NASPA Strategies Conferences

Adult Mental Health First Aid Certification Training

Mental Health First Aid is a course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.  Participants will be asked to complete a 2-hour pre-work course, in addition to the full-day pre-con training.

Speakers

• Jules Grable, Butler University
• Scott McAward, University of Utah
• Shanice White, Mississippi State University

Learning Outcomes

1. Evaluate the impact of early intervention on mental health challenges
2. Apply the appropriate steps of the MHFA action plan to a scenario where: A person shows early or worsening signs and symptoms of a mental health challenge or crisis
3. Choose appropriate methods for self-care following the application of MHFA

Battling Burnout through the Science and Practice of Well-Being

In March of 2022, NASPA’s Compass Report identified that 84% of Student Affairs Professionals said the stress and crisis management responsibilities of their jobs led to burnout. In response to this, UW-Superior’s Pruitt Center, a regional leader in mindfulness and well-being, has developed a full-day program that equips SA Pros with tools to reduce burnout, enhance resilience, and model well-being for students. This flexible, evidence-based training promotes proactive mental health and fosters a culture of flourishing across campuses.

Speakers

• Harry Anderson, University of Wisconsin-Superior
• Randy Barker, University of Wisconsin-Superior

Learning Outcomes

1. Student affairs professionals will learn strategies for coping with burnout, stress, and compassion fatigue.
2. Understand key components of well-being that are essential for student affairs professionals
3. Explore practical strategies and science-based tools that can be implemented in and out of the classroom to help individuals flourish

Peer Education Advisors Institute

The NASPA Peer Education Advisors Faculty empowers advisors to promote effective peer education and foster campus environments. In this full-day institute, attendees will deepen collegiate peer health education advisors' understanding of the complex needs of diverse learners and will explore implementation approaches and best practices. Participants will learn from experts and from peers, develop their professional networks, gain access to resources and skills, and bring back new strategies and solutions to their campuses.

Speakers

• Alic Czachowski, Columbia University
• Ashleigh Hala, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
• Joleen Nevers, University of Connecticut
• La' Tesha Hinton, Tulane University
• Santee Ezell, Mississippi State University

Learning Outcomes

1. Enhance advisor empowerment to effectively advocate for and implement peer education initiatives
2. Learn ways to tailor peer education programs to better address the specific, diverse needs and challenges faced by students
3. Explore implementation approaches and best practices to create effective and engaging peer education initiatives on campus

The Gloves Are Off: How to Fight for Meaningful Prevention Strategies

Misuse of drugs and alcohol interferes with healthy campus environments and student well-being, safety and success. This session promotes knowledge, skills and confidence for making a substantive and positive impact during uncertain times. Highlighting an extensive ‘toolbox’ of current data, resources, strategic planning processes and evidence-informed strategies, this session engages participants at professional and personal levels. Outcomes include practical leadership approaches that are grounded, locally appropriate, and comprehensive. 

Speakers

• David Anderson, George Mason University.
• Rich Lucey, Drug Enforcement Administration
• Allison Smith, Louisiana Board of Regents
• Katrin Wesner-Harts, University of North Carolina-Wilmington
• Shawnte Elbert, Walden University
• Kelly Truesdell, University of Virginia

Learning Outcomes:

1. To gain insights about the context of campus prevention efforts and the nexus with a healthy campus environment, student success, mental health and organizational goals
2. To guide personnel at foundational, intermediate and advanced levels with understanding a meaningful framework for orchestrating a comprehensive campus effort
3. To become acquainted with strategies, processes, advocacy skills and resources for addressing emerging issues, challenges, and opportunities for promoting impactful prevention efforts

Accused and Respondent Services in Action: Frameworks, Facilitation Skills, and Campus Application

The presenters will share NASPA’s recent publication on Accused Student Services and guide participants in exploring theories and practices that can aid in supporting students accused of sexual violence, dating violence, and/or stalking. Through interactive skill-building and a hands-on consultation lab, attendees will practice facilitation strategies and develop concrete ideas for building or expanding services on their campuses for accused students.

