. Focus on that feeling of your feet contacting the ground or the floor.
Now, imagine the weight draining from your mind and body. Whatever heaviness that you feel in your mind or feel in your body, feel that draining down your legs, and into your feet, and finally, into the ground. Take a moment to think about how does your mind feel after doing that. Do you feel lighter? Does your body feel lighter? Can you feel the sense of your weight flowing down through your body to the ground?
As we close the meditation, just take a few easy, slow breaths. When you’re ready, open your eyes if you had them closed, or look up, and return your awareness to your surroundings. A meditation practice like this can be helpful when you’re feeling stressed or a sense of being overwhelmed. It helps because you become aware of your body instead of getting lost in your mind. Thanks for practicing that with me.
Jessica: Wow. That was great, Bob. I have never experienced the weight flowing, that part of the exercise. I really appreciated that part of it. Thank you so much for guiding us through that.
Bob: Hey, you’re welcome. I really enjoy talking about meditation and mindfulness practices, so it was definitely my pleasure.
Jessica: That’s it for this episode. Thanks for joining us. We hope you’ll give this practice a try and share your experience in the Practicing Connection LinkedIn group, where people supporting military families practice the skills that empower us to work together, so that we can positively impact our communities and help families thrive. You’ll find the link to the group on our website at oneop.org/practicingconnection. We’ll be back next week with a practice to get to know yourself better called Energy Engagement Mapping. Until then, keep practicing.
Kalin Goble: The Practicing Connection podcast is a production of OneOp and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, US Department of Defense under award numbers 2019-48770-30366 and 2023-48770-41333.
[music]
[00:12:16] [END OF AUDIO]

What Lights You Up?
2023-11-16
Subscribe to the “Practicing Connection” monthly email to keep up to date on our latest podcasts, blog posts and workshops.
Join the “Practicing Connection Community” on LinkedIn. The community is designed for people who support military families in a variety of settings both on installations and in our communities. JTNDZGl2JTIwaWQlM0QlMjJidXp6c3Byb3V0LXBsYXllci0xMzk3OTE3NCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmRpdiUzRSUzQ3NjcmlwdCUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmJ1enpzcHJvdXQuY29tJTJGMjA5OTk4MyUyRjEzOTc5MTc0LXdoYXQtbGlnaHRzLXlvdS11cC5qcyUzRmNvbnRhaW5lcl9pZCUzRGJ1enpzcHJvdXQtcGxheWVyLTEzOTc5MTc0JTI2cGxheWVyJTNEc21hbGwlMjIlMjB0eXBlJTNEJTIydGV4dCUyRmphdmFzY3JpcHQlMjIlMjBjaGFyc2V0JTNEJTIydXRmLTglMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZzY3JpcHQlM0U= (Season 4, Episode 12)
In this practicast, Practicing Connection co-host, Bob Bertsch, guides us through how to use the question, “What Lights You Up?” to begin to find a sense of purpose. Research shows that having a sense of purpose boosts our resilience. And knowing your purpose can lead to better relationships and collaborations.
“Practicasts” are shorter episodes of the podcast highlighting a specific practice to help empower us to work together to improve our resilience and readiness.
Links

Working Out Loud
Lewis, N. and Hill, P. 2021. Sense of Purpose Promotes Resilience to Cognitive Deficits Attributable to Depressive Symptoms

[music]
Jessica Beckendorf: Research shows that having a sense of purpose boosts our resilience and knowing your purpose can lead to better relationships and collaborations. I’m Jessica Bettendorf and welcome to this week’s Practicing Connection Practicast, where we highlight a specific practice to help empower us to work together to improve our resilience and readiness. We’ll continue to share our monthly in-depth episode with you, but now you can also listen in for a few minutes each week to get inspired by a new practice on this practicast. We hope you’ll give these practices a try and find them useful.
This week’s practice is called What Lights You Up. It can help you discover and engage with your purpose in ways you may not have thought of yet. My practicing connection co-host, Bob Bertsch, will be guiding us through the practice in a few minutes, but first, let’s learn a little bit more about it. Hi, Bob.
Bob Bertsch: Hey, Jessica. This is a practice, What Lights You Up, that we’ve shared together in many workshops over the years, so I’m excited to be able to share it with our listeners on the practicast.
Jessica: Me too. Can you share a high-level overview of why this practice works and what it does to boost resilience for an individual, maybe the people they’re connected with, and even the larger community?
Bob: Sure. The first place that I came across this practice and the question, what lights you up, which is really the key part of the practice, was in John Stepper’s book Working Out Loud. In the working-out-loud process, that question is intended to help you identify a learning goal that really motivates you. You’d go through the work-out-loud process over a limited amount of time, and you would use what lights you up to discover that goal that was going to motivate you over that limited amount of time. Having that kind of intrinsic motivation can help you stick with the process when things become a little bit difficult or go off course a little bit, and having that kind of motivation is definitely an element of individual resilience.
Today, we’re going to be using what lights you up in more of a broad context. That’s going to help us not just identify a short or medium-term goal, but start to discover our sense of purpose. Sense of purpose is a protective factor in our resilience as well. It’s a factor that we can lean on throughout our lives. It’s not just short-term or medium-term. It can serve not just as an internal factor for our resilience, so sort of our own grit or stick to itiveness, but as an external one as well. Because for most of us anyway, our sense of purpose is going to involve things that are outside of ourselves. In order to act on that purpose, we need other people.
When we connect with others around a shared sense of purpose, that can support the resilience of each individual in the group, and also the resilience of the group itself. When we have groups of people connected around a positive pro-social purpose, that can boost community resilience as well, especially when those groups become connected with each other in a network of community support groups.
Jessica: One thing that comes up for me when I hear you talk about sense of purpose is values assessments or thinking about engaging in activities that bring you joy. How is this different from doing a values assessment and then focusing on your values or from engaging with an activity that brings you joy? How is this different?
Bob: Well, I think there’s definitely overlap between what lights you up and those practices. I think what lights you up is more focused on the journey toward your sense of purpose. When you think of values, I think of that as maybe the border around the area where our sense of purpose is going to reside. Our values are really intended to guide our actions, oftentimes like our day-to-day actions. Like I value honesty, so that means I’m going to try and tell the truth whenever possible. So we’re using those to guide our actions. We’re definitely probably not going to have a sense of purpose that falls outside of our values. In that sense, those values provide that border of where we’re looking when we’re trying to find that sense of purpose.
When we think about making a list of things that bring us joy, for instance, we definitely see that come up. When we’re using this practice in a workshop, participants will often come up with things that bring them joy as they’re trying to list those things that light them up. But again, those things may or may not lead you to a sense of purpose. Hot coffee on a cool fall morning, or walking on the beach, these are things you could definitely see on someone’s list of things that bring them joy, but they don’t necessarily lead you to a sense of purpose.
Jessica: Would you mind walking us through the practice?
Bob: Sure, I’d be glad to. First, let’s find a quiet place where we can spend at least 10 minutes or so without being interrupted. Get a piece of paper, something to write with. Then the core to bring us to the task, let’s take a deep breath, center ourselves a little bit on what we’re about to do, and set the intention of thinking about what lights us up. If your mind is distracted, like you have some things coming up, or some things that just happened before you started doing this, I find it helpful to jot some of those things down maybe on a post-it note. Just writing those thoughts down can help you let go of them and help you focus on the task at hand.
With our piece of paper on one side, write down your societal and familial roles. Those are things like spouse, parent, child, sibling, employee, supervisor, any role that is put upon you by society, or through your family relationships. We do that because when we’re thinking about what lights us up, some of the things that often come up are things related to those societal and familial roles. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Sometimes those things end up being related to our answer of what lights us up, but in my experience, it’s really helpful to find an answer that is not related to your roles. The reason is because those roles can change. We want our answers to the question what lights us up, to be a touchstone for us even if we stop being a spouse or when our children become adults, or we change jobs. Having those roles written down on the paper will help you think about whether your answers are tied to those roles or tied to something more centered in your own identity.
All right. Now that we have the roles written down, let’s start to think about what lights us up. If that question isn’t sparking anything for you, you can try the question I learned from Jessica, what’s my jam or, when do I feel in flow? Another way to start finding what lights you up is to make a list of things that make you happy. We talked about a list of things that bring you joy, but a list of things that made you happy when you were a kid, or a list of things that bring you joy now can be really helpful if you’re feeling stuck. Often there are things on those lists that point you toward your answer of today, now, what lights me up?
As potential answers come to mind, just write them down. Don’t worry if they’re not fully formed or they don’t feel exactly right, the point is just to get them down on paper. Once you have at least one, two, maybe a few more potential answers written down, take some time to read through them, circle or underline words or phrases that really resonate with you, and cross out anything that doesn’t feel right for you. See if you can use what’s on your paper to finish the phrase, “I light up when I–” Again, don’t worry if this doesn’t sound exactly right right now, you can continue to work on it or even change it completely later.
Well here’s my answer to what lights you up, as an example. I light up when I can help people come together as equals to work toward positive social change. Just as a note, that’s a phrase that came to me over time doing the what lights me up practice, thinking about what really is at the core, the sense of purpose in the things that were coming up for me when I answered the question, what lights me up, and it evolved over time. That answer may come fully formed to you as you go through this practice today or it might lead you in a direction that you can follow and eventually lead you to that answer of what lights you up.
When you feel ready, you’ve got some answers, you’ve looked them over, take a moment to pat yourself on the back for the work you’ve done today, of taking time to think about this and start a journey towards your sense of purpose. You’ve gotten to know yourself a little bit better and hopefully, get on a path to a sense of purpose that will help you sustain and build your resilience over time.
Jessica: Awesome. Thank you so much. That’s it for this episode. Thanks again for joining us. We hope you’ll give this practice a try and share your experience in the Practicing Connection LinkedIn group, where people supporting military families practice the skills that empower us to work together so we can positively impact our communities and help families thrive. You’ll find the link to the group on our website at oneop.org/practicingconnection. We’ll be back next week with a practice to ease stress and get to know yourself better called Grounding Chair Meditation. Until then, keep practicing.
Kalin Goble: The Practicing Connection Podcast is a production of OneOp and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture and the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, US Department of Defense under award numbers 2019-48770-30366 and 2023-48770-41333.
[music]
[00:11:13] [END OF AUDIO]

Using the Feeling Wheel to Know Your Emotions
2023-11-07 06:02 (America/Chicago)
Subscribe to the “Practicing Connection” monthly email to keep up to date on our latest podcasts, blog posts and workshops.
Join the “Practicing Connection Community” on LinkedIn. The community is designed for people who support military families in a variety of settings both on installations and in our communities. JTNDZGl2JTIwaWQlM0QlMjJidXp6c3Byb3V0LXBsYXllci0xMzkyNTAyOCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmRpdiUzRSUzQ3NjcmlwdCUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmJ1enpzcHJvdXQuY29tJTJGMjA5OTk4MyUyRjEzOTI1MDI4LXVzaW5nLXRoZS1mZWVsaW5nLXdoZWVsLXRvLWtub3cteW91ci1lbW90aW9ucy5qcyUzRmNvbnRhaW5lcl9pZCUzRGJ1enpzcHJvdXQtcGxheWVyLTEzOTI1MDI4JTI2cGxheWVyJTNEc21hbGwlMjIlMjB0eXBlJTNEJTIydGV4dCUyRmphdmFzY3JpcHQlMjIlMjBjaGFyc2V0JTNEJTIydXRmLTglMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZzY3JpcHQlM0U= (Season 4, Episode 11)
In this practicast, Practicing Connection co-host, Jessica Beckendorf, guides us through how to use the Feeling Wheel, a free, printable resource, to help us identify what we are feeling. Knowing and naming your feelings can be really helpful for allowing yourself to feel it, reflecting to pinpoint the cause, knowing what actions you can take to help regulate the feeling a bit, and deepening relationships by accurately communicating your feelings when you need to.
“Practicasts” are shorter episodes of the podcast highlighting a specific practice to help empower us to work together to improve our resilience and readiness.
Links

