September 28, 2023 – Education Event: Teen and Young Adult Mental Health Panel

Save the date for this evening education event featuring a panel of local professionals in the mental health sector. A recent CDC press release states “Nearly 3 in 5 (57%) U.S. teen girls felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021 – double that of boys, representing a nearly 60% increase and the highest level reported over the past decade.”

Join us for an evening Education event with professionals discussing “Teen and Young Adult Mental Health”.

Guests welcome! This event is free with water and coffee provided.

Register Here
Registration ends September 25

Panelists:

Andrea Geraghty, LCSW is a school social worker with the Boise School District. She has been supporting families and youth in various settings for 18 years, and has been with the Boise School District for the past 10 years. The social work team provides students with opportunities to develop skills for navigating stress, support and guidance in the midst of crisis, outreach to caregivers for extra support at home, and connection with community partners.

Gretchen Gudmundsen, PhD, is a Child Clinical Psychologist at St. Luke’s Children’s and oversees clinical care for the Adolescent Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient programs, as well as co-chairing the Suicide Prevention Collaborative. Dr. Gudmundsen works with a broad range of youth with cognitive, emotional, and behavioral challenges, and has expertise in behavioral assessment and intervention with adolescents dealing with depression, bipolar disorder, and suicidality.

Dr. Megan L. Smith is an Associate Professor for the School of Public & Population Health at BSU. Megan spent 6 years as a K-12 classroom teacher before pursuing her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies. Dr. Smith’s work builds across education, human development, and public health to promote positive health outcomes for youth. As founding director of Communities for Youth, Dr. Smith focuses on upstream prevention through community engaged efforts to promote youth and community mental health.

Ruth York is the Executive Director of the Idaho Federation of Families. She received a Master of Public Health degree from Columbia University early in her career and spent time in hospital and pharmaceutical research settings for 10 years following that. Ruth moved to Boise in 1998 and worked for St. Alphonsus Health System in project management and St. Luke’s Health Children’s Services as the Director of Family Support Services prior to becoming the Executive Director of the Idaho Federation of Families in 2018. Ruth’s lived experience with youth mental health impacts of adoption and trauma motivated her to re-focus her career on family support services in the mental health area.