Close to 50 Journey fellows reconnected at the Fort Benjamin Harrison Conference Center in Indianapolis for a day of learning about how to help ourselves and other individuals invest in renewal in their own lives and work.

After an extensive round of Connections and opening circle, fellows explored the different forms that renewal can take and what type each person happened to be seeking on that day.

Groups engaged in conversations about what language we can use and what perspective we take as we offer the idea of “renewal” to others in our organizations.

Mini-renewal teams are checking in with each other during the summer and prior to the Renewal Power II session on September 26.

If you missed this first session, you can still attend Session II, scheduled for Sept 26th in the Indy area.

As the Irish blessing goes, “May the road rise up to meet you. . .” and that it did.  Forty-nine Youth Workers who had all earned Journey Fellowships traveled to Northern Ireland and Ireland to exchange ideas, practices, programs and the profession of youth work.  The Journey Fellowship is a professional development renewal program that targets current and perspective youth workers to bring the highest quality of youth services to our Hoosier young people by the highest quality of grounded and vibrant youth workers.  As a part of the Journey Fellowship, the International Youth Worker Exchange started in 2005 and 7 countries have participated in the Exchange:  UK, Canada, Mexico, Kenya, Australia, New Zealand and Austria.

In Ireland the first stop in Belfast was to walk the peace wall that divides this beautiful city to understand the issues that still divide these people today.

Then a day spent engaged with Irish Youth Workers in partnership with YMCA George William College, Youth Action Northern Ireland and Ulster University.

Site visits in the Belfast area to see programs in action:  Derry YMCA, Derry Rainbow GLBTQ+ Project, West and East Northern Ireland Alternatives, working to bridge the divide through youth leadership and community engagement programs; and the Surf Project in Port Rush, a faith-based youth outreach program.

Second stop in Dublin where the Hoosiers were hosted by the Minister of Children and Youth Affairs for dialogue on growing the profession of youth work to meet the ever-increasing needs of young people.

A wide variety of site visits to Fighting Words youth writing program, Cherry Orchard Integrated Youth Services, Talk About Youth program, Cross Care, Swords Youth Service Community Center, BelonG to Youth Services, RICCY’s Youth Café – a youth initiated and managed program , Wellington Center & PALS Peer program, School Firhouse Educate Together National School, North Dublin National School Project; and the Fettercairn Youth Horse Project.

The true value of this global experience is the understanding of different cultures and where we as Americans connect with these different cultures.  And the lifelong friends that make as we continue to strive to meet the needs of young people from wherever they live.

As one of the Journey Fellows put it “Youth workers have to move beyond their own borders and move between the context of peacekeeping and peacemaking.”  Or as it was shared at the Belfast conference, “Youth work lies among two planes:  The Highground (research, policy, standards, theory and rigor) and The Swamp (messy, unpredictable, flexible with conflict).

The Journey is pleased and honored to announce the 30 distinguished Indiana leaders in the field of youth development who have been nominated and selected to be the seventeenth class of The Executive Journey Fellowship.

Bloomington

Kevin MacDowell

Teen Services and Digital Creativity Strategist, Monroe County Public Library

Josh Reynolds

Campus Pastor, Monroe Christian Student Fellowship

Bluffton

Jennifer Simpson

Healthy Families Director, Family Centered Services

Columbus

Heather Carson

Director, Council for Youth Development Bartholomew County

Crown Point

Kevin Elkins

Juvenile Probation Supervisor, Lake County Superior Court

Fort Wayne

Sharon Pohly

Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana

Aisha Smiley

Recruiter and Field Lecturer, Indiana University School of Social Work

Goshen

Jessica Hilary

Director, Student Hunger Drive

Community Outreach and Enrollment Specialist, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Elkhart County

E-man Monge

Executive Director, The Post Youth Center

Greendale

Jon MacMurdo

Family Case Manager Supervisor, Indiana Department of Child Services

Indianapolis

Robyn Baker

Regional Manager, AYS, Inc.

Burt Beck

Warren Township Area Site Director, Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis

Lauran Canady

Director of Clinical Based Services, Adult and Child Health

Brian Dinkins

President, National Institute for Child Empowerment

Anthony Dumas

In-House Manager, Outreach, Inc.

Letitia Haywood

State Clinical Director, Dockside Services

Melania Gant

Director Education Services, Indiana Department of Child Services

Matthew Gooding

Assistant Deputy Director, Indiana Department of Child Services

Floranne Ploi Pagdalian

Senior Director of Programs, Arts for Learning

Randy Pease

Director of Education, Indiana Repertory Theatre

Karis Reid

Divisional Manager, Indiana Department of Child Services

Abbe Shapiro

Director of Programs and Evaluation, LifeSmart Youth

Danielle Shockey

Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Central Indiana

LaPorte

Brenda Stellema

Director of Court Appointed Youth Advocate Program, Family Advocates, Inc.

Madison

Brandi Poling
Chief Executive Officer, Lide White Boys and Girls Club

Marion

Tammy Pearson
Director, Project Leadership

Michigan City

Brandi Lewis
Executive Director, Boys and Girls Club of Michigan City, Inc.

Muncie

Russell Higgins
Mental Health Therapist, Associates in Behavioral Counseling

Palmyra

Rachel Harting
21st CCLC Afterschool Program Coordinator, Blue River Services, Inc.

Wabash

Elizabeth Learned

Regional Manager, Indiana Department of Child Services

For the past 10 years The Journey, which has been fully funded by Lilly Endowment, has been part of the AYS Professional Development Center. Effective January 1, 2019, The Journey Fellowship programs will be a part of the professional development services of the Indiana Youth Services Association (IYSA). Lilly Endowment has approved a grant to IYSA to support The Journey for another two years

The Journey network has over 1,000 Youth Workers consisting of students, new professionals and executives. The Journey is a collection of programs committed to equipping people to lead with their hearts by: 1) Grounding people in who they are – the essence of their heart, their vocation and avocation; 2) Connecting people to each other – tapping into the power of community; and 3) Inspiring people’s beliefs about what they can accomplish on behalf of young people. The Journey has helped encourage more professionals to join and stay in the youth development field.

IYSA is a statewide intermediary that has 30 member agencies and 25 service providers serving youth in more than 70 counties in Indiana. IYSA and The Journey have been national leaders in promoting the Child and Youth Care Certification. IYSA identified that the way to improve outcomes for youth lies in the quality of the youth workers. IYSA and The Journey are excited about this new partnership and the possibilities for strengthening the field of youth development and the professionals in it.