The Feeling Wheel (PDF download) from All the Feelz

[music]
Bob Bertsch: Hi, and welcome to Practicing Connection. I’m Bob Bertsch. This is our first-ever practicast, a shorter episode of the podcast highlighting a specific practice to help empower us to work together to improve our resilience and readiness. Each month, we’ll continue to share our longer episodes with you, but now you can listen each week in between those longer episodes to get inspired by a new practice on the practicast. We hope you’ll give these practices a try and find them useful. In this episode, my practicing connection co-host, Jessica Beckendorf, will be guiding us through how to use the Feeling Wheel, a free printable resource to help us identify what we are feeling. Hi, Jessica, how are you doing?
Jessica Beckendorf: Hi, Bob. I’m doing pretty great because I’m so excited to be sharing this practice with our listeners. It’s a really great practice for getting to know yourself better, and that’s one of the ways that I’ve used it myself.
Bob: Well, I’m really excited to hear more about it. Can you tell us how using the Feeling Wheel can help us feel better?
Jessica: Yes. Not knowing your emotions can make it really difficult for you to know how to feel through an emotion. I think we’re always hearing like, “Feel your feelings,” but when you don’t know exactly what that feeling is, it actually can make it really difficult for you to do that. It can make it difficult to understand what actions to take in order to help regulate your emotions a bit.
Sometimes our emotions might cause us to do or say something unhelpful or even damaging. Knowing and naming the exact emotions you’re feeling that are causing the physiological symptoms you might be having can be really helpful for actually allowing yourself to feel it. Then reflecting to pinpoint the cause, like why you’re feeling what you’re feeling and then knowing what actions you can take to help regulate the feeling a bit. This can help deepen relationships also by accurately communicating your feelings when you need to.
Bob: Yes, I definitely can think of times when I said something at work or at home without being aware of the emotion I was feeling, and it maybe was not particularly helpful. How did you learn about the Feeling Wheel?
Jessica: I first learned about it from actually a multicultural awareness workshop, but then it kept showing up in other ways. I took an emotional intelligence workshop where I learned even more how to use it. If you’re not familiar with emotional intelligence workshops, there’s an assessment that you can take, and my results showed pretty accurately that I’m not great at identifying my emotions.
I’m really good at social awareness and telling what everyone else in the room is feeling modifying myself and going and helping everyone else, but I’m not great at identifying my own emotions. This was a little surprising to me because I’m generally pretty self-aware, but I never realized that I just labeled my emotions as good or bad without fully understanding them until I was at this workshop, in my upper 30s. This was pretty late that I was really realizing this.
For example, not long before I attended this workshop, a colleague had been in a terrible accident which rendered them unable to work any longer. Someone who had been in the office I’d been seeing five days a week was no longer there. It was devastating to everyone at our office, even those of us who were newer, and I was one of the newer people. I thought I had been feeling sad about what happened, but through an activity at this workshop that utilized the feeling wheel, I realized that while I was definitely sad for my colleague and for their family, what I was actually feeling that was affecting me personally was fear.
Essentially my ground was shaky because I realized that an accident like that could happen to me or someone in my house. This was a really key distinction, this key distinction between feeling sad or feeling fear because I wasn’t getting the support that I needed as someone who was scared. Because I thought I was sad, I didn’t even know how to talk about what I needed.
What I ended up doing was really isolating myself a little to cry and to be sad in my feelings. I didn’t even know how to talk about it, much less actually how I was feeling. It certainly didn’t help those who were trying to support me to know how they could best support me in that moment. The feeling wheel after that became such an important tool for me and has become an important tool to the participants in the emotional intelligence workshops that I now teach.
Bob: Can you give us an example of when you might use this practice? Are we pulling the feeling wheel out all the time? Is there just certain situations where it’s helpful?
Jessica: Yes, that’s a really good question. I would recommend starting out by using it just to identify emotions. Even if you’re confident that you know what you’re feeling, take a look anyway and pinpoint the word. If you’re not sure what you’re feeling but maybe you recognize that you’re feeling something, like maybe your face and neck are flushed. For me, my neck and my chest get red and hot. Maybe your forehead is furrowed or tense and you can’t seem to loosen that tension. Maybe you’re feeling some tension in your neck, shoulders, or back, or whatever physiological symptoms show up for you.
If you’re like I was when I started, you might use this when you recognize that you’re feeling something, “Bad,” but you’re having a hard time pinpointing what kind of bad. Or maybe you’re just feeling a little lost or stuck, that’s another good time to pull out the feelings wheel. You don’t have to pull it out, to answer your question, you don’t have to pull it out for every single thing. I would just start when you’re feeling these physiological symptoms and you’re not sure what to do with it.
Bob: Yes, that sounds helpful and really right. Those times I can think of where you’re wondering like, “What’s going on with me right now?” I’m just not sure where, like you said, the physiological things are coming from or just how maybe you’re feeling inside and you’re just not sure how to put a name to it. I think it’d be really great if you could walk us through the practice of using the feeling wheel. Would you mind doing that for us?
Jessica: Yes, of course. Like we’ve been saying, using the feeling wheel can help us practice recognizing our emotions as they arise, and recognizing our emotions can lead to a deeper understanding of ourselves and better communication and deeper connections with those we work and live with. There are different versions of this feeling wheel. If you wouldn’t did a search online, you would find many different versions.
The wheel that I’m using today was adopted from the work of Dr. Gloria Wilcox in 1982. Probably a lot of the ones that you see out there have been adapted from this work. This tool is arranged in concentric circles with pie slices, breaking the circles up into different sections like wedge sections. What are considered the core emotions are located at the center. These are things like mad, sad, scared, powerful, joyful, and peaceful.
With different intensities of these emotions that are located on the outer layers of the circle. We’ll provide a copy of the feeling wheel that I use in the show notes for this episode at oneop.org/podcast. All right. Now, the first step is to have a printed or digital copy of a feeling wheel at your fingertips. There are even some apps you can download to help. Some participants in my workshops have told me that they like to keep a copy next to their desk. Others have told me that they keep a copy on their phone. Or again, an app would work for that as well. Whatever works best for you will be perfect.
Step two then is using the wheel. When you’re feeling something that you can’t pinpoint, use it to identify exactly what’s coming up for you. We brought up earlier these physiological symptoms that you might have furrowed brows, tension in your neck, shoulders, back, or your face or your chest, heating up and becoming red. Whatever it is for you. Clammy Hands is another good one. Step two is using it when you’re feeling these things.
Third, reflect on what happened that brought the feeling up. You find the feeling on the wheel and then you think, “Okay, well what exactly brought this up? What happened? Who was involved? Why is this feeling emerging in this situation?” Then finally, when you’re ready, and this is optional, the feeling wheel we’re using today is organized. Once you pinpoint the emotion you’re feeling, you can look to the wedge that’s on the opposite side of the wheel and use those emotions to find some action that you can take to help you bridge from a feeling that maybe is not very helpful to you in that moment, to one that can be a little more helpful to you.
Or at least to bring you to a more of a state of calm. More of a state of like, “Okay, I can get through this. I’m going to get through the rest of my workday. I’m going to process this more. In the meantime, I’m going to do something that will help me allow myself to breathe through this or stay with this feeling.” A quick recap. First, have a copy ready. Second, use the wheel when you’re feeling those physiological symptoms. Third, reflect on what happened, why was that feeling emerging in that situation.
Then, if it’s relevant to you in the moment, try to look to the opposite side of the wedges and find something, an activity that you can do that might bring you a little bit more sense of calm in the moment.
Bob: That’s awesome, Jess. Thanks so much for guiding us through that. The Feeling wheel just seems like a really helpful tool.
Jessica: It has been for me. It’s helped me to know myself so much better to get the help I need when I need it, and it’s helped me to improve my personal and working relationships by helping me communicate more clearly. I hope this practice is as useful for all the listeners here as it has been for me.
Bob: That’s it for this episode. Thanks so much for joining us. We hope you’ll give this practice a try and share your experience in the Practicing Connection Community LinkedIn Group where people supporting military families practice the skills that empower us to work together so that we can positively impact our communities and help families thrive. You’ll find the link to the group on our website at one op.org/practicingconnection. We’re gonna be back next week with another practicast with another practice for knowing yourself better called What Lights You Up. Until then, keep practicing.
Kalin Goble: The Practicing Connection Podcast is a production of OneOp and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, US Department of Defense under award numbers 209-48770-30366 and 2023-48770-41333.
[00:11:38] [END OF AUDIO]

Weaving Community Safety Nets for Youth
2023-11-02 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for adolescents in the United States. Research indicates that adolescents in military families have higher rates of suicidal behaviors than their non-military peers. However, many suicides are preventable. We can intentionally build, mobilize, and maintain protective factors, recognize and respond to warning signs, and sustain a safety net of connection in our communities to better support military children, adolescents, and their families.
This webinar explores the who and how of building a safety net for youth who may be at risk for suicide. Discussions include thinking comprehensively about how communities can work collaboratively with military service providers and mental health services to support military youth and families. This presentation focuses on understanding the risk factors and warning signs, mobilizing protective factors in your community, and creating a collaborative support network. The presenter discusses key questions such as: Who is already involved? Who is appropriate to include? What is their role and readiness? Who can give consent? How do we get started?
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:

List warning signs of suicide risk in youth
Discuss factors that are protective against suicide and how to mobilize them
Describe collaborative safety planning for a youth who is at risk for suicide
Identify steps toward building a collaborative network of supportive adults and services

Dr. Terresa Humphries-Wadsworth, licensed psychologist and highly experienced public speaker, is an expert in mental health promotion, suicide prevention and postvention, and behavioral health crisis care. Dr. Humphries-Wadsworth provides subject matter expertise to states and territories that are working to prevent suicide among military service members, veterans, and their families. She has over 25 years of clinical experience providing mental health services in remote, rural, and urban settings and has a deep commitment to improving outcomes for individuals with suicide risk and their families. The following CE credits are available for this session:

Certified Family Life Educators: This program has been approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.5 CE credits for CFLEs. *Note: Eligibility for CE credit will close 11/2/28
OneOp Certificates of Attendance are available for those interested in documenting additional professional development activities.

Photo Credit: SDI Productions, iStock ID 1162213391

Reduce Your Risk of Cognitive Decline as You Age
2023-11-01 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
Cognitive decline is a source of fear and mystery for many adults, especially older adults. However, confronting that fear and solving that mystery may be easier than you think. Research on memory has started to focus less on the mechanics of the brain and more on understanding how lifestyle factors, including nutrition, chronic conditions, emotional health, and brain training, among others, may influence memory function and performance. Join us as we discuss cognitive decline in the context of lifestyle choices and habits that may help to reduce your risk for a diagnosis later in life and give you confidence that you are more “in control” than you might imagine when it comes to brain health.
Learning Objectives:

Examine broad aspects of cognitive decline.
Identify nutrition as a protective lifestyle choice for brain health.
Engage in training exercises to support brain function.

Senior Program Specialist, Gerontology & Health
Family & Community Health
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
As Extension Program Specialist – Gerontology and Health at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Andy Crocker’s focus is the health and well-being of older adults. His main role is to support the County Extension Agents for Family and Community Health in their efforts to educate older adults, caregivers, and the professionals who serve them. Since joining AgriLife Extension in 2003, Mr. Crocker has worked to develop resources to help older adults improve their health literacy through communication with their health provider and better medication management; navigate the Internet and access reliable health information; and provide information and referral to grandparents rearing their grandchildren.

Professor & Extension Specialist
Department of Nutrition
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Jenna Anding, PhD, RDN, LD is currently a Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Nutrition. A registered and licensed dietitian, Jenna has more than 20 years of experience in developing and evaluating Extension education programs on topics that include food preservation, food safety, and nutrition. Over her career, Jenna has secured more than $50 million dollars in contracts, grants, and gifts to support AgriLife Extension programming efforts. More recently Jenna has worked collaboratively with faculty members in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to secure funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand her work into community development to address healthy food access and opportunities for increasing physical activity.

Certified in Family and Consumer Sciences (CFCS): This course is approved for 1.0 CE credits from the American Association for Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) for CFCS. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 11/1/25
Certified Nutrition and Wellness Educator (CNWE): This course is approved for 1.0 CE credits from the American Association for Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) for CNWE. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 11/1/25
Certified Family Life Educators: This program has been approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.5 CE credit for CFLEs. Eligibility for CE will close on 11/1/28
Social Work, LPC, LMFT: Programming approval for 1.0 CE credits is approved for Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists from the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work. Check with your state licensing agency for reciprocity and/or credit approval if licensed for other professions or in one of the following states: CO, FL, HI, IA, KS, KY, NY, ND, OH, OK Eligibility for CE credit will close on 11/1/25
Board Certified Patient Advocates: This program is approved by The Patient Advocate Certification Board to provide continuing education credit to Board Certified Patient Advocates (BCPA). The course has been approved for a total of 1.0 CE contact hour, of which 0.0 are in the area of Ethics. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 11/1/25
Registered Dietitian Nutritionists: This program is approved for 1.0 CPEU from the Commission on Dietetic Registration for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists and Dietetic Technicians, Registered. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 11/1/26

Certificates of Attendance are available for providers interested in documenting their training activities.

Photo Credit: iStockphoto/stefanamer

Military Teen Experiences and Food Security
2023-10-26 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
The lack of adequate access to the appropriate selection, quality, or amount of food to maintain a healthy lifestyle has the potential to take both a physical and mental toll on developing teens. In 2023, military teens shared their experiences regarding food insecurity in the National Military Family Association (NMFA) Military Teen Experience Survey. Of the 939 NMFA survey respondents ages 13 through 19, over one-third (37%) reported experiencing some level of food insecurity within the past 30 days.
This webinar highlights emergent data around military teens’ experiences and the impacts of food security on their lives. Presenters also discuss BLOOM: Empowering the Military Teen, a resource created by military teens for military teens. This network’s goal is to connect teens to each other, create space for them to talk about their unique experiences, and find support from fellow military teens. Additionally, presenters share current advocacy efforts to combat food insecurity in the uniformed services.
Learning Objectives:

Describe statistics around military teens and their experiences of food insecurity
Identify how food insecurity may affect a teen’s mental well-being and daily life
Examine NMFA resources for teen support (i.e. BLOOM network)
Discuss how local communities, states, and the federal government can respond

Aspen Bergmann is a dedicated professional with a passion for understanding the needs of the military community. With a background in research from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and University of Kentucky, Aspen has honed her skills during her time at the Department of Defense and the National Military Family Association. Aspen’s contributions to NMFA’s Research and Insights team have been instrumental in providing crucial data to inform programming and advocacy. As a military spouse herself, she has experienced first-hand the unique challenges faced by her community and remains committed to protecting their wellbeing and creating meaningful change for military families nationwide. Once upon a time, Raleigh was a journalist… but then she logged into Facebook, got distracted, and became a social media geek. She’s passionate about public relations, social media, and the power of social technologies to build authentic relationships that lift up a community. Raleigh holds a B.A. from Barnard College and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University. She and her husband, a Marine Corps Officer, have three small children, a dog, and more moving stickers stuck on their furniture than they can count. Eileen Huck became Deputy Director in the Government Relations Department in October, 2012 after previously holding positions in the Youth Initiatives and Development Departments. In her role as Government Relations Deputy Director, Eileen monitors issues relevant to the quality of life of families of the uniformed services. Her primary area of focus is health care, to include the Military Health System, TRICARE, and behavioral health care. In this capacity, she serves as the co-chair of The Military Coalition’s (TMC) Health Care Committee and as the Association’s representative on the TRICARE for Kids Coalition. Eileen also handles issues related to wounded warriors and military caregivers. She has been recognized for her work advocating on behalf of military-connected children by the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS) and the Military Impacted Schools Association (MISA).

Certified Family Life Educators: This program has been approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.0 CE credit for CFLEs. Eligibility for CE will close on 10/26/28
Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) and Nutrition and Dietetic Technicians, Registered (NDTRs): This webinar is approved by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) for 1.0 CPEUs for RDNs and NDTRs. Eligibility for CE will close on 10/26/26
OneOp Certificates of Attendance are available for those interested in documenting additional professional development activities.

NMFA – Military Teen Food Insecurity Report Photo Credit: Photo by Ron Lach from Pexels
Food Security in Focus
Take advantage of OneOp’s Food Security in Focus collection, offering live and on-demand programming related to food security.
Food Security in Focus

The Importance of Nutrition in Breast Cancer Survivorship
2023-10-25 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States; fortunately, survival rates continue to improve over time. A breast cancer diagnosis often raises many questions and concerns about diet and nutrition. Do you know the latest in nutrition issues that occur during breast cancer treatment and how they may differ from those occurring after treatment?
This webinar provides information on nutrition and lifestyle issues that can arise during breast cancer treatment and survivorship. The presentation includes strategies to help providers working with families manage these issues and provides a review of current evidence on nutrition recommendations for breast cancer survivors.
Learning Objectives:

Identify diet and nutrition issues for breast cancer survivors.
Discuss strategies to manage nutrition issues for breast cancer survivors.
Review current evidence on nutrition recommendations for breast cancer survivors.

Whitney Warminski, RD, CSO, LD
Clinical Dietitian
BSA Harrington Cancer Center
Whitney Warminski, RD, CSO, LD is a Board-Certified Specialist in Oncology Nutrition. Whitney has more than 10 years of experience in oncology nutrition where the main focus of her work is to help oncology patients maintain and improve their nutrition status during cancer treatment. She works as a clinical dietitian in an ambulatory cancer center and also teaches nutrition classes at a local cancer survivorship center.

