Title: Spring Prevention Professional Conference: A Blueprint for Sustained Momentum Format: Virtual via Zoom
Date: March 24-26, 2026
Time: 9 am- 4:00 pm CT
Continuing Education Hours: 18 CEH’s in Multiple IC&RC Domains
Price: $450
Registration Link: Click here to register
Schedule:
March 24th
9:00-10:30 1) Assessing and Strengthening the Five Pillars of Your Prevention Program
10:30-12:00 2) Elevating Your Prevention Impact Through Data, Storytelling, and Purpose
1:00-2:30 3) Making Prevention Visible Where Decisions Are Made
2:30-4:00 4) From Numbers to Narrative: Making Prevention Visible, Valuable and Understood
March 25th
9:00-10:30 5) A Roundtable on Collaboration for Prevention Impact
10:30-12:00 6) The Art of the Ask: Turning One-Minute Conversations into Lifetime Champions
1:00-2:30 7) As Federal Dollar$ Disappear, it’s Time to Invest the Community’s ¢hange
2:30-4:00 8) Collaboration Multiplier: Expanding Our Reach Together
March 26th
9:00-10:30 9) From Support to Ownership: Coaching for Performance
10:30-12:00 10) Translate Prevention to Power
1:00-2:30 11) Resilience in the Workforce: Preventing Burnout and Promoting Sustainability
2:30-4:00 12) Engineering a Vehicle to Move Our Work Forward
All virtual workshops are subject to change. They are scheduled in Central Time, CST, Use the time zone converter , then enter Texas, Houston
Course Descriptions:
1) Assessing and Strengthening the Five Pillars of Your Prevention Program: Using the five-pillar framework—Data, Funding, Partnerships, Champions, and Purpose—you will learn how to systematically evaluate and strengthen your entire program. Come ready to assess, plan, and build. Leave with a clear blueprint to sustain—and grow—your prevention mission. 1.5 hrs. in Domain 1: Planning and Evaluation
Skill: Evaluate and Strengthen Prevention Programming
Objectives: Participants will be able to create an actionable plan to strengthen any weak areas of their program and align all five pillars into one cohesive strategy.
Presenter: Mitchell Moore
2) Elevating Your Prevention Impact Through Data, Storytelling, and Purpose: This interactive workshop equips prevention professionals with practical tools to address substance use risk by changing community conditions rather than relying solely on individual behavior change. Participants will examine environmental risk and protective factors, including access, norms, policies, and systemic inequities, and learn how to apply policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies within high-risk and underserved communities. Through case studies and guided discussion, attendees will leave with actionable strategies they can adapt to their local prevention efforts. 1.5 hrs. in Domain 3: Communication
Skill: Communicate Evaluation Data to Stakeholders
Objectives: Participants will be able to 1) Identify key elements of prevention data that resonate most with policymakers, funders, and community stakeholders. 2) Translate local SPF assessment or evaluation data into clear, compelling prevention narratives. 3) Apply data-informed storytelling techniques to elevate the visibility and perceived value of prevention efforts.
Presenter: Johnny Riley Jr.
3) Making Prevention Visible Where Decisions Are Made: Much of prevention’s most important work remains invisible until harm occurs, limiting its influence in policy and funding decisions. This session focuses on how to surface prevention’s impact in decision-making spaces where outcomes, costs, and accountability drive action. Participants will explore ways to position prevention as essential infrastructure without relying on fear-based messaging. 1.5 hrs.in Domain 4: Community Organization
Skill: Communicate Program Outcomes to Stakeholders
Objectives: Participants will be able to frame prevention as a long-term investment and core public health infrastructure in policy and funding discussions.
Presenter: Leanna Troesh
4) From Numbers to Narrative: Making Prevention Visible, Valuable and Understood: Prevention often succeeds quietly. When crises don’t happen and risks are reduced, the impact can be difficult to see, explain, or defend—especially to funders, policymakers, and community members outside the field. Through reflection, examples, and hands-on practice, participants will reframe how they talk about prevention—moving from reports and statistics to messages that build understanding, trust, and sustained support. The session is designed for prevention professionals who want their work to be seen, valued, and understood by the communities they serve. 1.5 hrs.in Domain 3: Communication
Skill: Communicate Program Data to Stakeholders
Objectives: Participants will be able to identify and reframe key prevention data points (e.g., outcomes, protective factors, evaluation findings) into clear, audience-appropriate messages that convey prevention’s value and purpose.
