CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Friday, October 10, 2025

9:00 AM – 5:30 PM

LGBT Center, 208 West 13th St., NY NY 10011

8:00am Light Breakfast - generously provided by Wegmans-NYC
9:00 AM Call to Order

Opening: Two-Spirit Invocation
presented by 2Spirit Veterans

Welcome, Introductions, Acknowledgements and Housekeeping

We Remember Our Own – Remembering LGBTQIA+ Black and Peoples of Color who died between October 2024 and October 2025

SPEAKER: The Mental Health Battlefields of Justice-Involved LGBTQIA+ Veterans of Color
Petal Fogenay-Foster, MSW, MPA; Osborne Association

10:10 AM Wellness Break

10:15 AM [B1] Breakout Session 1 (concurrent)

• [B1-A] In My Mind: “My Identity Matters” LGBTQ, the Military, and Trauma-Informed Care; Needed, Now, More than Ever
  Gary Bailey,DHL,MSW,ACSW; Simmons College, Boston, MA

• [B1-B] Restoring Honor: Discharge-Related Advocacy For LGBTQ+ Military Veterans

  Benjamin Pomerance, Esq.

• [B1-C] Three Battlefields: Healing and Advocacy for Justice-Involved LGBTQIA+ Veterans of Color.

  Petal Fogenay-Foster, MSW, MPA; Osborne Association

• [B1-D] Intergenerational Conciliation Fellowship

  John-Martin Green, Ed.D.; The GateKeepers Collective

11:30 AM LUNCH - generously provided by Wegmans-NYC

12:00 PM Two-Spirit Drag Performances by Two-Spirit Veterans Landa Lakes & Buffalo Barbie

12:30 PM Call to Order; screening Pronouns and NARCAN videos

State Agencies: Veterans Mental Health Panel by NYS OMH
Moderator: Imari Wilson ODI, NYS OMH; Panelists: Jorge Lopez-Martinez, Program Associate for the Hate and Bias Prevention Unit Response Team, NYS DHR; Lauren D'Mello, Ed.D. - Executive Director, DVS Community Mental Health; John Stenson - OMH; and Joanne Joseph LCSW, Gotham Health System Wide Director of Social Work, Behavioral Health Administrator, Director of Community Mental Health Grants, Gouverneur Hospital

1:30 PM Veterans in Community Mobilization and Organizing - A NYS Veterans’ Communities Panel Discussion

Moderator: Maurice Franklin, Ph.D., California State University, Northridge, and the City University of New York; Panelists: Dondi McKellar; Donna L. Perrott - Coordinator, DVS Housing and Support Services; and Derek Coy, NY Health Foundation.

2:30 PM SPEAKER: Building Personal and Community Resilience amid a volatile landscape --- and other madness!
Justin Terry Smith, Dr.PH. and Philip Terry Smith, Ph.D. (via Zoom)

3:15pm Wellness Break

3:30pm [B2] Breakout 2 (concurrent)

• [B2-A] Serving with Spirit: Two-Spirit Veterans Stories on Resilience, Culture, and Community

  Elton Naswood, J. Miko Thomas, Xavier Yazzie

• [B2-B] Governance, Sustainability, and Resilience of African-American Healthcare Delivery Nonprofit Organizations in the Era of COVID-19: Implications for HIV Services, Mental Health, and Community Health System

  Maurice Franklin, Ph.D.

• [B2-C] Queerness and the Black Church Affect

  Faith Northern, LPC and Candice Holloway, LPC

4:45 PM Wellness Break

5:00 PM SPEAKER: Living in Our Truth; An Act of Resistance by Tanya Asapansa Johnson Walker

5:45 PM Closing: Two-Spirit Invocation - presented by 2Spirit Veterans

6:00 PM CONFERENCE ENDS - Until October 8 and or 9, 2026