Certified in Family and Consumer Sciences (CFCS): This course is approved for 1.0 CE credits from the American Association for Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) for CFCS. Eligibility for CE credit will close 10/25/25
Certified Nutrition and Wellness Educator (CNWE): This course is approved for 1.0 CE credits from the American Association for Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) for CNWE. Eligibility for CE will close on 10/25/25
Social Work, LPC, LMFT: Programming approval for 1.0 CE credits has been obtained for Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists from the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work. Check with your state licensing agency for reciprocity and/or credit approval if licensed for other professions or in one of the following states: CO, FL, HI, IA, KS, KY, NY, ND, OH, OK Eligibility for CE will close on 10/25/25
Board Certified Patient Advocates: This program has been approved by The Patient Advocate Certification Board to provide continuing education credit to Board Certified Patient Advocates (BCPA). The course has been approved for a total of 1.0 CE contact hour, of which 0.0 are in the area of Ethics. Eligibility for CE will close on 10/25/25
Registered Dietitian Nutritionists: This program is approved for 1.0 CPEU from the Commission on Dietetic Registration for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists and Dietetic Technicians, Registered. Eligibility for CE will close on 10/25/26
Certified Family Life Educators (CFLE): This program has been approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.5 CE credits for CFLEs. Eligibility for CE will close on 10/25/28
Certificates of Attendance are available for providers interested in documenting their training activities.

Photo Credit: iStock/FatCamera

Addressing Maladaptive Grief Reactions Among Youth
2023-10-19 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
A “one-size-fits-all” approach to grief support is typically ineffective. Thus, it is a critical task of service providers to determine which type of grief support (e.g., peer support and individual therapy) and practice elements are most appropriate based on the unique needs and strengths of the children they serve. Using Multidimensional Grief Theory as a guide, this presentation describes evidence-based, trauma-and grief-informed assessment tools that can support grieving youth, especially those exposed to the death of a loved one by suicide.
This session describes assessment and interventions for youth who have experienced traumatic loss. Suggestions are provided for how to implement these practices with military families. The webinar also includes an opportunity to discuss the “cost of caring” and strategies to promote resilience for service providers.
Learning Objectives:

Identify trauma-and grief-informed assessment tools that can be used for risk screening, case conceptualization, and treatment planning
Understand specific practice elements that can be used to address trauma and grief in youth
Recognize the distinction between trauma-informed and grief-informed practices
Define differences between secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout, as well as how to recognize these in themselves and others

Stacey is a Licensed Clinical Social Work Supervisor and Registered Play Therapist with over fifteen years of experience providing trauma-informed therapy to people of all ages. She serves as the Assistant Director of Training with the Trauma and Grief Center at The Hackett Center for Mental Health.
Throughout her career, she has provided individual, group, and family psychotherapy to children, adolescents, and adults who are experiencing a wide range of mental health issues, but she is most passionate about working with those impacted by complex trauma and traumatic stress. Stacey is a certified Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) clinician and is trained in providing a variety of evidence-based therapeutic interventions such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy, Trauma and Grief Component Therapy for Adolescents (TGCTA), and Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT). She is also a Strong Star Certified Provider for Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT).

Certified Family Life Educators: This program is approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.5 CE credits for CFLEs. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 10/19/28
OneOp Certificates of Attendance are available for those interested in documenting additional professional development activities.

Webinar Slides Handout *This webinar is Part 2 with experts from Trauma and Grief Center at The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute around childhood traumatic loss and grief. Watch Part 1, Understanding Childhood Traumatic Loss Through the Lens of Multidimensional Grief Theory.

Photo Credit: Photo by cottonbro studio from Pexels

Understanding Childhood Traumatic Loss Through the Lens of Multidimensional Grief Theory
2023-10-12 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
The death of a loved one in childhood is one of the most common adversities that an individual may face, with an estimated 6 million children experiencing the death of a parent or sibling before the age of 18 (Childhood Bereavement Estimate Model National Report, 2023). While most bereaved youth are resilient, research shows that, for some, bereavement can adversely affect long-term functioning in multiple life domains.
Traumatic losses or stigmatized deaths, such as suicide, can amplify psychological distress in grieving youth. Military service providers are uniquely positioned to help support children facing suicide-related losses. This webinar describes manifestations of trauma and grief in children, how their intersection can impact learning and behavior, and how to know when a grieving child is in need of therapeutic intervention.
Learning Objectives:

Describe Multidimensional Grief Theory and Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide
Identify the three dimensions of grief
Understand specific bereavement-related challenges among youth exposed to suicide death
Recognize the differences between traumatic stress reactions, grief reactions, trauma reminders and loss reminders

Dr. Julie Kaplow is a licensed clinical psychologist, board certified in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Dr. Kaplow serves as Executive Vice President of Trauma and Grief Programs and Policy at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute and Executive Director of the Trauma and Grief (TAG) Center at The Hackett Center for Mental Health in Houston. She is also Executive Director of the TAG Center at Children’s Hospital New Orleans and Professor of Psychiatry at Tulane University School of Medicine. In these roles, she oversees the development and evaluation of treatments for traumatized and bereaved youth and disseminates trauma- and bereavement-informed “best practices” to community providers nationwide.

Certified Family Life Educators: This program is approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.5 CE credits for CFLEs. Eligibility for CE credit will close 10/12/28
OneOp Certificates of Attendance are available for those interested in documenting additional professional development activities.

*This webinar is Part 1 with experts from Trauma and Grief Center at The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute around childhood traumatic loss and grief. Watch Part 2, Addressing Maladaptive Grief Reactions Among Youth.
Photo Credit: Photo by Lenin Estrada from Pexels

Disordered Eating and Body Image Disturbance in the Military
2023-10-05 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
Service members experience disordered eating and body image disturbance at a higher rate than the general population which can have a significant, negative impact on service members’ readiness and performance. This presentation teaches Registered Dietitian Nutritionists and other health care providers the best practices to identify and manage disordered eating and body image disturbance. It empowers service providers to identify signs and symptoms and provides tools to support service members experiencing these struggles.
Learning Objectives:

Describe the prevalence of disordered eating and body image disturbance in a military population.
Identify common signs and symptoms of disordered eating and body image disturbance.
Explain the impact of disordered eating on individual readiness and performance.
Give two examples of assessment tools and two examples of intervention strategies for service members experiencing disordered and body image disturbance.

CPT Stephanie Meno is the Army’s Nutrition Domain Lead for the Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) program at the Center for Initial Military Training, Fort Eustis, Virginia. Priscilla Rumph is a Registered Dietitian on the Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) Team at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. CPT Maria Stukenborg is the Holistic Health and Fitness Nutrition Program Director at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.

Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) and Nutrition and Dietetic Technicians, Registered (NDTRs): This webinar is approved for the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) for 1.5 CPEUs for RDNs and NDTRs. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 10/5/26
Certified Family Life Educators: This webinar is approved for 1.5 CE credits from the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR). Eligibility for CE credit will close on 10/5/28
OneOp Certificates of Attendance will be available for those interested in documenting additional professional development activities.

Webinar Resources Photo Credit: Pexels by Matthew Hintz

Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders and Military Life
2023-09-28 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
About This Webinar:
Parental mental health during pregnancy, the postpartum period, and the early years of parenthood can have critical long-term effects on expectant mothers, their babies, and their family as a whole. Supporting the well-being of mothers directly impacts the well-being of their babies and families. This webinar provides an in-depth discussion of perinatal mental health, including postpartum depression (PPD), anxiety, and other mood disorders experienced during pregnancy and the first year after giving birth, and the unique experiences among military families.
Throughout this webinar, presenters discuss how providers can broach the topic of mental health with parents, the importance of early identification, and how to support military families in seeking help. Join this session as we highlight ways to reduce the stigma associated with maternal and paternal mental health and promote a supportive culture in the military community.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:

Define perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) that may be experienced during pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenthood, including signs, symptoms, and treatment options
Explore unique vulnerability factors and symptoms of maternal and paternal depression and anxiety in military families.
Discuss preventive strategies families and providers can use to support maternal/parental mental health.
Identify resources and practical steps to address mental health concerns for military families.

*This webinar is Part 2 of Supporting Maternal Mental Health and Well-being with experts from Zero to Three. Watch Part 1 on the event page, Navigating Early Parenthood and Military Life.
Presenters
Summer Jones is a Senior Writer and Training Specialist for Military Family Projects at ZERO TO THREE. In this role she provides training and consultation for Army New Parent Support Program’s Home Visitors, supporting their work with military-connected parents. She has facilitated numerous webinars, lives, and distal trainings for multi-disciplinary professionals.
She is endorsed as an Infant Mental Health Mentor, Policy. She is an experienced home visitor, supervising and managing a counseling program that provided in-home mental health services and parent education to mothers who are screened as at-risk for depression. She has also provided programmatic and technical support to states, territories, tribes, and communities implementing federally-funded grants and programs supporting early childhood development, mental health, well-being, and education.
Jennifer Novak is the Senior Writer/Training Specialist for Military Family Projects at ZERO TO THREE. She has a specialty focus on the needs of children and families impacted by trauma and applies a trauma-informed lens in creating these tools. She provides training and technical assistance to professionals and develops evidence-based resources designed to support military families with young children.
As a former military spouse for ten years, she brings personal experience and knowledge of the issues surrounding military and veteran families to her work. She holds a Master’s Degree from Florida State University in Social Work, and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Florida in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences. She also holds an LMSW in the State of Maryland and provides part-time mental health counseling services to children and adults.
Continuing Education
Continuing Education (CE) Credit
The following CE credits will be submitted for this session:

Certified Family Life Educators: This program is approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.5 CE credits for CFLEs. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 9/28/28
OneOp Certificates of Attendance are available for those interested in documenting additional professional development activities.

Cover Image: Photo by Antoni Shkraba from Pexels

Learning to Balance Your Mental Health to Better Serve Others
2023-09-27 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
About This Webinar
When the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health professionals stepped up. Not only did the pandemic alter mental health delivery models but it also complicated the struggle mental health professionals face to balance their personal and professional lives. For optimal personal and professional effectiveness, mental health professionals should continuously reflect on their own performance, set good boundaries, utilize coping skills, and remain self-aware, being alert for signs of burnout, compassion fatigue, and second-hand depression. During this webinar, we explore and reflect on what it can look like for the mental health professional, which can include other family support providers, to take care of themselves while working with service members and military families.
Learning Objectives

Discuss why mental health professionals need boundaries to be effective.
Consider the importance of self-awareness as a mental health professional.
Review the importance of using coping skills to manage feelings of stress.
Identify the difference between burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondhand depression.

Presenter
Tara Fox, Ph.D., LPC-S
Assistant Professor Counseling
Clinical Mental Health Graduate Coordinator
Program Coordinator Clinical Mental Health
CLMH Clinical Experience Coordinator
West College of Education
Midwestern State University
Dr. Tara Fox is currently an Assistant Professor, Program Coordinator, and Graduate Coordinator within the Clinical Mental Health graduate program at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, TX. She received her Ph.D. from Texas Tech University in Counselor Education and Supervision. Dr. Fox has presented and published on topics including bereavement, boundaries, burnout, compassion fatigue, counselor identity, integrated behavioral healthcare, integrated healthcare, mindfulness, online learning, rural counseling, secondhand depression, self-reflection, and telehealth counseling services. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPC-S) for the state of Texas. She is passionate about mental, physical, and emotional wellness in rural communities.
Continuing Education
Continuing Education (CE) Credit

Certified Family Life Educators (CFLE): This program has been approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.0 CE credits for CFLEs. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 9/27/28
Certificates of Attendance are available for providers interested in documenting their training activities.

Helping Military Families Understand the True Cost of Convenience
2023-09-26 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
About This Webinar:
Buying a candy bar or sports drink at the gas station or an impulse purchase at the grocery store are common examples of spending leaks—dollars unintentionally spent. Meal delivery services are another example of a significant spending leak, with Americans spending an estimated $26.5 million per year on food delivery, including the hidden costs of food delivery that can add 36% to the bill. Since payments are digital, a consumer often does not “feel” the true cost of the expense. When you factor in other automated transactions like streaming subscriptions, memberships, auto-shipped items, and purchases influenced by “fast fashion” or trendy goods or services, it is not surprising when service members get to the end of the month and wonder where their money went. Join this webinar to help service members understand the cost of convenience and explore strategies to stop spending leaks.
Presenter

Dr. Jennifer Hunter is an Extension Professor and the Assistant Director of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Hunter is a three-time graduate from the University of Kentucky earning her Ph.D in Family Studies, a Master of Science in Vocational Education and Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics.

Continuing Education
Continuing Education (CE) Credit
This webinar has been approved for 1.5 Continuing Education (CE) credits to:

The Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education (AFCPE) for Accredited Financial Counselors (AFC). Eligibility for CE credit will close on 9/26/26
The Center for Financial Certifications (FinCert) for Certified Personal Finance Counselors (CPFC). Eligibility for CE credit will close on 9/26/26
The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for Certified Family Life Educators (CFLE). Eligibility for CE credit will close on 9/26/28
Certificates of Attendance are available for providers interested in documenting their training activities.

Event Materials
Webinar Slides | PDF

iStock/Panupong Piewkleng

Navigating Early Parenthood and Military Life
2023-09-07 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
About This Webinar:
Emerging research suggests that a significant number of new mothers are experiencing postpartum depression and associated risk/vulnerability factors, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent study found that one in three new mothers screened positive for postpartum depression, and one in five had major depressive symptoms (Postpartum Depression and Associated Risk Factors During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2022).
This webinar focuses on strategies for supporting military families facing challenges in family functioning, new parent well-being, and maternal mental health. This presentation identifies unique vulnerability factors and strengths for military partners and spouses. Join this webinar as presenters discuss developing effective communication strategies, self-care techniques, and community resources to identify challenges and support military families.

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:

Recognize the challenges and strengths that military partners/spouses face (due to the nature of their and/or their partner’s service, deployment, and reintegration).
Develop strategies to identify clients they are working with, including recognizing the importance of understanding military service/culture and the impact on the family unit.
Identify effective communication and community resources for maintaining the mental health and well-being of military mothers

*This webinar is Part 1 of Supporting Maternal Mental Health and Well-being with experts from Zero to Three. Watch the archive recording of Part 2, Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders and Military Life.
Presenters
Summer Jones is a Senior Writer and Training Specialist for Military Family Projects at ZERO TO THREE. In this role she provides training and consultation for Army New Parent Support Program’s Home Visitors, supporting their work with military-connected parents. She has facilitated numerous webinars, lives, and distal trainings for multi-disciplinary professionals.
She is endorsed as an Infant Mental Health Mentor, Policy. She is an experienced home visitor, supervising and managing a counseling program that provided in-home mental health services and parent education to mothers who are screened as at-risk for depression. She has also provided programmatic and technical support to states, territories, tribes, and communities implementing federally-funded grants and programs supporting early childhood development, mental health, well-being, and education.
Jennifer Novak is the Senior Writer/Training Specialist for Military Family Projects at ZERO TO THREE. She has a specialty focus on the needs of children and families impacted by trauma and applies a trauma-informed lens in creating these tools. She provides training and technical assistance to professionals and develops evidence-based resources designed to support military families with young children.
As a former military spouse for ten years, she brings personal experience and knowledge of the issues surrounding military and veteran families to her work. She holds a Master’s Degree from Florida State University in Social Work, and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Florida in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences. She also holds an LMSW in the State of Maryland and provides part-time mental health counseling services to children and adults.
Continuing Education (CE) Credit
Continuing Education

Certified Family Life Educators: This program has been approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.5 CE credits for CFLEs. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 9/7/28
OneOp Certificates of Attendance are available for those interested in documenting additional professional development activities.

