2025 In My Mind LGBTQIA+
Black and Peoples of Color Mental Health Conference
“Building Resilience Through Unity; Facing Changing Battlefields Together”
Focuses on LGBTQIA+ Black and People Color veterans’ mental health.
- In My Mind Day - Friday, October 10, 2025
The LGBT Center, 208 West 13th St, New York, NY 10011
DRAFT
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Friday, October 10, 2025
9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
LGBT Center, 208 West 13th St., NY NY 10011
9:00 AM Call to Order
Opening: Two-Spirit Invocation and Flag Ceremony
presented by 2Spirit VeteransWelcome, 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 We Remember Our Own – Remembering LGBTQIA+ Black and Peoples of Color who died between October 2024 and October 2025
Two-Spirit Drag Performance by a Two-Spirit Veteran
12:00 PM LUNCH
Reading of Warcrimes – a performance piece – presented by Nicole Goodwin aka GOODW.Y.N.
12:30 PM Call to Order; screening NARCAN video
Panel Discussion: State Agencies: Veterans Mental Health Panel by NYS OMH
Moderator: Imari Wilson ODI, NYS OMH
1:30 PM Panel Discussion: Veterans’ Providing Community Organizations Panel Discussion
Moderator: TBD
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 by Tanya Asapansa Johnson Walker
5:45 PM Closing: Two-Spirit Invocation and Flag Ceremony presented by 2Spirit Veterans
6:00 PM CONFERENCE ENDS - Until October 9, 2026