Presenter: Steve Miller
5) A Roundtable on Collaboration for Prevention Impact: Prevention thrives on collaboration, yet building and sustaining meaningful partnerships can be challenging. This interactive roundtable invites participants to share experiences, lessons learned, and innovative ideas for strengthening collaborations across sectors. Together, we’ll explore how leaning into partnerships can expand reach, maximize resources, and create more sustainable prevention outcomes. 1.5 hrs.in Domain 4: Community Organization
Skill: Build effective cross-sector prevention partnerships.
Objectives: Identify opportunities to apply collaborative approaches that enhance prevention impact in their own communities.
Presenter: Louise Montag
6) The Art of the Ask: Turning One-Minute Conversations into Lifetime Champions: Passionate preventionist often struggle to clearly articulate the value of their programs, losing potential supporters in lengthy, unfocused explanations. Even fewer feel confident in the “Art of the Ask,” missing critical opportunities to secure in-kind donations and build meaningful partnerships. This interactive session will equip you with the skills to craft a compelling, concise message that engages your audience and inspires action. You’ll also learn effective strategies for making the ask—whether it’s inviting new interest groups to the table or securing resources for your coalition or program. Walk away with confidence, knowing how to communicate your program’s impact in under two minutes and make asks with clarity and ease. 1.5 hrs.in Domain 4: Community Organization
Skill: Design and deliver a compelling message describing a program in under two minutes.
Objectives: Participants will be able to identify and explain the three non-negotiable components of a concise, compelling message.
Presenter: Mitchell Moore
7) As Federal Dollar$ Disappear, it’s Time to Invest the Community’s ¢hange: As traditional funding sources become less reliable, prevention, recovery, and mental health initiatives must look beyond soft money and toward community-rooted sustainability. This interactive session introduces a relationship-based model grounded in Peter Block’s Six Conversations, integrated with Cultural Competency and Sustainability from the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF). Participants will explore how stewardship, community ownership, and storytelling through evaluation can build lasting local support for community health efforts. 1.5 hrs.in Domain 4: Community Organization
Skill: Develop Community Ownership
Objectives: Participants will be able to apply Peter Block’s Six Conversations to engage communities in ownership, culturally responsive participation, and sustainable support for prevention and wellness initiatives.
Presenter: Steve Miller
8) Collaboration Multiplier: Expanding Our Reach Together: Prevention cannot happen in isolation. This session uses the Collaboration Multiplier framework to help participants examine how sectors align, where gaps exist, and how partnerships can be strengthened for greater collective impact. Through facilitated mapping and dialogue, participants will move from parallel efforts toward true collaboration. 1.5 hrs.in Domain 4: Community Organization
Skill: Strengthen cross-sector collaboration.
Objectives: Participants will be able to identify overlapping goals and unique contributions across sectors.
Presenter: Angie Asa-Lovstad
9) From Support to Ownership: Coaching for Performance: Supporting your team is important, but support doesn’t always equal results. This session introduces a coaching-for-performance framework designed to move leaders beyond mere encouragement. Learn how to foster ownership and follow-through using simple, high-impact conversation techniques that build shared responsibility without the weight of formal supervision. 1.5 hrs. in Domain 6: Professional Growth and Responsibility
Skill: Build a Prevention Team
Objectives: Participants will be able to apply a coaching-for-performance mindset to prevention leadership and coalition work.
Presenter: Angie Asa-Lovstad
10) Translate Prevention to Power: Prevention efforts often stall not because the work lacks value, but because it is not communicated in ways that resonate with decision-makers. This session focuses on translating prevention and resilience into language that lawmakers, agency leaders, and funders understand and act on. Participants will explore how to engage power structures without diluting prevention values. 1.5 hrs. in Domain 5: Public Policy and Environmental Change
Skill: Communicate Effectively with Stakeholders
Objectives: Participants will be able to translate prevention concepts into clear, credible language for policymakers and decision-makers.