Event Materials

Webinar Slides

Cover Image: Photo by RDNE Stock Project from Pexels

Starting a Food Pantry for Military Families with Monica Bassett
2023-09-01
Join us in the “Practicing Connection” community. When you sign up you’ll receive a monthly email focused on practicing connection. The email will help us establish a shared rhythm and some shared experiences in our community. JTNDZGl2JTIwaWQlM0QlMjJidXp6c3Byb3V0LXBsYXllci0xMzM5MDA1MiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRmRpdiUzRSUzQ3NjcmlwdCUyMHNyYyUzRCUyMmh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmJ1enpzcHJvdXQuY29tJTJGMjA5OTk4MyUyRjEzMzkwMDUyLXN0YXJ0aW5nLWEtZm9vZC1wYW50cnktZm9yLW1pbGl0YXJ5LWZhbWlsaWVzLXdpdGgtbW9uaWNhLWJhc3NldHQuanMlM0Zjb250YWluZXJfaWQlM0RidXp6c3Byb3V0LXBsYXllci0xMzM5MDA1MiUyNnBsYXllciUzRHNtYWxsJTIyJTIwdHlwZSUzRCUyMnRleHQlMkZqYXZhc2NyaXB0JTIyJTIwY2hhcnNldCUzRCUyMnV0Zi04JTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGc2NyaXB0JTNF (Season 4, Episode 8)
In this episode, co-hosts Jessica Beckendorf and Bob Bertsch talk with Monica Bassett, founder and CEO of Stronghold Food Pantry, a resource for military families on Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. Monica talks about how she started a food pantry on Fort Riley, KS and how she launched Stronghold, highlighting the role military spouses, like Monica, can play in supporting military families.
Links

