Keynote: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Afternoon breakout sessions will be staggered for participants to be able to peruse resource tables hosted by direct service providers related to our theme. Choose to attend ONE session from the selection below:

1:15 PM - 2:45 PM

Caring for Children, Caregivers, and Ourselves in the Wake of Trauma

Sarah Martinez, M.A., M.Ed.

1.5 credit hours

Caring for children and families who have experienced trauma is an essential aspect of our work as early childhood professionals. While this work is important and can be transformative for the children and families we serve, it can take a toll on us as practitioners. This session will focus on ways we can care for ourselves as caregivers. When we engage in holding healthy boundaries and focus on self-care and regulation, we are better equipped to serve infants, young children, and families.  In this session we will discuss strategies for self-regulation, self-care, and self-compassion. We will discuss the parallel process of how our care for ourselves as practitioners can enhance our work with children and families. 

What If You Don't Come Back? The Impact of Separation Fears & Trauma on Behavior and Development

Tracy Patton, M.S.

1.5 credit hours

Families across our communities are living with stress, trauma, and uncertainty. For young children, the fear of separation from a parent—through deportation, immigration enforcement, incarceration, illness, or sudden absence—creates stress their developing brains cannot yet process. These invisible worries often show up as behavior: clinginess, sleep disruption, regression, aggression, or “not listening.” This session explores how trauma, grief, and immigration-related stress shape early development. Participants will gain simple, relationship-based strategies to help children feel safe, stay connected, and build resilience. Because grief is not limited to death—it lives in every change, loss, and transition—and how we respond can shape a child’s sense of safety for years to come.  

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Supporting Children and Their BIG Feelings: Staying Calm, Connected, and Confident

Tanya Blackshear, MSW, LCSW, I/ECMH-C

1.5 credit hours

Early Childhood Professionals are often invited into some of the most emotionally charged moments in a family’s life, developmental concerns, transitions, trauma histories, and everyday stress. This interactive breakout session explores how adult regulation, attunement, and relationship-based strategies directly shape a child’s capacity for emotional regulation and resilience. Grounded in attachment theory, infant mental health principles, and co-regulation science, participants will examine how “It begins with us”, our tone, our body language, our nervous system, and our ability to remain present in moments of distress.

Based on the work of Dr. Becky Bailey’s Conscious Discipline, participants will leave with practical scripts, relational strategies, and a renewed understanding of how their regulated presence becomes the intervention, strengthening not only children’s emotional development, but also the confidence and capacity of the caregivers they support.

Healing Starts Here: Understanding Childhood Trauma

Lorraine Guerrero Neumayer, MSW, LCSW, CADC, PEL

1.5 credit hours

This breakout session provides a general overview of childhood trauma, including types, possible causes, symptoms, and the impact on children’s lives as they learn to adapt to the world around them. It introduces the role of trauma therapists and trauma-informed mental health services through evidence-based interventions such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and eye motion desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Participants will also learn coping and mindfulness techniques that can be applied to their work with children.

Keynote

Michael Menard, BBA, is not a man who sits on the sidelines when he sees a problem that needs solving. He has always led from the front. Mike spent thirty years at Johnson & Johnson, starting as a junior engineer and rising to become the company’s first-ever Global Vice President of Worldwide Engineering and its most prolific inventor, with 14 U.S. patents and 232 international patents. He created the patent for the disposable baby diaper and the first feminine sanitary napkin with wings that quietly changed the lives of millions of families around the world. Most people have never heard his name. Everyone has used his inventions.

After J&J, Mike co-founded GenSight, a global decision science software company that has guided Fortune 100 companies — including Pfizer, Intel, Baxter, and Coca-Cola — through accelerated growth and organizational transformation. He is an original signatory to the United Nations Global Compact on Business Ethics and has served as an advisor to NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy. In 2013, Gartner named his work a Cool Vendor in decision intelligence.

But the work that may define Mike’s legacy isn’t in a patent database. It started with a memoir. In The Kite That Couldn’t Fly, Mike told the story of growing up as one of fourteen children in Kankakee, Illinois — and in writing it, he discovered the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences. He lost two brothers, Adam and Patrick, to addiction. The research told him why. That discovery became a calling. Mike founded United Against Childhood Trauma (UACT), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to turning this public health crisis into a national movement — through awareness, healing interventions, and prevention. His landmark book, Greater Than Gravity: How Childhood Trauma Is Pulling Down Humanity, launched in March 2026 and is already mobilizing communities, faith leaders, corporations, and policymakers across the country.

Mike brings rare depth to every stage — the credibility of a scientist, the voice of a storyteller, and the urgency of a man who has lived this issue personally. He makes complex problems feel human and solvable because he believes they are. Mike holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Governors State University and an Advanced Management Practices Certificate from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He lives in Franklin, Tennessee with his wife Emilie.

