Update 9/8/25 – In Person Registration is Closed at this time, Virtual Registration is still open

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Hi Everyone, we’re looking forward to having another great conference this year.  We have a similar layout to prior years however this year we won’t be having breakout sessions.  We are mainly focusing on keynote speakers as well as a panel discussion at lunch.  We will have our coffee bar in the morning like before from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM.  Then we will have our soda bar from 11:15 AM to 2:15 PM sponsored by Serenity Funeral Home.  We are so grateful for the vendors supporting this event as always.  You can see all the vendors at their booths throughout the day.  Parking can be challenging so arrive early or carpool to help with this factor.  Another thing that we have learned is that the main room can be colder with AC running, so plan ahead and bring a sweater or hoodie just in case you get cold during the day.  Breakfast and Lunch will be catered during the day.  As in years past, we will send out a survey for you to complete at the end of the conference and then will work on sending certificates within 2-4 weeks after these are completed.  Be patient with us as the certificate process can take some time to complete due to the board being made of volunteers in the mental health professional community.  If you are interested in being a speaker at a lunch and learn, or someone interested in being involved with the UTAHSWA, please email us – we are always looking for fresh faces and perspectives to help move the association forward in positive ways.  We look forward to the 2025 UTAHSWA Annual Conference and are excited to see you all.  We’ll do our best to make sure the in-person and virtual presentation are smooth and positive for all of you who put your trust in us each year.

 

Opening Keynote (8:00 AM – 9:30 AM)

Catina Struble

Presentation Title: Talk Saves Lives (1.5 Suicide Prevention CE Credit)

Catina Struble is the Executive Director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Utah. She has a strong background in non-profit management, strategic planning, fundraising, and program development, and is dedicated to promoting mental health care and the importance of self-care. Catina emphasizes a people-first approach in her leadership, focusing on innovation and collaboration. Her mission is to save lives and provide hope to those affected by suicide.

Learning objectives:

                      1. Who is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
                      2. Safe Messaging
                      3. Warning Signs and What to Do

Keynote Presentation 2 (9:45 AM – 11:15 AM)

Kristin Lambert, DSW, LCSW

Presentation Title: Putting It All Together: Ethics, Compassion, and Complexity. (1.5 Ethics CE Credit)

Learning Objectives:

                      1. Examine common cognitive, emotional, and social influences that lead well-intentioned professionals to make unethical decisions, drawing on key insights from the field of behavioral ethics.
                      2. Apply Barsky’s (2023) ethical decision-making model to analyze and resolve complex ethical dilemmas in social work practice.

Kristin Lambert, DSW, LCSW, is the Director of the Master of Social Work Program and an Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Utah Valley University. Prior to joining UVU, she served as a Visiting Clinical Professor at the Brigham Young University School of Social Work, where she taught advanced clinical courses in the MSW program.

Kristin’s professional background includes extensive clinical experience providing individual, family, and group therapy to clients with mental illness, substance use disorders, and histories of trauma. Her practice has also included community-based assessment, intervention, and education. She previously held leadership roles as the Residential Director at La Europa, a treatment center for adolescent girls, and as the Clinical Coordinator at the Utah Health and Human Rights Project, a nonprofit organization serving survivors of political torture and human trafficking.

She earned her Master of Social Work degree from Columbia University in New York City and her Doctorate in Social Work from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Keynote Presentation 3 (12:00 PM – 1:30 PM)

Panel Discussion: The Other Side Village

 

Presentation Title: Rethinking Homelessness: A Human First Approach to Community & Transformation

Panelists: Jackie Tress, Jeff Kaiser-Plante, Marci Slaugh, Rob Myrick
Moderator: Preston Cochrane

Description:
The Other Side Village presents a powerful and hopeful session that redefines how we address chronic homelessness—not through programs alone, but through people, purpose, and place. This panel explores a “Human First” model grounded in the belief that healing and change begin with belonging. At the heart of the conversation are individuals with lived experience of homelessness and incarceration, who are now community builders, mentors, and leaders guiding others on their path out of chronic homelessness. Together, they share stories of transformation, the power of peer mentorship, and the critical role of intentional community in fostering long-term recovery, dignity, and self-reliance. Attendees will leave with actionable insights into how deeply relational, community-based solutions can drive systems change and restore humanity in the face of one of society’s most complex challenges.