Stronghold Food Pantry

Stronghold on Facebook
Stronghold on Instagram

[music]
Kalin Goble: Welcome to Practicing Connection, a podcast exploring the personal stories and collective practices that empower us to work together to improve our resilience and readiness in a rapidly changing world. Here to start the conversation are Jessica Beckendorf and Bob Bertsch.
Bob Bertsch: Hi, and welcome to the Practicing Connection podcast. I’m Bob Bertsch.
Jessica Beckendorf: I’m Jessica Beckendorf. This year our team at OneOp has been focusing on food security for military families. We came across a news article about Stronghold Food Pantry Founder and CEO, Monica Bassett.
Bob: Monica’s a military spouse and advocate for the underprivileged in the military community. Through her personal experience with food insecurity as a child and by connecting with military families facing the same struggles, she’s made it her mission to ease the burden of food insecurity and shine a light on undernourishment of families. She founded Stronghold Food Pantry on Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to respectfully supply resources to families.
Provide actionable solutions and educate others on the crisis of food insecurity in the military. Monica was named the Armed Forces Insurance Army Spouse of the Year in 2022 because of her commitment to alleviating food insecurity, and we are so very excited to have her join us for the podcast and for today’s conversation. Welcome to Practicing Connection, Monica. Thanks so much for joining us.
Monica Bassett: Thank you. I appreciate y’all having me on.
Jessica: Monica, I’m really curious what led you to your work on food security.
Monica: It really just started over COVID. Military families were stuck in a predicament where children were being sent home, school was out, spouses had to either quit their job, try to find remote work. Things got really tight. I was in an installation Fort Riley, Kansas at the time, and we were also very highly deployable that soldiers were always gone. I started seeing the increased need and call to action of families needing help. They weren’t asking for money. They weren’t asking for rides. They weren’t asking for big-ticket items. They were asking for help stocking their refrigerator, their pantries. I just started it from my garage.
I started with our funds buying food. What I actually did was bringing it back to something that you guys mentioned in your last podcast, community resilience. I really identified the gap– I just sort did it backwards. I identified the gap. I started with my own resources, my family. Then the community came and they found ways that they could contribute. I had neighbors whaling down in wagons foods to stock up so that I could feed more military families, and it became a coast-wide initiative. After that it grew to civilians wanting to contribute, and the community wanted to take part in this initiative to help its military families. That’s really how it started.
Jessica: Wow. You started to touch on this, but how did you know where to start? Tell me more about how you knew where to start.
Monica: I didn’t. [laughter]
Jessica: That is what pretty much every caring community volunteer has probably ever said, “I really didn’t know where to start. I just started doing stuff.” Tell me more about that, Monica.
Monica: It was a gut punch. It wasn’t something all-inspiring. It was a gut punch to have military spouses like myself asking for assistance. Asking for help in the most humble of ways. It really was something that either was going to bring you into action or face you to put the rose-colored goggles on and look the other way. Me and my family opted to just dive into it, and it really just started with knowing what I could do personally to help.
After that, being that person that was in the forefront led others to say, “I want to join you,” and then the initiative grew. When I left Fort Riley, I knew I needed to lead this program with someone who I couldn’t trust because my mission was never to start something and let it die. It has to continue and has to continue helping families. I left it with the Spouses Club there at Fort Riley and that program is still continuing now.
Jessica: Wow. One of the cool things I’m noticing in your story is that sometimes even when we start alone in something like this, we’re not alone, people will start to notice. We all have what’s in our circle of control the things that we actually can do ourselves. We all have a circle of influence, but sometimes we might not know who’s in that circle of influence.
As people start to see what we’re doing, that circle of influence might start to come to you, which sounds like what happened to you, Monica. In that same vein, I’m really interested to know what your collaborations were like both on installation and in the community. Did you collaborate with people who were out in the community as well as on installation? If so, tell me a little bit more about how that came about and what that was like.
Monica: Yes, absolutely. I think it’s very important to build bridges with our civilian community. I think that that is how military installations and military communities thrive. Because we contribute to our outside civilian installation by shopping there, living there, paying taxes, buying vehicles. They want to also tie back into us. When you can build that bridge and let them be helpful to military families in the installation, things can be very successful. What I started there, first initially I researched all the food pantries that were civilian food pantries around the installation, around several counties.
I started talking to their executive directors, I started volunteering. I started bringing groups of military spouses to come volunteer with me so that we could see the climate, the dynamic, how they operate, how they service. After that, I started bringing in our local command team. We had command spouses come out and want to see for themselves what was happening in these outside communities. How they were servicing civilians, and possibly military personnel that also attended there. I think it’s very important to tie and to build those bridges with our outside community.
Even now fast forward two years and Stronghold as a nonprofit, we are bringing in organizations from civilian communities, Kansas City, Wichita, Missouri, that want to help military families, but don’t have a tie into the military community. They’re like, “We don’t even service your county, we don’t even service that, will you be an agency we can partner with?” Absolutely. If that means that I can alleviate a burden to a military family somehow, absolutely. Let’s try to figure out how to make this work.
Jessica: Do you have a sense for how they didn’t have a tie-in to the military community?
Monica: In the military, we are personified by the notion of we take care of our own. That is a lot of what civilian organizations, hospital, agencies that help a civilian community with diapers, and formula, and food. Those are the notions that they have. We didn’t know this was happening in the military community. A big part of what I do as the Founder and CEO of Stronghold is get myself out into the civilian community and educate those individuals.
Because they had no idea that military families were living with 24% of food insecurity, or that they do not qualify for SNAP benefits because after 6 hours and 27 minutes of me personally waiting on hold to apply we don’t qualify. Because from the get-go we’re disqualified because of the way our earnings statement is read. Which is shocking because this same federally funded program of WIC runs a completely different way with regulations and guidelines and military families do qualify for that.
What I am seeing within Stronghold and with different food pantries that run and help military installations, it’s that our highest demographic of military families needing assistance are not E1Z, 2Z3s. They are E6s, E7s who already have grown children in the household, which makes sense they’re eating more. They’re more hungry. They’re living in a more active lifestyle. What they’re being able to get for their money in a grocery store is not sustaining that active lifestyle, which in turn equals food insecurity.
Jessica: When my dad was E67, I was a teenager and I needed money for the movies. [laughs]
Monica: It’s sad. What you just noted right there is hard because if families do don’t have the funds for groceries, sadly they also don’t have the funds for any actual fun that the family might have, and activities that you would really love your children to enjoy. All those extra perks. Currently, Stronghold is doing Pack the Backpack event next week for families because PCS season is one of the largest factors in what tilts military families into food insecurity. When you compound those expenses with a $200 back-to-school supply bill, that it’s sometimes doubled and tripled, that’s a huge burden. I always try to think of that. If military families don’t have the financial means to really supply that adequate food, there are many other things that are going by the wayside as well.
Bob: Monica, can you tell us a little bit more about how Stronghold got founded after you left Fort Riley?
Monica: Yes. It still moves me now because who would’ve thought that something that just started in a garage an agency, a large organization? Armed Forces Insurance approached me when I moved to our next installation, Fort Leavenworth. They had read about some of the things that I had done at Fort Riley. They wanted to help military families, and they wanted to tie into what we were doing.
They became a founding sponsor by giving me space. I have zero overhead. Stronghold has space completely donated by Armed Forces Insurance and that includes utilities and anything in their facility that I might need. That is tremendously generous and that really to me shows their dedication to want to help the military community.
Bob: Is that space on installation?
Monica: It is. We are on Fort Leavenworth in their building, just right around the corner from the local hospital.
Bob: How have you seen military families adapt to that or come to Stronghold? Do you have a sense of where folks who needed help at Fort Leavenworth were going previously?
Monica: Yes. Military families here– first and foremost, Fort Leavenworth is typically known as a very officer-heavy installation because we have the academy here. You have a lot of officers come in, transitioning from captain to major. However, we also hold the barracks prison on the other side of the installation, and we hold over 800 junior enlisted soldiers and families here. That is very predominant in this installation.
They used to service. They used to attend services at outside organization, Salvation Army, Catholic charities, things of that nature. There is always those fear of repercussions of who’s going to report me because a lot of outside food pantries they require to take in earning statements income in order to get state and federal grants. Anytime they have to identify who they are, put down their information.
The first question that the director at Catholic charity shared with me was– or that they say, “Are you going to share this with our commanders? Are you going to share this with the installation?” She’s like, “I always have to reassure them that we will not.” Where Stronghold stands in the gap is the fact that to reassure them to make sure that we do service and help all military families. Because as I noted earlier, our families do not qualify for SNAP.
Even if we did require them to apply, they would not qualify for our services if we required that. By standing in the gap Stronghold requires no earning statements. If you say that you need assistance, if you can get past the stigma, if you can get past the fear of repercussions and the embarrassment and you say you need assistance. Then we’re going to service you, no questions asked. That’s truly where we stand in the gap because we are not a DOD facility.
We do not run the numbers up. We do not take units, information, rank, any of that information, and pass it along in the chain. We do not make them qualify by an earning statement. We are truly very unique in the space where we do fall into that gap. We have seen that in the course of five months our patrons, and it’s bittersweet because you never want someone to need this assistance. It’s also at the same time exciting that the word is getting out that they can trust you.
The more names that come on and the more relationships that we build with our patrons they’re like, “My friend told me you guys were safe. They were never reported, so we really need some help.” Then you have families coming in saying, “We have an emergency request because my spouse needed to leave or deploy TDY and now we have all these expenses.” The fact that they can trust you and that word of mouth is getting out there is very special to Stronghold because it means that we’re doing something right.
Bob: You talked a little bit about the stigma and I just– in the introduction, I mentioned that Stronghold tries to respectfully provide these things. What does that mean to you and to Stronghold Food Pantry to respectfully provide this service to our military families?
Monica: That is probably one of my biggest notions or something I keep in the forefront for me in my mission, and it’s in the mission statement as well. Because it just means so much protecting a service member and their families anonymity and our culture is huge. This is why they don’t report that they are having issues. It is noted from the Department of Defense that one of the largest issues that military service members, why they do not report having food insecurity, financial difficulty, mental health issues, any of that is always fear of repercussions and stigma.
The way that Stronghold tries to protect their anonymity is they always reserve appointment times that they can have one-on-one time. They have a sanctioned time where they can come in, they can shop, have personal attention, and have someone that they can talk to. Because a lot of the times they open up about various different items that are affecting their life or what brought them to this situation.
For instance, an E-2 that came in, he and his spouse were leaving a bad situation at home after high school and they join the service. He then brought on his little brother, who is also a teenager, became his legal guardian, and as an E-2 you don’t have the pay to sustain another body, much less a teenage body. These individuals were trying to be better global citizens.
They were trying to do better for themselves, enroll in higher education paid by the military, and they were willing to bring on someone else so they wouldn’t become a statistic. These are the stories at that personalized time, that anonymity that we protect. They bring out these stories in these people. They bring out the trust and you start building these relationships. We do privatize time slots for military families to come in.
They can shop and they leave without bumping into a neighbor, bumping into their NCO, bumping into an officer or anyone else. I also do not allow any people in uniform personnel in our area, and that includes my spouse who tries to deliver food sometimes to me. I yell at him, “No, no one’s allowed in here. You’re not going to spook any of my patriots because this is what’s important to them. This is how we build trust.”
Bob: What have been some of the biggest challenges in either experience on Fort Riley or Fort Leavenworth with running a food pantry on installation?
Monica: Especially at Leavenworth because we were getting a whole operational warehouse and it’s the obstacles of weight. You’re not actually sanctioned by the Department of Defense. You’re not ACS, MWR, a chaplain, you are not these entities. We are a complete outside nonprofit organization run volunteered by military spouses. That was probably the biggest thing after people started noticing that we were assisting and we were doing good.
We were providing services that are not provided. People are coming around. That was probably the biggest obstacle at this installation at Fort Leavenworth because we do have a warehouse. Fort Riley was a complete different beast. We did have some really phenomenal leadership there who just jumped in and said, “What is the issue? How can we help? Let’s see this for ourselves.” “Hey, Monica, Come work with me and develop a task force to try to help our military families.” “Hey, Monica, come sit with my aide and run through this list and let’s give out some resource sheets to all our soldiers.” It really depends. Just like any organization, whether you’re for-profit or non-profit, whether you’re civilian or military. It always depends on the climate of your environment, and it depends on who is working that environment.
It’s very different. It’s not what happened for Stronghold at Fort Leavenworth or what happened for me at Fort Riley before Stronghold was actually a nonprofit. Could be very different than what could happen for someone at Whiteman Air Force Base or in Misawa. It would be very different. It just really depends on your climate, your environment, and honestly your volunteers and your leadership.
Bob: You have advice for folks. Having said that context matters, the climate matters, what advice would you have for somebody who was interested in whether it’s working on food insecurity or another issue for military families as a military spouse?
Monica: Yes. Recently, within the last few months, my email has been getting inundated with emails from various spouses. I mentioned a few of those from Misawa, Spangdahlem Air Force Base, Whiteman Air Force Base, Coast Guard West Coast, on how can you help me get through this? What are your best practices? One of the most in-depth that I helped was Spangdahlem Air Force Base. We had several Zoom conversations on here are my best practices and here’s where I would start.
It always starts with, first, get a feel for your climate because we all want to help. Military spouses we are in this community to do whatever we can for our neighbors, but the biggest thing is– the way I mentioned at Fort Riley, I started involving myself with outside community organizations. I started asking questions of executive directors, what’s your percentage, how many military families? Let me get a feel for how you run. That is always my first step for when people ask me, how do you start this, is you have to learn your climate.
You can’t just say, “Well, I saw five posts of families needing help, or I need help.” I’m going do this whole pantry or this whole initiative. No, first research the climate, find out what resources are there, how they operate, maybe where the gaps are. Like maybe this resource is out there. However, this pantry at this chaplain’s office is really only a coat closet or a cabinet, and is only open between the hours of 8:00 and 10:00 and you have to answer the chaplain’s 30-minute questions. That already is going deter a family tenfold times.
They’re not going to want to answer the chaplain’s questions and sit there and be embarrassed and worry in the back of their head on who this is going to be reported to. Even though they know that that should be a private conversation, it’s always something that’s going to run in the back of your head. First and foremost, I always say, “Go figure out your climate. Go find out those resources. Find out where those gaps fall,” which leads back to your last podcast that I had listened to on your community resilience.
This is how you truly shape a very successful organization that can truly target and benefit your military families. After you figure out climate, after you figure out where the gaps are or where you can contribute to them. Then you can figure out, do you actually need a whole new service, or can you tap into these outside resources. After that, if then that leads you down the path of talking to garrison command and your chain command on post, then let it be that, but you are going armed with information. That is always my biggest thing. You need to be armed with the statistics, the data. That’s what drives change.
Jessica: By that time you might also be armed with a whole network of other supports that are willing to step in and help if they can.
Monica: Yes. You nailed it. Absolutely.
Jessica: That was super clear. It’s very clear that you have lots and lots of experience with this. [laughs] It is, it is, it’s very clear. Is there a specific practice that’s been really helpful in your work or to you individually that you’d be willing to share with us? Something that you practice maybe regularly?
Monica: Yes, a couple of things. As far as food pantry goes, we practice always in that space of protecting anonymity and being able to serve our military families with dignity and respect. That leads me to the practice of whether you’re a volunteer or whether you’re a staff member or part of our board. My practice of interviewing every single person who comes through that door. Even a partner, a donor, I have turned away new stations, articles being printed about Stronghold, because anonymity and protecting our service members is always first for me.
That is a practice that I will never let go of despite what happens. Like I said, I’ve turned away news stations who wanted to run stories. I’ve turned away articles because they want names, and can we be there to film when you’re giving food out? Absolutely not. That also goes to who I bring on board. Even a general volunteer, even someone that works within the pantry and the warehouse. If you are not in line with our mission and our passion, because to do this work you have to have a passion for it. Not everyone who is sitting in an office for the Department of Defense, in organizations, at the chaplain’s office who are assigned to be a chaplain’s aid.
Not everyone has a passion to serve military families, and not everyone has a passion to be embedded in these stories and help them through their dark period and to be that hand up. I am very particular in who I bring in. There has to be the practice of meeting me, of operating under me for a while before I can say, “You can fully volunteer here,” and it’s volunteer, it’s for free. I’m not going to bring in anyone who can slightly break or cause amend in that relationship with our patriots.
Jessica: I’m a huge proponent of those one-on-one conversations. I really believe that through that you can not only find where there are bridges to be built, but you can also just continue to deepen the network and deepen the supports for good work.
Bob: Hey, Monica, I have one more question for you, and that is you have accomplished so much and put so much of yourself into this and your family. What do you do for yourself in terms of practice to keep going and stay healthy and do the great work that you’re doing?
Monica: To be honest, not much. [laughs] That is what we get into a lot, but no. I will say something, my volunteer time at the pantry with like-minded individuals truly helps me get through some obstacles. When we were PCSing we were stuck in a seven-week PCS for a two-hour move. It was supposed to be door to door, but mishaps with privatized housing, all the stuff and we were homeless, PCS homeless for seven weeks. During that time I found a civilian food pantry and food drive to go to. I cannot explain how happy my heart was after that and how centered I felt. There is truly something that happens with giving work back to your community that is fulfilling.
There is data out there on what community service does to your mental sanity to help improve your wellness. From the voices of our volunteers, one in specifically has said, “I am so happy you exist. I’m so happy you allowed me to volunteer because this got me through the darkest time.” Because we’re building not only community with our patriots, but we’re building community within our volunteers. We now have friends that they didn’t have before. They now have someone they can depend on. While we’re working and stocking the shelves, a lot of the times we’re also airing our grievances and our stresses and having a therapy session within ourselves.
I honestly have to say that a lot of that– and once the kids go back to school it’ll be a lot better too. Because right now my children go to the pantry with me and that’s not very calming. Going to the pantry really does help, and aside from that we all like to talk to our community, our friends that have been with us for years and have seen me go from A to Z and all the aspects. I think communication is key to help alleviate a lot of the mental anxiety and mental stress and then like a massage.
Jessica: Yes, you got to that part at the very, very end, yes. No, wonderful. That’s awesome.
Bob: Monica, I want to thank you so much for joining us and for the work that you’re doing to support our military families in a time of need. Thank you so much for joining us and for the work that you do. It was great to talk with you.
Monica: Thank you both for having me. I really appreciate it. Thank you for shining a light on what is happening with our military families and for Stronghold.
Jessica: That’s it for this episode. Thank you so much for joining us. You can keep up with Practicing Connection by subscribing to the podcast in your favorite podcast app. By signing up to be a part of the Practicing Connection community at oneop.org/practicing-connection. By following us on X. Our X handle is @practicingcxn, Practicing Connection that’s @practicingcxn.
Bob: Jessica is probably mad at me for pulling back the curtain, but an awesome job adjusting to not saying the T-word for the app that is now called X.
Jessica: Thank you.
Bob: Good job. Thank you for joining us for this conversation. We’ve really enjoyed having you here. Thanks again to our guest, Monica Bassett. We’d also like to thank our co-producer Coral Owen, our announcer Kalin Goble, Hannah Hyde, Maggie Lucas, and Terry Meisenbach for their help with marketing, and Nathan Grimm, who composed and performed all the music you hear on the podcast. We hope you’ll join us again soon. In the meantime, keep practicing.
[music]
Kalin: The Practicing Connection podcast is a production of OneOp and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, US Department of Defense under award number 2019-48770-30366.
[END OF AUDIO]
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About this episode
The Food Security Hawaii Working Group is an amazing cross-sector collaboration to address food security issues military families are facing, In this episode (Season 4, Episode 6), Bob Bertsch talks with Arletta Eldridge Thompson, Health Promotion Coordinator for the 15th Medical Group for Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam; Lorna Souza with the Hawaii Air National Guard Airman and Family Readiness Program; and Kina Mahi, Director of Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships for the Hawaii Foodbank about the challenges families in Hawaii are dealing with and how people are collaborating to address them.
Transcript
Kalin Goble: Welcome to Practicing Connection, a podcast exploring the personal stories and collective practices that empower us to work together to improve our resilience and readiness in a rapidly changing world. Here to start the conversation are Jessica Beckendorf and Bob Bertsch.
Bob Bertsch: Hi, and welcome to the Practicing Connection podcast. I’m Bob Bertsch. I am really excited for this episode. We’re going to be talking about an incredible collaboration to address food insecurity among military families in Hawaii. Unfortunately, Jessica won’t be here for this conversation, but I do want to acknowledge all the work that she did to make this conversation happen. Thanks so much, Jess. Wish you were here.
This year, our team at OneOp has been focusing on food security for military families. Molly Herndon, learned about the work our guests today are doing in Hawaii. When Molly passed this information on to Jessica and me, we knew we had to find a way to get these folks on the podcast. After many emails, a couple of video calls, at least one approval process, maybe more, one that I know about, I’m really happy to welcome our guests, Kina Mahi, Lorna Souza, and Arletta Eldridge Thompson, to the Practicing Connection podcast.
Welcome, everyone. I think we’ll start with some introductions. Arletta, can you tell us a little bit more about yourself?
Arletta Eldridge Thompson: Hi. Thanks for inviting us. We’re really excited to be here. I’m Arletta Eldridge Thompson. I’m the Health Promotion Coordinator for the 15th Medical Group for Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam is a joint base with Navy/Air Force. We represent the Air Force side. I’ve been working for the Air Force for about 27 years, and this is my sixth installation to work for. I’m really excited that this is taking off like it has.
Bob: Thanks, Arletta. Lorna, could you share a little bit about yourself with our listeners?
Lorna Souza: Sure. Aloha, and mahalo for having us. My name is Lorna Souza. I am actually with the Hawaii Air National Guard Airman and Family Readiness Program. We are also located on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Hawaii, at least the main part of our Hawaii Air National Guard, so that’s why we’re part of this community. Then we also have GSUs, or Geographically Separated Units, on three of the other islands, so the island of Kauai. Also, the Hawaii Island, which is our Big Island, we have a unit there. Then Maui, so we also have a unit on Maui.
Yes, here to support any way we can and take care of our airmen. Mahalo.
Bob: Thank you, Lorna. Kina, could you introduce yourself?
Kina Mahi: Aloha. My name is Kina Mahi. Thank you so much for having us today. I’m the Director of Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships for the Hawaii Foodbank. The Hawaii Foodbank has been fighting hunger and food insecurity in Hawaii for 40 years. We’ve been lucky enough in the last year to join up with this food insecurity working group with Arletta and Lorna and several others because we believe nobody should go to bed hungry, but we also are really dedicated in ensuring our military personnel who are serving don’t have to struggle with basic fundamental rights like food, and we mean healthy food too. Mahalo.
Bob: I’m going to ask you to share with us again, because before we jump into the working group and the incredible collaboration that’s going on, I think it’s really important, when we talked earlier a couple of months ago, that we set the context a little bit for food systems and food security in Hawaii. Because it is such a special place and might have some unique benefits, challenges, just characteristics that we wouldn’t see here in the continental United States.
Kina, can you maybe start that conversation for us? What makes the food system in Hawaii so unique?
Kina: Sure. Well, at any given time, the island of Oahu has less than a week of food supply on it. 80% to 90%, depending on who you ask, of the food that we all consume is imported. At one time, our island sustained a population of a million people just within the sustainable cultivation of our āina, which is our land here. Now we have a really different food system, and as I’m sure you’ve all seen at the grocery store, wherever you are, prices have continued to go up and up and up.
We have this unique challenge of being the most isolated land mass on the planet and relying on boats that bring us our food. We have so much potential to rely more on our land to provide our food, but that’s a longer conversation. We also know how when people are moving here to serve, or when they’re assigned here, it’s a big shift to see the prices that are here compared to prices elsewhere. It’s not just on a macro level we have some food system challenges, but also on the individual family level when you’re making that adjustment, it can be really hard.
Arletta: I can say on the active duty side that it is a shock when they come here because they expect everything to be the same as it was on the mainland, and then when they transfer over here, they’re totally unprepared. One of the things that we did with our working group is figure out ways to prepare them ahead of time in trying to get them to understand that they need a financial appointment before they leave and that they can figure out what their finances are before they leave, then also start paying off as many bills as they can and start stockpiling a savings account. Because once they get here, trying to do a savings account is really difficult because it’s so expensive, and they’re going to have to rely on that because there’s a honeymoon period of about six to nine months.