Breakout Speakers

Tanya Blackshear, MSW, LCSW, I/ECMH-C, is a licensed clinical social worker, infant and early childhood mental health consultant, trainer, and speaker with over 15 years of experience supporting professionals and systems that serve infants, young children, and families. She is the founder of Key Insights Counseling & Consulting, Inc., where she provides psychotherapy, reflective supervision, and workforce development to early childhood, early relational health, behavioral health, and home visiting professionals.

Tanya serves as an independent Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant (I/ECMH-C) to programs funded by the Illinois State Board of Education, the Department of Human Services, MIECHV home visiting programs, United Way-funded community-based services, such as youth re-entry programs, and IDHS/SUPR-funded behavioral health initiatives supporting families impacted by substance use. Her work frequently includes consultation with home visitors, doulas, birth workers, community health workers, nurse home visitors, early interventionists, and peer recovery specialists supporting parents in active use or recovery who are raising children in the earliest years of life. A nationally recognized trainer in Facilitating Attuned Interactions (FAN) through Erikson Institute, Tanya specializes in reflective practice, workforce wellness, and relationship-based approaches to care. Her work focuses on helping professionals strengthen attunement, regulation, and relational capacity while navigating complex family systems and high-stress environments. Tanya previously served on the Board of the Illinois Association for Infant Mental Health (ILAIMH) from December 2023 through January 2026, contributing to statewide efforts to strengthen the infant mental health workforce and professional learning systems. A “Forty Under 40” award recipient from her alma mater, Elizabeth City State University, a HBCU (Historically Black College University) located in North Carolina, Tanya proudly represents Viking Pride! She also graduated with honors from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s School of Social Work MSW program. Known for blending clinical insight, reflective inquiry, and practical application, Tanya supports professionals in using the parallel process and the self of the practitioner as powerful tools for deepening connection, strengthening leadership, and improving outcomes for children and families.

Lorraine Guerrero Neumayer, MSW, LCSW, CADC, PEL, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and trauma therapist with 20 years of experience supporting children, families, and communities impacted by abuse, violence, and complex trauma. She is the founder of Healing Place, a trauma-focused therapy and consulting practice in downtown Joliet, Illinois, where she provides clinical supervision, professional consultation, and community education. Lorraine has worked across multiple systems, including schools, community agencies, and the justice system, gaining a broad perspective on how trauma affects children, families, and the professionals who serve them. She specializes in evidence-based trauma treatment for children and adolescents, including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and other trauma-focused modalities. She is also trained in TraumaPlay through the TraumaPlay Institute, incorporating play-based trauma focused approaches. A survivor of childhood trauma, Lorraine brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her work. She provides training, consultation, and speaking engagements for educators, clinicians, law enforcement, and community organizations, helping professionals translate trauma science into practical strategies that foster resilience, healing, and positive outcomes for children and families. Lorraine also serves in leadership roles locally and statewide, including on the National Association of Social Workers Illinois Chapter Board and the Joliet Township High School District 204 Board of Education. Lorraine holds a Master of Social Work degree from Aurora University, a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Lewis University, and is a Certified Alcohol and Other Drug Counselor with a Professional Educator License in School Social Work.

Sarah Martinez, M.A., M.Ed., is a member of the faculty at the Erikson Institute in Chicago where she is the Director of the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Certificate Program and the master’s degree in early Intervention and infant and early childhood mental health. She is also a lead trainer for the FAN (Facilitating Attuned Interactions). She is also a faculty member with the National Center for Reflective Supervision and Practice. Sarah holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology and a master’s degree in early childhood special education from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Sarah’s bachelor’s degree is in special education from Vanderbilt University. Sarah is a member board of directors of the Illinois Association for Infant Mental Health, where she has served as president and secretary. Sarah is a frequent presenter on topics of infant and early childhood mental health, attachment, and parent child relationships.

Tracy Patton, M.S., is a nationally recognized early childhood consultant, speaker, and proud “mess maker,” helping educators, caregivers, and communities make sense of children’s behavior—and their own. With over 25 years of experience and a foundation in child development, trauma-informed care, and grief support, Tracy delivers interactive, sensory-rich workshops that turn everyday moments into powerful opportunities for connection and learning. Through her company, Once Upon Some Messy Fun LLC, she brings social-emotional learning to life using play, storytelling, sensory activities and hands-on experiences—equipping adults with practical, relationship-based strategies to support self-regulation, navigate big feelings, strengthen partnerships, and prevent burnout. From classrooms to living rooms to conference stages, Tracy helps people understand one simple truth: all behavior is communication—and when we respond with connection, everything changes.

Contact hours will be awarded for this educational activity.

The Will County Health Department is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Illinois Nurse Practice Act Rules, Section 1300.130 Continuing Education.

Co-sponsored by the Will County Community Mental Health Board

In partnership with