Speakers

• Kyla Martin, Northeastern University
• Megan O'Hara, Northeastern University

Learning Outcomes

1. Describe theories and practices that inform supportive campus services for students accused of sexual violence, dating violence, and stalking
2. Practice facilitation skills for nonjudgmental, student-centered meetings using motivational interviewing and restorative approaches
3. Develop concrete strategies to build or expand accused student services aligned with institutional context and student needs

Certified Peer Educator (CPE) Train-the-Trainer

Do you work with student leaders who host programs for their peers on campus? Join us to become certified as a trainer in NASPA’s own student leadership training: Certified Peer Educators (CPE). This session will prepare you to certify your students on campus with our curriculum, enabling them to become CPEs. Through modules that include everything from personal and group development, programming strategies, and bystander skills, the curriculum empowers students to create change on campus and in their communities through the lens of well-being.

For more information about the Certified Peer Educator program, click here.

Grant Writing for the Student Affairs Professional

This program is designed for student affairs professionals with little to no grant writing experience. The session will explore various types of grants, describe the grant writing process, and share strategies of how to construct a fundable proposal. The presenter will identify key components of most grants. Various examples of grants will be shared to provide practice with interpreting and responding to grant proposals.

Speakers

• Faith DeNardo, Bowling Green State University-Main Campus

Learning Outcomes

1. Explore various types of grants
2. Describe the grant writing process
3. Learn how to design a fundable proposal

Building Relational Capacity Across Campus: Motivational Interviewing for Student Well-being

Presenters will share how Motivational Interviewing (MI), an evidence-based communication style, can strengthen support networks and advance student success, satisfaction, health, and well-being. Presenters will offer case studies from Cornell and Emory Universities, illustrating scalable initiatives that trained staff and improved student outcomes. Through experiential activities, participants will practice MI skills, reflect on their growth, and develop strategies for integrating MI to promote student health and well-being.

Speakers

• Claire DePalma, Emory University
• Abigail Dubovi, Cornell University
• Peter Rives, Wake Forest University

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify the benefits of using MI to support students and staff who support students on college and university campuses.
2. Assess the value, impact, and outcomes of MI training and practice in promoting self-efficacy for change, well-being, and flourishing within campus communities.
3. Apply MI frameworks and strategies to explore and design a pathway for personally meaningful change that supports their own personal and professional development.

“You’re a Hard Habit to Break:” Evidence-Based Strategies to Reduce Harm

Recent years have brought many new professionals to campus alcohol and drug prevention, often inheriting long-standing programs, while others face budget, policy, and workload challenges. This workshop explores science-based efforts to reduce alcohol- and cannabis-related harms, minimize mixed messages, and use NIAAA’s CollegeAIM to balance individual and environmental strategies, offering actionable steps to guide campus efforts.

Speakers

• Jason Kilmer, University of Washington
• Ashley Helle, University of Missouri-Columbia

Learning Outcomes

1. Describe what it means to “do” prevention that focuses on reducing harms
2. Understand what your campus’s “mix of strategies” can look like and what is needed to set you up for success
3. Identify strategies for getting partners and collaborators to the table for strategic planning on campus

Evaluating Your Effors Evaluation

Centering evaluation in our work is critical. To do good work is great but it is critical to know if we are achieving our objectives. In college health and student affairs work we can find ourselves so busy “doing” that we forget to truly measure what is happening. In this pre-conference session we will explore the rationale for evaluation, explore how to make the case for resources, and develop a list of action steps to move your evaluation efforts forward on campus.

Speaker

• Michael McNeil, Columbia University

Learning Outcomes

1. Describe the rationale for robust program evaluation.
2. Discuss strategies for overcoming barriers to evaluation.
3. Evaluate opportunities for conducting evaluation on campus.

iCoach Training: Cultivating Coaching Mindsets and Skills Across Campus

This interactive 3-hour workshop equips student affairs professionals with evidence-based coaching skills to enhance student support conversations. Participants will distinguish coaching from advising and counseling, learn the coaching mindsets, while practicing core tools: the GROW model, three levels of listening, reflective inquiry techniques, and accountability strategies. Through hands-on activities and case studies, attendees will develop skills to empower student self-discovery rather than provide directive solutions.

