Program Schedule (Preliminary)

11:00-12:30: Keynote Speaker: Charlie Morse

From Overwhelm to Renewal: Reimagining Well-Being on Campus

How can one navigate a path forward through such challenging and confusing landscapes? Campus administrations feel like they’re under attack and circling the wagons. Students are experiencing significant levels of stress and distracting themselves with social media and other escapes. Faculty and staff are feeling out of control and burning out, leaving our campuses for greener pastures. Amidst it all counseling center directors are expected to be a calming presence and to hold it all together. I aspire, within this keynote discussion, to help us all better understand this challenging landscape we find ourselves in and how to best move forward in an effective and healthy manner.

Bio:

Charlie Morse is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who worked in the Counseling Center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute for 32 years, formerly Director of the Center for 16 years. He recently retired from WPI as Dean of Student Wellness, overseeing Directors of Health, Counseling, and Well-Being. This position allowed Charlie to focus on the integration of overall healthcare to reflect a holistic emphasis on well-being and to develop and support campuswide approaches to elevating health and well-being within the campus community. Charlie’s areas of interest include campus community mental health education and suicide prevention, Acceptance & Commitment Theory based clinical and community development approaches, and team cohesiveness and development strategies. Charlie has served in leadership positions in national and regional organizations focusing on college mental health and has published several peer reviewed articles and book chapters pertaining to various aspects of college student mental health.

5:00-6:30: Plenary Presentation & Dinner

Centering the Margins in the Path Forward: Lessons from Our Communities.

Many of our current challenges have been tackled by our marginalized communities for decades. What have they done, and what can we learn from them to keep moving forward? In this talk, I will present opportunities for transformation by centering the voices and actions of marginalized community members. I will discuss the lessons learned from my community-engaged research with LGBTQIA+, immigrant, and Latine groups. Our conversation will be framed by critical feminist forms of analysis and interventions applicable to counseling centers.

Bio: 

Dr. Luis R. Alvarez-Hernandez is originally from Puerto Rico, where he started his studies in social work. He completed a BSW from Dalton State College and an MSW with a Clinical Concentration and a PhD in Social Work, both from the University of Georgia. He also has had the opportunity to engage in global social work experiences in various Latin American countries.

Dr. Alvarez-Hernandez’s research focuses on the social determinants of health of Latinx, LGBTQ+, and immigrant communities with a particular attention to the liberatory experiences of people living at the intersections of these identities. His teaching and research are informed by over 10 years of experience as a bilingual (English and Spanish) clinical social worker in mental health and healthcare settings, and by critical and feminist theories. Dr. Alvarez-Hernandez teaches courses on direct practice with individuals, families, and groups.