Presenter: Leanna Troesh
11) Resilience in the Workforce: Preventing Burnout and Promoting Sustainability: Prevention professionals are passionate about their work, but the demands of uncertainty, change, and limited resources can lead to burnout. Sustaining both people and organizations is essential for long-term impact. This session explores practical strategies to strengthen resilience, promote well-being, and build systems that support prevention professionals and organizations during challenging times. 1.5 hrs. in Domain 6: Professional Growth and Responsibility
Skill: Enhance Self Care
Objectives: Participants will be able to identify signs of burnout and risk factors impacting sustainability in the prevention workforce and utilize strategies and tools that foster resilience, well-being, and long-term organizational capacity.
Presenter: Louise Montag
12) Engineering a Vehicle to Move Our Work Forward: Description 1.5 hrs.in Domain 4: Community Organization
Skill:
Objectives:
Presenter: Mitchell Moore
Presenters:
1) Mitchell Moore BAT, ACPS, LCDC, ADC is a dynamic educator who has a passion for training people and serves those who serve by designing and delivering training and across America. He is an advanced certified prevention specialist and licensed chemical dependency counselor who has extensive experience working with youth and families in both prevention and recovery settings. He has served as a counselor, prevention specialist, a grant writer and executive director of a charitable organization. In 2019, he was awarded the Texas Prevention Specialist of the Year. He is currently an independent contractor, a beekeeper and volunteers his time with Prevention Training Services and the Texas Certification Board.
2) Johnny Riley Jr. is a prevention professional, author, and organizational leader with extensive experience in substance misuse prevention, behavioral health, workforce development, and community capacity building. He serves as President and CEO of Bridging The Gaps of Arkansas, where he leads multi-county prevention initiatives aligned with SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework, including policy, systems, and environmental strategies. Johnny’s work integrates trauma-informed care, cultural responsiveness, leadership development, and environmental prevention approaches. He is the author of multiple books addressing mental health, trauma, leadership, and prevention, and regularly trains prevention professionals, supervisors, faith leaders, and community stakeholders nationwide.
3) Leanna Troesh SWLC, LAC, is the founder and lead consultant at The Troesh Group, LLC, a licensed clinical social worker and addiction counselor who works at the intersection of clinical practice, prevention strategy, and public policy. She serves as a policy consultant and contracted lobbyist, supporting state-level prevention, emerging drug policy, and systems change efforts. Her work centers on translating trauma-informed, person-centered values into effective policy and prevention leadership.
4) Steve Miller is a dedicated leader in substance use prevention and mental health promotion, who bridges technical training with real-world application. Recognizing the people-centered nature of behavioral health, Steve bridges creativity and science to strengthen the workforce and individuals. His mission is to de-stigmatize substance use disorder and mental health by simplifying the professional language into a kitchen-table type conversational approach that fosters hope, healing, and connection. Steve Miller is a dedicated leader in substance use prevention and mental health promotion, who bridges technical training with real-world application. Recognizing the people-centered nature of behavioral health, Steve bridges creativity and science to strengthen the workforce and individuals. His mission is to destigmatize substance use disorder and mental health by simplifying the professional language into a kitchen-table type conversational approach that fosters hope, healing, and connection.
5) Angie Asa-Lovstad MS, CPS, is a facilitator, trainer, and capacity coach with more than 25 years of experience supporting prevention professionals and community coalitions nationwide. As the founder of ASA Facilitation, she specializes in strengthening collaboration, building leadership capacity, and helping teams translate purpose into sustainable action. Angie is known for her practical, people-centered approach and her ability to create engaging learning environments where participants feel supported, challenged, and equipped to lead.
6) Louise Montag, BS, CPC, is a public health professional with a decade of experience, specializing in substance misuse prevention. As a Senior Consultant with Montag Forward Solutions LLC, she provides strategic guidance and training to prevention professionals nationwide. Formerly the Executive Director at Prevention Network, she has led community-based prevention initiatives and developed numerous resources for the field. Recognized with awards such as the Prevention Specialist of the Year Award and the Top 10 in 10 Years Award, Louise is committed to fostering effective leaders and sustainable organizations dedicated to social good. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her husband, staying active, and spending time with her dogs.