Because the first thing is once they get the assignment, it’s like, oh my gosh, it’s the best assignment in the Air Force, or whatever military branch, and they don’t realize that once they get here, it’s not what they thought. I try to tell people early on, I’m like, okay, here’s what you need to think about. There are two Hawaiis. There’s tourism Hawaii that they’ve been marketed to and the beauty and all that sort of stuff, but then there’s the reality of living in Hawaii, which is the other Hawaii.
That’s what I’m trying to prepare them because they don’t have a choice. Once they get here, they can’t leave. I mean, a spouse can leave. They can send their spouse back to the mainland or their children back to the mainland, but that active duty or even that Guard member, they can’t leave. They’re here. We have to prepare them the best we can for the environment that they’re living in. Hopefully, some of the best practices that we come up with can be utilized on the mainland, or also prepping a member to go overseas.
Bob: Lorna, what kinds of challenges are your airmen facing and their families facing in the Hawaii Air National Guard regarding food security?
Lorna: Yes, so it’s the same thing for our members. It is very expensive to live here. Cost of living is high. People are leaving constantly, getting priced out of paradise and actually going to the mainland. Our local youth are starting to go to college there. Of course, they end up staying there and not coming home, and then before you know it, the parents are following them. A lot of our local people can’t afford to live here, so they’re moving to the mainland, which you called continental United States. [chuckles]
Yes, cost of living is very high here in Hawaii. We have multiple families living in one house, so we have grandparents, parents, and children. Of course, grandparents are watching the grandchildren, and then the parents are going to work. I also noticed in the last few years, we had a paradigm shift where actually now our parents are caring for our grandparents, our elderly. Not only the stress and struggles of living in Hawaii or in the paradise that we have here, but they can’t afford certain things, and food is one of them.
Anything that we can do for our families, if we can help them with the food, and then they can pay for the medical bills, they can pay for the medication that they need for their grandparents, or we call them kūpuna, it’s going to help.
Arletta: I want to hop in and piggyback off of what Lorna said. Not only are they living two- well, three, maybe four generations in a house, most everybody in the house has at least two jobs. When you’re looking at the Hawaii Air National Guard, they have their normal regular job and then a part-time job, and then the National Guard on top of that.
Bob: Yes. It sounds like very challenging context for our families to be dealing with, but the working group that you guys put together to start to address that kind of stuff, how did that all begin, Arletta? Where did this idea even spring out of and how did you get it started?
Arletta: Gosh, this was way back before the pandemic, October of 2019. Airman and Family Readiness on the Hickam active duty side noticed that– It was started with Drew [unintelligible 00:11:00]. He noticed that when people were coming in for the Air Force Aid Society, those are emergency loans and grants that people can apply for if they need money for certain things. Usually it’s a car repair or something to that effect. One of the things that he noticed when people were coming in to ask for those loans and grants was they were needing sustenance, they were needing food. Instead of asking for the grant or the loan, which I think they can only get maybe one time or it’s a limited time, he opened up a cabinet with two doors and it was a food pantry. That’s how we started.
Then once we had that food pantry, I hopped on board to help him advertise it because as a health promotion coordinator, I know that if you can get people to donate healthier items, that’ll change their diet. Then not long after that, the chaplains over at the Hawaii Air National Guard opened up the Pono Pantry. Pono in Hawaii means balance. They started theirs. It was a little shed out in their parking lot, [chuckles] and they left it open 24/7 so people could go in and get what they needed. That’s how our food pantry system opened up.
Then when we were moving forward, but Jayme Alexander, she took over the Flight Chief position at the Airman and Family Readiness Center, and she noticed the same thing Drew did, only she expanded it by like 1,600%. Instead of one cabinet; ended up being four. She noticed that there was an extreme need. This was during the pandemic, so that’s when she expanded it. Well, the working group happened because our wing commander’s wife at the time– We had expanded to the Airman’s Attic, and the Airman’s Attic is like a thrift store, it’s like a free thrift store. They noticed that people were coming in for clothing and things like that, so they set up a little cabinet at the Airman’s Attic.
The wing commander’s wife, who’s the head person over on the Air Force side, she noticed that people were taking a lot of food items from the Airman’s Attic, so she approached me and wanted healthier items. One of the things I had mentioned to her was, once you reach to the point of you’re getting food at a food pantry, healthier items are not on your list of to do. I mean, you’re just wanting to survive. That would fall to us to provide those healthier options so that they could have those. That’s how the working group started was I said, what we need is to get together as a group and be able to create that type of environment. That’s how the working group started.
It’s changed its name three times now. It was the Team Hickam Food Insecurity Working Group. Then I believe it was Laura Kay from the Hawaii Foodbank had said that we are in a unique situation on Oahu as that we have all four services plus the Coast Guard on this island. It was then that I was like, you know what? We can’t just say this is just an Air Force thing. We opened it up to all services, and we have representatives from all services that attend this working group. Recently, we just changed the name again to the Food Insecurity Working Group Hawaii because now we cover the whole state of Hawaii because as Lorna said, we have assets on outer islands and we are actually servicing those assets, so it made sense to change the name again.
How we ended up being kind of multi-service. In August of last year, I had a phone call from USARPAC, which is US Army Pacific. They asked me if I was doing anything on the food insecurity side. I’m like, well, yes. The more we got the talk, they have a– General Flynn is very, very interested in food insecurity, and so they piggyback off of us. They ended up attending the working group, back when we were Team Hickam, and now they’re like very staunch at showing up every meeting, they give a lot of input. Not only is our working group dealing with things that happen in Hawaii, but also across the Pacific we’re having impact. That’s exciting as well.
Bob: Kina, how did Hawaii Foodbank get involved?
Kina: Hawaii Foodbank has been partnering with the Armed Services YMCA for several years now. Hawaii Foodbank– The way food banks work is like a funnel. The food comes into us from retail donations from the Safeways and the Costcos in our community who have excess, and also from USDA commodities, and then also from our community member donations. We do purchase food as well, especially we like to prioritize from our local farmers and producers. The food funnels in, and then we funnel it out through a network of community partners like ASYMCA. We have three sites.
Arletta mentioned it, and I mentioned it, we really like to focus on healthy food. The number one thing people are asking for is fresh produce. That is the thing that is not affordable, that is the thing that goes away when a family is struggling. That’s the stories we hear. We partner with ASYMCA in three different locations at three different bases to do monthly distributions where we really focus on produce. We bring, and we will bring the– We have the refrigeration at the food bank, so we come out and can do a bigger distribution at a time.
We would like to do more. There’s always more to be done. I think this is where we like to partner with very creative folks like Arletta, who’s thinking about community gardens. A community garden or a family garden may never meet all of your produce and vegetable needs, but if we can start to- in addition to what we bring on a monthly or a biweekly basis from the food bank, if we can start to change mindsets and build skills and understand how we can also go back to some of the values that sustains a population here at one time, if we can go back to some of those values and practices, we do think it also makes a difference for people.
Bob: Yes, it’s really great to hear some of the systems approach to preventing food insecurity, and awesome that you guys are working on that. Lorna, what kinds of other things is the working group working on? [chuckles] The working group working on. What’s typical of a meeting of what kind of conversations come up?
Lorna: Well, I think the nice thing about this working group, it’s various organizations that are coming together, not only military. We work with the community so much, and everybody brings their little piece of what they’re doing, what’s coming up in the future, the programs that are available for our members or for our service members. That really brings us together and helps us. Then if we have an issue, we work together on how to resolve it, or how to take care of just little items that might be challenges we might be facing.
It’s a great way to come together and see what’s out there to bring these resources to our members. It’s a really giving group of people too. Arletta said about pono. Pono means righteousness and balance and doing what’s right. That’s exactly what this team does, is we’re just trying to make sure that everybody gets the information and gets the resources that they need so that they can have a better experience here in Hawaii.
Also too, what we do is we have some volunteer experiences for our members. Not everybody’s having struggles with food, but they want to help out, so we do have volunteer opportunities with the food bank. We do that monthly. Then also, we go up to a farm, Waihe’e farm. We actually go there and clean up the farm, make sure that we help them with their taro or kalo, which actually turns into poi. If you’ve been to Hawaii, you might have had some poi. That’s the root that you make poi from. It’s a big industry here and very expensive, so any way we can help to cultivate the taro or the kalo.
We go out there, and we help them with their farm and better their progress of growing this product. Then also, other products they have. They have watercress there. They have ‘ulu, which is breadfruit, and different other local fruits that we can distribute to our community.
Arletta: Actually, the reason that’s important is because if you look at the bigger picture, and this is one of the things that you have to give Hawaii credit for, is they’re trying to go back to the sustainability that they had before modern times. That’s how they sustain themselves. It also gives a hands-on view to everybody on where their food comes from. They could very easily be repeated at farm– You see these sorts of things on farms on the mainland, people going and volunteering and helping. I had a friend of mine in Missouri that just volunteered to help pick a farm that creates her CSA, her community support box that she gets. That food, because it was extra, went back to the food bank.
These are things that we can promote having people understand where their food comes from, and you’re able to have a hands-on. Hawaii just happens to be unique in the fact that it’s part of their underlying culture. We care about the āina, or the land, and so that’s something that’s really important.
Lorna: Yes. Actually, we started going to the Waihe’e farm because after COVID, they lost so many sales that they were thinking of shutting down. We got a group of volunteers together and simple things like taking the weeds out of the taro patch or the kalo patch, and just making sure that the water is flowing from the– The water is wai, so the wai is flowing from the streams, taking the weeds out of that in the streams and making sure that everything is flowing correctly. We’re able to clean up their taro patches and production has been better.
Just little things of getting people together to help out these farmers so that they can produce. It’s going to, of course, drizzle down to us and we’re going to end up getting the benefits of it. Poi, which is made from kalo, is very expensive and it’s because the lack of the product, the kalo. This way, we can actually help them and in turn, we’re helping ourselves because of reduction of price for poi, which is one of our staples.
Bob: That’s awesome. I think it’s really great to build that connection back to where your food comes from. It sounds like there’s a lot of great stuff happening and great communication happening. I’m just wondering if, when the working group was either being formed, or where you were trying to get your feet, were there challenges or barriers that you guys encountered in trying to get this set up and to get everybody at the table?
Arletta: I know for me, the big challenges was trying to get– It’s one thing to have a working group and to be able to move forward, but when you look at the big picture on the military side of the house, you have to have leadership involved. You have to have leadership understand that this is an issue. When you look at the big picture, both on the active duty side, and the Guard, and Reserve side, and the Secretary of Defense said it, food insecurity is a readiness issue.
When we look at the overall picture, if you have a military member that can’t afford or doesn’t have the resources to sustain themselves, then that puts them at risk for, A, not doing their job; B, worrying about their family; C, becoming a security risk because they become a possible target for our adversaries to offer them money for food. That’s not something that we want. We can’t tolerate that. That’s a no go. The thing for me was trying to get leadership to understand. I am partly there. Not everybody–
The first thing, and I heard this a lot, is, “Well, you make good money. I don’t understand how you are having trouble.” What we found early on was you can be food insecure at any rank. All it takes is one major life event to knock you off the fence. You can have a Lieutenant Colonel seeking food at a food pantry. This isn’t something that is just low-ranking airmen with a lot of kids, although it is a lot of that. It’s across the board, and getting leadership to understand that this stuff has been lurking in your ranks for decades.
This is not a new problem. This is something, yes, the pandemic probably aggravated a little bit, but when I first started doing research on it– The reason I started doing research was because Major Kevin Watanabe, the IMA to the PACAF, Pacific Air Force’s nutrition consultant, couldn’t go to his base in Alaska during the pandemic, so he dropped in my lap. I had him for a month, and I ask him to give me ideas for nutrition, because nutrition falls to me, I am not a dietitian, he is, and to give me nutrition ideas.
The garden was the first idea, and we’ve been sustaining that garden since October of 2020. The second or the last idea that he gave me right before he left was, “Check into SNAP and WIC. You may be looking at only low-ranking airmen with a lot of kids,” so I did. What I found out was this is like the military’s dirty little secret. It’s been happening for years. Nobody’s really been talking about it. That’s how we evolved into where we’re at is once I figured out the issue, then it’s my responsibility, because it’s readiness issue, is to bring it to leadership’s attention. Once leadership gets an idea that this is an issue, then we can move forward, and we can actually do a little bit more than what we can just by ourselves.
My medical group commander, who is in charge of our clinic, she was the first one I got on board. Then she said, I want this brief to all the group commanders, and so we were able to take that forward. We still have a lot of work to do because we only targeted a small group of our commanders. The goal is to get them all to understand. Once everybody’s on board and everybody’s aware of it, they can see those pockets where they can actually make a difference and things they can do.
That’s the big thing with leadership is you have to give them action items, things they can do that is realistic, in their wheelhouse. You can’t give them the overarching thing and say, “This is our problem,” and give them nothing to do. They operate by, “Give me the reason, tell me what’s going on, and then give me something to do.” Right now that’s probably the biggest challenge is being able to get leadership to understand. We’re getting there. It’s not perfect, but we’re a lot further than we were two years ago.
I think that with the Secretary of Defense highlighting this, that it’s made it easier for more commanders to understand. We’re seeing that on the USARPAC side, the US Army Pacific side, is they have a senior leader that’s highly engaged. I think that they can make a lot of difference just at that big level.
Bob: Lorna, did you see similar things in terms of having to get buy-in from leadership on your side of things?
Lorna: The Pono Pantry was actually started by the chaplain program during the COVID situation here in Hawaii, the pandemic. The chaplains put everything into motion. They got approval and everything. I was not part of that, but I’m telling you, with our leadership at the Hawaii Air National Guard, we have no resistance there. They all would continuously ask if we need any products in the Pono Pantry. Obviously, we have different needs on the Hawaii Air National Guard side. Rice, SPAM [unintelligible 00:30:03] diapers, stuff like that that we need, and it just flies out of our pantry, but the leadership continuously supports the program.
One thing that we do find is a challenge is having the members come out. That’s why we have it where it’s anonymous. You can come at any time. We do have hours to the open facility, but we can coordinate with them. They can come in the evening or early morning, and we’ll have the products available for them. Then we also work very closely with our first sergeants, and we have them out and about, finding out where the needs are and then trying to fulfill those needs by providing them the food source.
In the future, this– We just started hurricane season and preparedness is a big part of hurricane season. We’re making sure that we have enough supplies in there, and we’re going to, hopefully, put together some bags of starter sets with maybe a few food items, some toiletries. We just got a big donation of toiletries, so toiletries in there, and just get them started.
Arletta: Yes, Lorna brings up a really good point. I think the big piece of this that everybody misses is the disaster piece. There are two emergencies. One is the individual person’s emergency and getting a crisis, and then your goal is to get them stabilized and then help move them forward. The piece that I don’t think we’re talking about enough is the mass disaster piece. For us, it could be a hurricane. We just went through the Red Hill water crisis where we had some fuel tanks leak into the water system, and that threw us off. We learned a lot during that water crisis as to what’s going to happen during an emergency.
See, for our members, and even Lorna’s airmen during an emergency, those members have to keep on working. It’s not like they can stop and take care of their family. The mission goes on, so you have to prep them ahead of time so that they can weather that disaster. We learned a lot of lessons during the Red Hill water crisis in the fact that we’re not as ready as we could be. That’s one of the big things that our working group has actually been looking at on a big scale is, how can we prepare members for an emergency?
One of the things that you’re told when you get here is to have two weeks’ worth of food stockpiled so that in case of emergency, you can fall back on that because 90% of the food is imported here. Unfortunately, I can’t think of a single person that’s probably as prepared as they should be. That’s one of the things that we’ve been talking about. Maybe somehow educating members to prepare their kit before they leave the mainland. That way, the government will move it here, it will be in place, and they don’t have to worry about the expense once they get here.
That’s in the infancy stage, but that disaster preparedness is a huge thing. Because in a disaster, the goal is- we’re not there yet, but the goal is for the active duty or even the military in general, Guard, Reserve, to take the pressure off of the Hawaii Foodbank because in a disaster, their people are the people of Hawaii. If we can somehow self-contain and prepare those members to be able to be self-contained and to move on with their mission and not have to worry about going out and getting food, we take that pressure off of the Hawaii Foodbank and they can concentrate on the other people in Hawaii. We’re not there yet, but that’s one of our ultimate goals.
Bob: Kina, can you talk about that a little bit? I think there’s a couple things that are really striking me. Just this idea of being here on the mainland, we have the same risks, potentially, of- not the same, but similar risks of disaster and being prepared for that, but it’s such a different ask for me to be prepared and have that food in the pantry for two weeks or longer, or whatever, than it is for the people of Hawaii.
The other thing I’m interested in your comment on is just what Arletta just brought up, about this relationship between Hawaii Foodbank serving the people of Hawaii, but knowing that our military families are in need and how that gets discussed and balanced out for you guys.
Kina: Yes, those are two really big, really good questions. Let me start with the disaster piece first. If we look at what’s in our warehouse, and if we think about having to have enough food for everybody on Oahu in the event of a massive disaster, it’s a day, maybe. It’s not enough. We are talking with our Department of Emergency Management at the county level, and with our Hawaii Emergency Management at the state level. There’s a lot that we can do, both systematically and individually, to be prepared.
We have an internal plan that we’re working on at the food bank. A big part of our plan is also working with the agencies, with the ASYMCAs and with the other 200 agency partners who run food pantries and soup kitchens to make sure that they have some stockpiles, that they’re strategically placed around the island, what we’re calling precovery pods, with MREs in them, so in the event that Waianae is cut off from– Farrington Highway that goes out to Waianae often gets cut off for a car accident, let alone a disaster. That there are places that are going to be hard to reach that have at least some level of preparedness.
I think one of the things we talk about a lot is how much– If you look at the narrative, like have your emergency preparedness kit done, you might get a flyer in the mail. So much of the messaging falls on the individual person or the individual family to get prepared, but we also have to be prepared as a community and as a state. These are the conversations, I think, we’re having in the working group, how we do that. How we both encourage at the individual level, but also when a disaster strikes we’re all in it together, so how we make sure that it’s the communications and the infrastructure that’s in place to do that.
We don’t have the answers, it’s a work in progress, but it is one of the key pillars, key priorities that we’re working at, at Hawaii Foodbank. Because it’s a when. It’s not an if, and we all know that. COVID was its own disaster of sorts that we learned a lot from. I think we’re trying to apply some of those lessons- not lose those lessons and apply them to thinking about natural and weather-related disasters that we’ll hit.
On the second question, it’s a bigger and harder question around the relationship with the military in Hawaii. I’m not speaking out of turn to say it’s a complex– We are in occupied territory that was controlled by our Indigenous population, and that’s a complex relationship. On the other hand, it’s not either or. I have Hawaiian family who served in the military. Hawaiians have a history of military service back to Kalākaua’s days. It’s Hawaiian people who are serving in the Air National Guard, right, Lorna?
I think we, Hawaii Foodbank, try to get past the either/or, us/them narrative, and nobody should go to bed hungry. You can say, especially kids, especially kūpuna, elders, especially people serving our country, but it’s actually, especially no one. I think that it’s finding these intersections of partnerships where when we come together and link, we can all do better together.
I guess maybe if I could say one more thing leading from that, Arletta and Lorna talked a little bit about the challenges, but also there’s some really special things about being on an island. All the challenges we have are not unique to other places, but we’re just closer together. Lorna’s comment about the leadership being so supportive, I think we have that really in spades here in Hawaii. We are an inspiration for other places.
At the Hawaii Foodbank, we’re part of a cohort of other food banks who serve military families. Colorado, Savannah, Georgia, there’s a handful of food banks across the nation. We asked Arletta to come talk to the group about this working group because what she and her partners have done in creating this all-branch, all-collaborative, islands’, statewide organization of people is pretty tremendous, and everybody else was blown away. It gave a lot of ideas- not just concrete ideas, but inspiration and hope for what is possible.
Bob: What I’d like to do is ask each of you about advice you would give to someone who maybe is feeling the need for this on their installation, in their community, that you know there’s other people out there working on this issue, you know it’s an issue for the people that you serve.
I’ll start with Arletta and then Lorna. What advice would you give to someone who is on installation or working with Guard or Reserve and wants to engage with civilian organizations on the issue of food security for military families?
Arletta: It’s actually a partnership amongst several. I started my relationship with the Hawaii Department of Health, the public health department. That was a link that was made through Major Watanabe, but that’s how I fully understood how to deal with the food issue on the healthy side of the house. Reaching out to your public health departments, reaching out to those local food banks. I think there’s been a roadblock for a long time. It’s like we can’t talk to you because of security issues. I think that we’re all in the same business and all in the same game, and I think that we can talk to each other and share data and things like that, and I think that we can help each other.
I know on the health promotion side of the house, look at those areas that you’re reaching out to your cooperative extension. Great, great information on gardening, recipes, how to cook. Those are all skills that, on a military installation, I think that we need to teach. We need to teach about foodways, we need to teach about farmers’ markets, CSAs, all that stuff is an education piece because it all feeds into that food ecosystem. Because the goal– I know one of the goals that we have here is to try to stretch that food dollar as far as we can.
By stretching the food dollar, it’s buying local, preventing food waste, cooking with your scraps. A lot of the stuff that goes into the trash, that’s edible food, and there’s a lot of organizations across the country that are actually working on those sorts of things. I was recently, last week, at the American College of Sports Medicine meeting. I was able to wander around a Denver park that was near Union Station, and I stumbled upon the Denver Urban Garden. Which I have a garden. I got a lot of ideas from there. There are agencies in the community that can help you meet those goals.
Another thing that you might think about is encouraging breastfeeding in the workplace. That’s an education piece that a lot of people haven’t addressed, and that feeds right back into our food system as well. Reaching out to those outside partners that can help you. Every places has a little different agency, but like I said, the extension, the public health department, the local food pantries, your sister services. I’ve learned so much from the Army side, and the Army has learned so much from me. Just because you happen to reside in the same place, you’re not two different services. We’re all one Department of Defense.
That would be my advice.
Bob: Lorna, do you have advice from the National Guard perspective?
Lorna: Sure. I think you have to just set some goals. What do you want? How do you want to get there? Then talk about your ideas. You have to start having the conversation with your leadership, community organizations. You can talk to other bases. Call us. It doesn’t have to be big. You can actually start small if you wanted to.
Education is really the piece too. Of course, you want to educate the community and our leadership on some of the things that we need in our community or for our members. Schools, educate the children. [unintelligible 00:44:10]. They are the ones that are going to take it home, so tell them how you can be more sustainable, or teach them how you can save on groceries using coupons, or whatever it takes. Yes, set the goals, talk about your ideas. Then also, it does not have to be huge. Start small. It’ll always grow.
People want to help each other. In the Hawaii community, like was said earlier too, we support each other. Even we don’t only care for our kūpuna, or our elderly within our family, we actually help our neighbors. We take care of each other. We help our neighbors to make sure they’re okay. During a hurricane, we walk over to our neighbor’s house, especially if they’re elderly, and say, “Hey, are you okay? Do you need food? You need us to clean out your house?” Or whatever is needed. We make sure that they’re taken care of.
Once you start that conversation, I think everybody [unintelligible 00:45:09] and will be part of your team will gather.
Bob: Thanks, Lorna. Kina, we’ll end with you. Do you have advice for that person who might be in a community food bank or food pantry who knows there might be a need for military families and some opportunities to engage with National Guard or a military installation, do you have advice for how to get started?
Kina: I think reaching out to your local food bank is a really good start. Then I think for everybody, whether you’re at a food bank, or whether you’re in the military, or you’re a civilian, helping to reduce that culture of shame and stigma. Everybody needs help sometimes. We’ve all needed a hand up in our life, and so if we can create the kind of programs that are centered around helping each other, reciprocity, giving back.
I heard a great quote from someone in our community like, no matter how hard you have it, you can always help give blessings to other people. If we take that spirit, that connection in our community as part of the work we’re doing around food insecurity and health, then I think that goes a long way.
Bob: I want to thank you guys so much for the incredible work that you are all doing, and for sharing it with us today on the Practicing Connection podcast. Kina Mahi, Lorna Souza, Arletta Eldridge Thompson, thank you so much for joining us.
Lorna: Thank you. Mahalo.
Bob: I want to thank our listeners for joining us for this conversation as well. Thanks again to Jessica. She made this whole conversation possible with her hard work. We’d also like to thank our co-producer, Coral Owen; our announcer, Kalin Goble; Hannah Hyde, Maggie Lucas, and Terry Meisenbach for their help with marketing; and Nathan Grimm, who composed and performed all the music you hear on the podcast. We hope you’ll join us again soon. In the meantime, keep practicing.
[music]
Kalin: The Practicing Connection is a production of OneOp and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, US Department of Defense under award number 2019-48770-30366.