*Participants will get a certificate that constitutes partial fulfillment of the requirements toward the Wellness Coaching Program at the University of Pennsylvania, an ICF-accredited Level 1 coaching training provider.

Speakers

• Zihui Lu, University of Pennsylvania

Learning Outcomes

1. Understand the differences among advising, counseling, and coaching approaches to identify when coaching is the most appropriate student support intervention.
2. Practice reflective inquiry, 3 levels of listening, and the GROW model through role-play scenarios to apply coaching frameworks in daily student interactions.
3. Reflect on and unlearn deeply ingrained habits such as offering unsolicited advice, rushing to judgment, and assuming students need fixing to develop empowerment-based approaches.

Let’s Get Ecological! Sexual Respect and Alcohol Safety Beyond the Red Zone

As educators, we often tend to offer programming at the individual level. However, we know that addressing community-level challenges requires thinking beyond traditional programs such as the “red zone”. In this accessible workshop, participants will engage with theory and evidence-based practice addressing sexual respect and substance use at multiple ecological levels (individual, interpersonal, group, campus) and create a plan for addressing a topic of their choice on their campus.  

Speakers

• Marlaina Widmann, Trinity University
• Jennifer Jacobsen, Macalester College

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify examples of behavioral interventions for sexual respect and/or substance use at multiple levels of the ecological model
2. Evaluate the evidence for and/or the theoretical basis for potential prevention programs and policies
3. Create a plan for addressing one topic on their campus at multiple levels of the ecological model

Building Campus-Specific Peer Education Programs: Setting Your Students Up for Success

Peer educators are proven to increase the impact of health education efforts across campus, but there is no “one size fits all” template for building a peer education program. In this collaborative workshop, a team of experienced peer education advisors will introduce the biggest questions to consider when building an effective program for your campus. Attendees will walk away with an expanded network of peer education advisors and a realistic program design for their campus that empowers peer educators and integrates evaluation.

Speakers

• Molly Dunn, University of South Carolina
• Sarah Werner, University of Arkansas
• Ryan Anderson, Indiana University Indianapolis
• Mallory Swan, University of Arkansas

Learning Outcomes

1. Align peer educator program structure with the needs of their department and campus
2. Apply new strategies for designing resilient peer education programs that can adapt alongside changing resources and campus climates
3. Integrate evaluation and tools for demonstrating impact into the foundation of your peer education program structure

Planning Health Promotion Programs: From Needs Assessment to Now

Few challenges are as rewarding and daunting to practitioners as creating a health promotion program. Building a program that is based on theory, draws on empirical evidence in current literature, and is informed by data collected from the population the program will impact is a substantial undertaking. In this session, presenters will share examples from the practical perspectives of a sexual violence prevention & response program, a stress management program, and an alcohol & other drug harm reduction program.

Speakers

• Elliott Bystrak, University at Buffalo
• Anna Sotelo-Peryea, University at Buffalo
• Jaclyn Piciulo, University at Buffalo

Learning Outcomes

1. Understand the rationale for a systematic approach to program planning.
2. Leave with a list of steps, tasks, and processes for planning a program.
3. Explain the causal logic of public health problems and solutions.

Safer Campuses, Stronger Retention: The ROI of Violence Prevention

2025 marks a pivotal shift in higher education’s approach to civil rights and student success. This session presents compelling data linking campus violence and harassment to student attrition, revealing disproportionate impacts across student groups. We introduce a new, evidence-based model that connects prevention to enrollment, retention, and completion. Designed to replace outdated compliance-based strategies, this framework offers actionable, equity-driven approaches that improve student outcomes and institutional sustainability.

Speakers

• Jessica Henault, NASPA
• Joseph Storch, Grand River Solutions

Learning Outcomes

1. Analyze new data demonstrating how student experiences of violence and harassment directly affect recruitment, retention, and completion rates.
2. Evaluate a new framework that connects enrollment, prevention, and completion through targeted, evidence-based interventions.
3. Assess the financial, reputational, and equity-related consequences of attrition driven by unaddressed violence on campus.