Training Summit

2021 SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS

Christine McDonald

"Christine Clarity McDonald is an internationally recognized author, speaker and consultant known for her unique ability to construct conversations and ignite change for under-served and marginalized populations.

Christine experienced two decades of homelessness, addiction, human trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, 103 arrests and 7 prison stints. After nearly taking a life at gun point, Christine knew that if she did not find a way out she would become the very evil she had experienced over the years. Attempting to find her way out would take her on a journey that, although different, would be equally challenging as she fought to find her place in life.

Christine was left totally blind after choosing the life of her unborn child over medication that would have saved her eye sight but ultimately cause harm to her child. Eternally vigilant, Christine uses her lived experience as a tool to break stigmas, construct conversations for change and allow the outsiders looking in to see beneath the surface to the humanity of the hurting all around us and the challenges they face.

Christine received numerous honors and awards as she overcame her past and has claimed her place today as a change-maker. Her awards and recognition include the 2009 Inspiring Change honor, the 2010 Ex-Offender of the Year award from the Kansas City Crime Commission and The Second Chance Foundation, the 2014 Missouri Abolitionist of the Year award and the 2015 Missouri Champion from the Missouri Mental Health Foundation for her work for those in recovery. Her award winning expertise has been sought after by numerous local and national media outlets.

Laine Young-Walker, MD

Laine Young-Walker, MD is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in General Psychiatry as well as Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She currently serves as Associate Dean for Student Programs at the School of Medicine, the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, and is a Professor of Psychiatry, at University of Missouri Health Care. Dr. Young-Walker graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia with a medical degree in 1997 and completed her psychiatric residency and fellowship in 2002. In addition to teaching, research, and numerous presentations on mental/behavioral health topics, She has worked locally to create programs which help children in the community. These programs focus on access to child psychiatry and prevention/early intervention in young children. They include Bridge: School-Based Psychiatry, the Missouri Child Psychiatry Access Project (MO-CPAP)Early Childhood-Positive Behavior Supports program (EC-PBS), the System Offering Actions for Resilience (SOAR) in Early childhood and the Boone County: Early Child Coalition.

• Bridge provides early access in the schools for children in need of psychiatric assessment and treatment.

• MO-CPAP provides child psychiatry telephonic consultation, education modules and linkage and referral to PCP’s who are treating youth with mild to moderate mental illness.

• EC-PBS/SOAR/ECC all focus on early childhood efforts including screening for social and emotional issues, working with childcare providers to increase their knowledge and skills in social and emotional development, providing an evidence based therapy for young children exposed to trauma and providing Triple P Interventions to young children and their families.

Ross Greene, PhD

Dr. Greene served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over 20 years, and is now founding director of the non-profit Lives in the Balance (www.livesinthebalance.org), which aims to disseminate the CPS model through no-cost web-based programming; advocate on behalf of behaviorally challenging kids and their parents teachers, and other caregivers; and encourage the use of non-punitive, non-adversarial interventions. He is currently Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech and Adjunct Professor on the Faculty of Science at University of Technology Sydney in Australia. He is also developer and executive producer of the award-winning documentary film The Kids We Lose. Dr. Greene’s research has been funded by the Stanley Research Institute, the National Institutes of Mental Health, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group. He lectures and consults extensively to families, general and special education schools, inpatient psychiatry units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities throughout the world.