Reconnecting with Nature: Health and Well-Being for Military Communities
2023-08-30 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
About This Webinar:
Though the therapeutic benefits of connection with nature are known by some, military communities may not be aware of the health and well-being benefits that can accrue via time spent outdoors. This webinar provides practical information on how military family practitioners can aid their clients in accessing and experiencing the personal and community resilience enhancing attributes of an ecological prescription—EcoRx.
Learning Objectives:
Attendees will:

Understand the different layers and modalities of nature-based interventions and applications toward health and well-being.
Become familiar with opportunities within existing DoD installations and surrounding communities for military family resilience-enhancing EcoRx.
Demonstrate comprehension of the relationship between EcoRx, military family health and well-being, and community capacity.

Presenter
Dr. Keith G. Tidball is the Assistant Director of Environment and Natural Resources for Cornell Cooperative Extension, while also serving on the faculty of the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at Cornell University. Keith has many years of experience and expertise in the area of therapeutic aspects of outdoor recreation and green spaces, and has written extensively on the topic. He is particularly interested in connecting this body of work to military family readiness and military community capacity and resilience. He also leads OneOp’s Community Capacity Building efforts as principal investigator.
Continuing Education (CE) Credit
Continuing Education

Certified Family Life Educators: This program has been approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for 1.5 CE credit for CFLEs. Eligibility for CE will close on 8/30/26
Certificates of Attendance are offered for those interested in documenting additional professional development hours.

Event Materials
Webinar Slides | PDF

Childhood Trauma: Understanding, Supporting, and Preventing
2023-06-02 00:00 - 23:59 (America/Chicago)
OneOp courses are available for free through Thinkific. Get started by registering for a free account on Thinkific. This self-paced online course was created to explore childhood trauma, disability, and trauma-informed practices in early childhood settings.
The interactive course includes four units that cover the prevalence and impact of trauma, the manifestation of trauma in young children, providing trauma-informed supports, and preventing future trauma. It is designed to be a high-level overview of the topic and a starting point for professionals working with young children and their families.

Interactive components and links to videos are included, so make sure you have a strong internet connection.
Units and resources will open in a new window be sure to turn your pop-up blocker off.
The content includes audio and video, ensure your computer can play audio and video files, and open PDF files.
To ensure progress is saved, please pause and resume learning between units.
In order to receive continuing education credit and/or a certificate of completion for general use, all users must take a cumulative post-test at the end of the entire course. This post-test can be found at the end of Unit 4 labeled “Continuing Education.” You will have five attempts to pass the final post-test at 80% or better.
It is expected that students will view all materials, engage with the activities, and complete reflections.

Register and enroll on Thinkific.com, the platform used to host OneOp courses, for free! For help getting started on Thinkific email us at contact@oneop.org

Deserai Miller, PhD, LCSW, content author
Robyn DiPietro-Wells, EdM, content developer
Jen Chilek and Molly Herndon, instructional designers

This course will offer 4.5 CE credits through the Early Intervention Training Program (EITP) at the University of Illinois for providers in Illinois through Note: Eligibility for CE credit will close 6/30/27.
This course has been approved for 4.5 continuing education credits from the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC). Note: Eligibility for CE credit will close 6/30/28.
This course is approved for 4.5 continuing education (CE) credits from the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work. Check with your state licensing agency for reciprocity and/or credit approval if licensed for other professions or in one of the following states: CO, FL, HI, IA, KS, KY, MI, NY, ND, OH, OK. Note: Eligibility for CE credit will close 6/30/28.
This course has been approved for 4.5 SCECH from the Michigan Education Association’s Center for Leadership and Learning. Note: Eligibility for CE credit will close 6/30/29.
Participants will be eligible for credits and a certificate of completion for general use upon finishing the module in its entirety and passing a post-test.
Please access the post-test and continuing education certificate at the end of Unit 4 labeled “Continuing Education.”

Photo from iStock

Advancing Food Security for Military Families
2023-06-02 00:00 - 23:59 (America/Chicago)
OneOp courses are available for free through Thinkific. Get started by registering for a free account on Thinkific. Food security is a top priority for the War Department (DOW) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Although citizens have been feeling the effects of food insecurity for many years now, military service members and their families have been shown to be more adversely impacted by food insecurity. As such, DOW has recognized food insecurity as a threat to military readiness and a national security risk. Service providers and Extension educators play an integral part in helping military families become more food secure. Discover how you and other professionals can work together to expand food security for military families in your communities with this timely course.
Advancing Food Security for Military Families is a self-paced course developed by national food security expert Dr. Angela Odoms-Young. Use this professional development opportunity to expand your capacity to support food security among the military families you serve.

Learn about existing initiatives that address food insecurity in military families.
Examine the multilevel factors that contribute to food insecurity in the military population.
Explore innovative approaches that will help you assist military families in accessing USDA food and nutrition assistance and education programs.

Register and enroll on Thinkific.com, the platform used to host OneOp courses, for free! For help getting started on Thinkific email us at contact@oneop.org
Angela Odoms-Young Ph.D.
Angela Odoms-Young, Ph.D. is The Nancy Schlegel Meining Associate Professor of Maternal and Child Nutrition, at Cornell University and the Director of the Food and Nutrition Education in Communities Program (FNEC) and New York State Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program.
Dr. Odoms-Young’s research explores the social and structural determinants of dietary behaviors and related health outcomes in low-income populations and Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Her work also centers on developing culturally responsive programs and policies that promote health equity, food justice, and community resilience.

Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN) and Nutrition Dietetics Technicians, Registered (NDTR): This program has been approved for 6.25 CPEUs from the Commission on Dietetic Registration for RDNs and NDTRs. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 5/29/2028.
Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES): This webinar has been approved for 1.5 continuing education credits from the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC). Eligibility for CE credit will close on 6/1/27
Accredited Financial Counselors (AFC): This program has been approved for 1.5 CEUs from the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) for AFCs. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 5/29/2028.
Certified Personal Finance Counselors (CPFC): This program has been approved for 1.5 CEs from FinCert for CPFCs. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 5/29/2028.
Certified Family Life Educators (CFLE): This program has been approved for 1.5 CEs from National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for CFLEs. Eligibility for CE credit will close on 6/1/29.

Whether you are a new or seasoned service provider, the Powerful Provider collection will enhance your awareness and knowledge of programs and services designed to promote military family well-being.

Clinical Assessment of Children and Youth with Problematic Sexual Behavior
2023-03-22 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago)
OneOp courses are available for free through Thinkific. Get started by registering for a free account on Thinkific. Course 1 overviews the clinical assessment process when a child or youth has engaged in problematic sexual behavior (PSB). NOTE: Please complete each course in the PSB-CY course series, as the series material was created to be completed fully and sequentially.

Qualifications and guiding principles for providers
Assessment goals and procedures
Youth engagement and interview strategies

Clinical interview and assessment topics
Assessment measures
Analysis of assessment information

Clinical assessment of children and adolescents generally refers to the collection and analysis of broad information, using a variety of methods, for the purpose of identifying areas of strengths, vulnerabilities, clinical problems, and intervention needs for the youth and family.
PSB-CY clinical assessments should be holistic and ecologically informed. This means these assessments cannot and should not examine the youth’s PSB in isolation. Instead, assessments should consider the whole youth and the context of vulnerabilities, risks, and protective factors at multiple interacting system levels within which the youth exists (for example, family, peers, schools).
Following this course, the learner will be able to:

Recognize guiding principles for clinical assessments of PSB-CY.
Identify considerations when preparing for clinical assessments.
Identify research-informed topics relevant to clinical assessments.
Be aware of youth engagement and interview strategies.
Increase awareness of the utility of standardized assessment measures.
Describe the process of analysis of the assessment findings for conclusions and recommendations.

