webinar

Back to School 2024: What Do Young People Say They Need to Thrive?

Join GTY to Talk With WestEd’s Natalie Walrond and a Youth Panel

As young people across the country begin a new school year, how can we create conditions that advance their opportunities to thrive?

Past Event

DATE

September 19, 2024

TIME

2-3p ET / 11a-noon PT

LOCATION

Virtual

Join GTY on September 19 for our annual back to school discussion with young people and field experts. WestEd’s Natalie Walrond will offer her perspective from her national vantage point and systemic focus, and then lead a discussion with a panel of young people sharing their experiences in & out of school and what they are thinking about as the school year begins. We’ll reserve plenty of time for discussion.

This program is free and open to grantmakers and others in the thriving youth community. GTY’s webinars and funder learning opportunities are made possible through the time and expertise of presenters from the field. In the spirit of transparency, GTY will make available the list of webinar participants to presenters upon request, unless the registrant requests to remain anonymous (please indicate your preference via the registration form).

Speakers

Natalie Walrond

Senior Managing Director of Whole Person, Family, and Community Systems for the Early Learning, Health and Human Development; WestEd

Natalie Walrond serves as Senior Managing Director, Whole Person, Family, and Community Systems for the Early Learning, Health and Human Development division at WestEd. In this role, she partners with two other senior managing directors to oversee quality, impact, talent development, and business development for the division. Walrond brings to her work thirty years of experience in K-12 education, finance, and strategy, working with both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Walrond speaks and writes on social and emotional well-being, system alignment and coherence, academic excellence, and equity.

Walrond also serves as the Associate Director of the Region 15 Comprehensive Center at WestEd. Walrond served as Director of the national Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety, housed at WestEd, from 2019 – 2023. In this role she led the vision, strategic direction, and external engagement of the center. Walrond led a team of values-driven experts who worked nationally to build state and local capacity to integrate evidence-based approaches to social and emotional development and school safety with academic teaching and learning, school climate and culture, and all of the ways that children and youth experience school.

Prior to joining WestEd, she was an independent consultant serving mission-driven education organizations and agencies, providing strategic planning, financial strategy, and board effectiveness consulting. Her advisory, communication, project management, and group facilitation skills were developed in a variety of roles: as a management team member, a board leader, an investor, and an outside consultant specializing in strategic planning and nonprofit board effectiveness.

Walrond earned a B.A. in international studies and international business from Trinity University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, with concentrations in analytic finance and policy studies. She earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1999. Walrond is a member of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) and currently serves on the governing board of Beyond 12. Walrond also serves on a variety of advisory boards related to SEL and equity. She was awarded the Ed Myers Award for Exceptional Contribution to the WestEd Community in 2021.

Luisa Sanchez

Junior at Boyle County High School; coordinator of the Kentucky Student Voice

Luisa Sanchez (she/her) is a junior at Boyle County High School in Danville, Kentucky and the cross-organizational coordinator of the Kentucky Student Voice Team. Sanchez also serves as a senior editor of the education journalism platform, The New Edu.

Da’Taeveyon Daniels

High School Senior; organizer, advocate, movement builder, and storyteller

Da’Taeveyon Daniels is a dedicated champion for youth civic engagement, intellectual freedom, and racial justice. Spurring his work out of a necessity for diverse representation and the FReadom to Read movement, he’s empowered thousands of young people across his home state of Texas and beyond to take an active role in democracy.

With a proven track record of developing and spearheading efforts to register thousands of young voters, Da’Taeveyon has been instrumental in organizing local efforts and uplifting grassroots movements. His work in pro-truth education and anti-censorship has not only challenged book bans but also supported national policy efforts like the Fight Book Bans Act introduced by Congressman Maxwell Frost. As the 2023 Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair alongside LeVar Burton, he has built bridges and engaged intergenerational stakeholders to advance the cause of intellectual freedom.

Through his leadership across the youth organizing sector, he continues to use his voice to educate, engage, and empower youth, solidifying his commitment to creating safer, more inclusive communities. Recognized nationally for his work, Da’Taeveyon continues to break barriers, inspire, and mobilize the next generation of change-makers, society shakers, and advocates for a just world.

Maddie Register

First-Year Student at Harvard University

Maddie Register is a first-year student at Harvard University currently planning to concentrate in Sociology and Government with a secondary focus in Education Studies. Maddie became involved with SANE through the A+ Student Voices Team through A+ Education Partnership in Montgomery, AL. Through Student Voices and SANE, she developed a passion for education and organizing. At Harvard, she is involved in a few music groups, including Harvard Band, as well as the Harvard Political Union. After finishing her bachelors degree, Maddie plans to pursue both her JD and PhD and eventually work in educational policy!

Presented by

Grantmakers for Thriving Youth