 

Keynote Presentation 4 (1:45 PM – 3:15 PM)

Darren Perry

 

Presentation Title: “Holding Space for Ourselves: The Medicine Wheel and the Heart of Healing Work”

In the demanding field of social work, professionals are often so focused on healing others that they neglect their own well-being. In this keynote, Shoshone tribal elder, storyteller, and professor Darren Parry shares Indigenous perspectives on healing and self-care, using the Medicine Wheel as a guiding framework for balance in body, mind, spirit, and heart. Drawing on ancient teachings and contemporary challenges, he invites participants to reframe self-care not as a luxury, but as a sacred responsibility—one that is deeply relational and rooted in reciprocity, reflection, and connection to the natural world.Participants will be encouraged to explore their own wellness journeys, not just in isolation, but as part of a greater web of relationships. Darren will also reflect on how professionals can move beyond deficit-based thinking when working with individuals with disabilities—seeing wholeness, resilience, and wisdom instead. This session will be both reflective and practical, offering tools and stories that support long-term well-being and professional sustainability.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand and apply the Medicine Wheel as a framework for personal self-care and professional balance in the field of social work.
2. Reframe wellness from an Indigenous perspective that centers relationships, wholeness, and interconnectedness—moving beyond clinical or individualistic models.
3. Recognize the importance of narrative and identity in working with individuals with disabilities, and how shifting from a deficit-based view to a strengths-based view leads to deeper, more respectful engagement.

BIO
Darren Parry is the former Chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation. Darren serves on the Board of Directors for Utah Humanities and PBS Utah. He attended the University of Utah and Weber State University and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Education. In 2024, he received an Honorary PhD in Education from Utah State University. Darren is the author of “The Bear River Massacre, A Shoshone History” and teaches in the Environmental Humanities department at the University of Utah and teaches Indigenous Land Stewardship at Utah State University. He lectures around the country on Native American issues surrounding history and Indigenous views related to sustainability. He recently gave a lecture at the University of Copenhagen and spoke about Indigenous views to Climate and Environment. His passions in life are his wife Melody, 7 children and 17 grandchildren. His other passion is his Tribal family. He wants to make sure that those who have gone before him are not forgotten.

Keynote Presentation 5 (3:30 PM – 5:00 PM)

Dr. Ben Schilaty

Presentation Title: “Heart Work, Not Hard Work: Building on Social Work’s Sacred Ground”

Learning Objectives:

                    1. Invite attendees to reconnect with why they entered the field and how to align their daily work with their inner purpose.
                    2. Inspire participants to reflect on the foundational values of social work and how they guide their individual practice.
                    3. Frame social work as a profession guided by a desire to create positive change at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

Dr. Ben Schilaty is a social work professor at Utah Valley University. He also works part-time as a therapist specializing in working with LGBTQ Latter-day Saints and their families. He holds three degrees from Brigham Young University: a bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies, a master’s in Hispanic linguistics and a master’s in Social Work; he also earned a PhD in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching from the University of Arizona. Ben learned Spanish and Portuguese during his mission in Chihuahua, Mexico, and when he lived in Bolivia, Peru and Portugal. He taught Spanish for a decade at the middle school, high school and college level. Ben is the award-winning author of A Walk In My Shoes: Questions I am Often Asked as a Gay Latter Day Saint and co-hosts the podcast “All Out in the Open.” He is cofounder of the Gather Conference, an annual event offering support to LGBTQ Latter-day Saints and those who love them.