These courses are sequential and developed to be experienced in order. Each course will take the average learner at least 90 minutes to complete. Please plan to complete each of the four courses listed on the PSB-CY Courses homepage.
Julia Grimm
LISW-CP
Julia is an independent trainer and consultant with NCSBY on the topic of Problematic Sexual Behavior – Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (PSB-CBT) for school-aged children and adolescents. She graduates from the USC College of Social Work MSW program in 2010. Ms. Grimm served at the Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center for 12 years as a therapist and forensic interviewer, as well as a clinical supervisor. She is nationally certified in TF-CBT and served as a trainer and consultant in Risk Reduction through Family Therapy (RRFT), an evidence-supported intervention for adolescents with comorbid PTSD, substance use, and other risky behaviors. Ms. Grimm has served as an Adjunct Faculty member for the USC College of Social Work Master of Social Work program, as a Field Instructor for MSW students, and on the Board of Directors for the South Carolina Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Sue Righthand
Ph.D.
Dr. Righthand is a psychologist in independent practice. She is a consultant to the NCSBY and provided training, program evaluations, and consultations. She has extensive experience working with youth and adults who have sexually offended, as well as individuals who have experienced or initiated child maltreatment and other forms of violence. Dr. Righthand has a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and is affiliated with the University of Maine where she is an Adjunct Associate Research Professor.
Dr. Righthand’s recent collaborations include the development of the Youth Needs and Progress Scale and two books: Effective Intervention with Adolescents Who Have Offended Sexually: Translating Research Into Practice and the Safer Society Handbook of Assessment and Treatment of Adolescents Who Have Sexually Offended. She also co-authored the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol II and related research and was a member of ATSA’s Adolescent Practice Guidelines Committee.

Course 2| Caregiver Engagement in Assessment and Treatment
Course 3| Clinical Decision-Making and Treatment Planning
Course 4| Monitoring Safety Planning, Supervision, and Treatment Progress

Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists: Programming approval for CE credits have been obtained for Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists from the UT Austin School of Social Work.
Certified Family Life Educators (CFLEs): Contact Hours from the National Council on Family Relations to CFLEs are available.
Certificates of attendance are available for providers interested in documenting their professional development activities.

PSB-CY Course Series: Glossary and Terms

This course is part of the Sexual Behavior in Children & Youth (SBCY) Series. For more information on other professional development opportunities on this topic, visit the series homepage!
SBCY Series – Homepage

Caregiver Engagement in Assessment and Treatment
2023-03-21 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago)
OneOp courses are available for free through Thinkific. Get started by registering for a free account on Thinkific. Course 2 covers the caregiver’s role in the clinical assessment and treatment of PSB-CY. NOTE: Please complete each course in the PSB-CY course series, as the series material was created to be completed fully and sequentially. Caregivers are critically important in the effective assessment and treatment of PSB-CY. The discovery that their child engaged in PSB is often overwhelming for parents and caregivers. Research demonstrated treatment with caregivers is critical to positive outcomes, and youth have shared that their caregiver’s participation and support were key to their success. Effective engagement begins at first contact. How professionals connect with the family directly impacts the caregiver’s support and cooperation with the assessment and treatment of their child.
This course focuses on the vital role caregivers play throughout intake assessment, treatment, and safety planning for their children. Focus is also placed on the engagement of the caregivers and reviews caregiver involvement in the assessment process needed to inform safety and treatment planning.
Following this course, the learner should be able to:

Discuss the importance of the caregiver in the assessment and treatment process
Identify caregiver engagement strategies
Be aware of interview topics and approaches with caregivers to obtain information to inform clinical decision-making
Be familiar with approaches for introducing safety planning
Identify strategies to address common barriers to caregiver participation

These courses are sequential and developed to be experienced in order. Each course will take the average learner at least 90 minutes to complete. Please plan to complete each of the four courses listed on the PSB-CY Courses homepage. Before taking this course, we highly recommend watching the SBCY series webinar below. This webinar has been designated as a prerequisite for this course. Please plan to watch the webinar before taking this course if you have not done so already. Select CE credits are available for those watching the webinar recording!

Problematic Sexual Behavior: The Importance of a Multidisciplinary Evidence-Based Approach

Renee is a practicing New York State Licensed Social Worker with over thirty-one years of experience. She is currently self-employed as a Consultant and Trainer.
She attended Alfred University for her bachelor’s degree and obtained her master’s in social work from SUNY Albany with a concentration in children and families. Ms. Roman practiced as a Clinical Social Worker for several years in Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland. She relocated to New York in 1995 where she continued to work with children and families. Ms. Roman served as the Director of Clinical Services when the START Children’s Center (a child advocacy center) opened in November 1998. From 1999 until 2019 she served as the Executive Director of the Child Advocacy Center.
Aside from her clinical and administrative experience, Ms. Roman functioned as the primary Forensic Interviewer for the agency. Ms. Roman has interviewed over 1,500 children alleged to be victims of abuse or witness to abuse of violence. She is one of the original authors of the New York State Forensic Interviewing Best Practice. She was a contributor to and co-author of the NCA nationally approved updated Forensic Interviewing Best Practices curriculum. Ms. Roman also coauthored New York State Advanced Forensic Interviewing Best Practices.
Ms. Roman has trained thousands of Forensic Interviewers, Law Enforcement, Prosecutors, and Child Protective Workers since 2003. Ms. Roman is a trainer in Problematic Sexual Behavior – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents (PSB-CBT-A) and a within-agency trainer for the adolescent model. She has been treating youth with problematic sexual behaviors and training on the topic for 5 years. She has presented locally, regionally, and nationally on topics related to her practice. Ms. Roman trains Senior Leaders for the successful implementation of PSB-CBT in communities.
She has experience implementing these programs in her own community and oversaw the project to implement the adolescent program in New York State. Ms. Roman is an adjunct professor at SUNY Albany in the MSW Program. She specializes in the dynamics of family violence, evidence-based treatment for family violence, and child welfare. She trains for Ford-ham University in Sexual Abuse Dynamics (SADIT) and Brief Interview Training for Foster Care and Prevention Workers.

Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists: Programming approval for CE credits have been obtained for Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists from the UT Austin School of Social Work
Certified Family Life Educators (CFLEs): Contact Hours from the National Council on Family Relations to CFLEs are available
Certificates of attendance are available for providers interested in documenting their professional development activities

Course 1| Clinical Assessment of Children and Youth with Problematic Sexual Behavior
Course 3| Clinical Decision-Making and Treatment Planning
Course 4| Monitoring Safety Planning, Supervision, and Treatment Progress

PSB-CY Course Series: Glossary and Terms

This course is part of the Sexual Behavior in Children & Youth (SBCY) Series. For more information on other professional development opportunities on this topic, visit the series homepage!
SBCY Series – Homepage

Clinical Decision-Making and Treatment Planning
2023-03-20 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago)
OneOp courses are available for free through Thinkific. Get started by registering for a free account on Thinkific. Course 3 provides an overview of clinical decision-making and treatment planning for youth exhibiting problematic sexual behavior (PSB). NOTE: Please complete each course in the PSB-CY course series, as the series material was created to be completed fully and sequentially. Research demonstrates that youth who receive community-based evidence-based treatment that directly involves the caregiver is at no more risk of committing future illegal adolescent or adult sex offenses than youth without a history of PSB. Clinical decisions for the treatment of PSB need to be made based upon a high-quality and holistic assessment of youth and their families.
Key areas build on an understanding of PSB in youth and the vulnerabilities and protective factors for PSB. The course describes treatment outcomes utilizing the core components of evidence-based practices, as well as addressing clinical decision-making and prioritization of treatment needs among youth with PSB with co-occurring concerns (such as PTSD and disruptive behaviors).
Treatment components designed to reduce or eliminate PSB in youth while also enhancing safety will be reviewed including how these strategies can be effectively utilized within the context of evidence-based treatment.
Following this course, the learner should be able to:

Identify core components of evidence-based treatment for children with PSB.
Identify components of ineffective treatment for children and youth with PSB.
Describe outcomes for children and youth with PSB who receive evidence-based treatment.
Be familiar with clinical decisions based upon assessment of PSB and other social, developmental, emotional, and behavioral concerns (for example, posttraumatic stress, impulsivity, and other disruptive behavior).
Know descriptions of treatment components that address PSB as well as other social, developmental, emotional, and behavioral concerns within evidence-based treatments.

These courses are sequential and developed to be experienced in order. Each course will take the average learner at least 90 minutes to complete. Please plan to complete each of the four courses listed on the PSB-CY Courses homepage. Ben is a Licensed Psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Dr. Sigel earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Oklahoma State University and completed his internship and postdoctoral fellowship at UAMS. His areas of expertise include the assessment and treatment of children with a history of experiencing trauma and exhibiting problematic sexual behavior.
Dr. Sigel is a Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) trainer as well as a trainer for the National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth. He is prominently involved in the UAMS AR BEST (Arkansas Building Effective Services for Trauma) programs which have disseminated evidence-based treatment for trauma across Arkansas. Finally, Dr. Sigel is the Director of the UAMS Child Study Center Traumatic Stress Clinic. Further, he provides national training and consultation in the PSB-CBT school-age model, assists with the initial assessment of needs, and designs a training plan to facilitate teams’ use of the evidence-based program, collaborative care, and engagement of stakeholders.

Course 1| Clinical Assessment of Children and Youth with Problematic Sexual Behavior
Course 2| Caregiver Engagement in Assessment and Treatment
Course 4| Monitoring Safety Planning, Supervision, and Treatment Progress

Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists: Programming approval for CE credits have been obtained for Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists from the UT Austin School of Social Work.
Certified Family Life Educators (CFLEs): Contact Hours from the National Council on Family Relations to CFLEs are available.
Case Managers: Case Management Continuing Education Credits from the Commission for Case Manager Certification are no longer available for this course. However, please complete the evaluation at the end of the course to give us your feedback.
Nurses: Contact hours through the Ohio Nurses Association are no longer available for this course. However, please complete the evaluation at the end of the course to give us your feedback.
Certificates of attendance are available for providers interested in documenting their professional development activities.

PSB-CY Courses Glossary and Terms

This course is part of the Sexual Behavior in Children & Youth (SBCY) Series. For more information on other professional development opportunities on this topic, visit the series homepage!
SBCY Series – Homepage

Monitoring Safety Planning, Supervision, and Treatment Progress
2023-03-19 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago)
OneOp courses are available for free through Thinkific. Get started by registering for a free account on Thinkific. Course 4 identifies the key components of an effective safety and supervision plan for families and youth who present with PSB. NOTE: Please complete each course in the PSB-CY course series, as the series material was created to be completed fully and sequentially.

Strategies for determining what level of care is best to meet the youth with PSB needs and the safety of others.
When and how to implement and adjust safety and supervision planning, including the potential to seek higher levels of care.

How to determine when treatment needs have been met and when treatment may come to closure given the skills and plans families have acquired over the course of treatment.

As discussed in prior lessons, initial and ongoing assessment is crucial to ensure the safety of the youth with PSB as well as others. Team-based decision-making for monitoring safety and supervision plans will be outlined. Decision-making, whether to loosen restrictions or increase steps for safety, can be challenging and will change over the course of treatment. Caregiver investment and engagement are vital to a youth’s success, including ensuring the safety plan is followed as prescribed. While a small percentage of youth will require out-of-home placement options, most families and youth will be working with providers on an outpatient basis.
The course highlights strategies that caregivers and professionals can use to assess and plan how to gradually decrease restrictions and safety rules over time, including the use of electronic devices. Additionally, this lesson identifies additional resources that may need to be incorporated to enhance treatment progress.
Following this course, the learner should be able to:

List the key components of an effective Clinical Safety and Supervision Plan for youth with PSB.
Monitor treatment planning and implementation, including coordination among all professionals involved with the family.
Summarize strategies that caregivers should use to assess when and how to gradually decrease safety and supervision over time, including electronic monitoring.
Identify other needed resources that may need to be incorporated to enhance treatment progress.
Identify strategies used to determine when treatment needs have been met, allowing for a recommendation to end services, and collaborating with the MDT.

These courses are sequential and developed to be experienced in order. Each course will take the average learner at least 90 minutes to complete. Please plan to complete each of the four courses listed on the PSB-CY Courses homepage.
Paul Shawler
Ph.D.
Dr. Shawler is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and founder of Shawler Psychology, PLLC, a behavioral health treatment and consulting company located in Southern Illinois. Dr. Shawler serves as a consultant and trainer for NCSBY. His areas of interest and expertise include policy development and implementation of evidence-based programs for children and adolescents, juvenile justice and child welfare system reform, training in trauma-informed practices and prevention of child maltreatment, family systems, and the treatment of youth with developmental disabilities.
Prior to opening his independent practice, Dr. Shawler served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center where he conducted research and published numerous academic papers. He was appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma in 2017 to serve on the State Advisory Group for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and later served as the Chief Psychologist for Oklahoma’s statewide juvenile justice agency. He is a strong advocate for data-driven policy and family-centered services which impact the trajectory of youth who have engaged in problematic and illegal behavior.
Dr. Shawler served 14 years in the Army National Guard, achieving the rank of Major, prior to prioritizing his civilian career opportunities. He completed his doctorate and master’s degree in clinical psychology from Oklahoma State University and completed his fellowship training at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Paul grew up in Hurricane, West Virginia, and received his B.S. in Psychology from West Virginia University.

David Kolko
Ph.D.
Dr. Kolko is a Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, Pediatrics, and Clinical and Translational Science, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He directs the Special Services Unit at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, a program devoted to the development and dissemination of evidence-based practices for children/adolescents who are victims and/or perpetrators of physical/sexual aggression being served in diverse community settings, such as juvenile justice, child welfare, pediatric primary care, and mental health.
He is also director of the Services for Adolescent and Family Enrichment program (SAFE) which collaborates with Juvenile Probation of the Allegheny County Juvenile Court youths to deliver comprehensive outpatient services to youth adjudicated or placed on a consent decree for sexually abusive behavior by a Family Court judge. He is a co-developer of Alternatives for Families: A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (AF-CBT), an intervention to improve family relationships for those experiencing anger, aggression, physical abuse, or child behavior problems.
Dr. Kolko is board certified in Child and Adolescent Psychology (ABPP) and a Fellow of the Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice (Div. 37), the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (Div. 53), and the section on Trauma Psychology (Div. 56) of the American Psychological Association. He served 2 terms on the Board of Directors of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), was Co-Chair of its Research Committee, received its Research Career Achievement Award for 2001, and received its William Friedrich Memorial Award in 2014.
His treatment research interests include the study and treatment of child abuse/family conflict, child behavior disorders/antisocial behavior, including fire setting and sexual offending, and the integration of pediatric behavioral health services in primary care.

Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists: Programming approval for CE credits have been obtained for Social Work, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists from the UT Austin School of Social Work.
Certified Family Life Educators (CFLEs): Contact Hours from the National Council on Family Relations to CFLEs are available.
Certificates of attendance are available for providers interested in documenting their professional development activities.

Course 1| Clinical Assessment of Children and Youth with Problematic Sexual Behavior
Course 2| Caregiver Engagement in Assessment and Treatment
Course 3| Clinical Decision-Making and Treatment Planning

PSB-CY Courses Glossary and Terms

This course is part of the Sexual Behavior in Children & Youth (SBCY) Series. For more information on other professional development opportunities on this topic, visit the series homepage!
SBCY Series – Homepage
