DRAFT

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Friday, October 10, 2025

9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

9:00 AM Call to Order

• Opening: Two-Spirit Invocation and Flag Ceremony
  presented by 2Spirit Veterans

• Welcome, Introductions, Acknowledgements and Housekeeping

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 Memorial; 2Spirit Drag Performance

12:00 PM LUNCH

12:30 PM Call to Order (afternoon program)

Panel Discussion: State Agencies: Veterans Mental Health Panel by NYS OMH
Moderator: Talia Santiago Bonds, CDO; ODI, NYS OMH

1:30 PM Panel Discussion: Veterans’ Providing Community Organizations Panel Discussion
Moderator: Imari Wilson; ODI, NYS OMH

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.

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] Uniform, Unseen, Unbroken: Healing Through Community

  Jesse Sanders, Ph.D.

• [B2-D] 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
Tanya Asapansa Johnson Walker
5:45 PM Closing: Two-Spirit Invocation and Flag Ceremony
presented by 2Spirit Veterans

6:00 PM CONFERENCE ENDS