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As front line educators, counselors and navigators, you play a critical role in helping youth and adults from diverse backgrounds make important education and training decisions about their future. Explore what are the latest important updates to know as a professional in this space. Explore resources around financial aid, advising students and college access culture building strategies that will equip you to help students navigate college access.

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Great culture starts with values grounded in a shared mission, and thrives through people-first leadership. In this session, we will explore how to create workplaces where team members feel trusted, supported, and connected. We’ll highlight how Youth Solutions’ core values, Transformational, Authentic, Inspirational, Advocates, and Conveners, guide our everyday leadership practices, from uplifting one another to how we build community and act with purpose. Through reflection and shared strategies, you’ll walk away with tools to strengthen trust, reinforce morale, and lead with intentionality, so your team builds a greater sense of purpose and belonging.

What if you had a personal assistant to help you customize content delivery, write emails, generate new ideas, and save time on repetitive tasks? That’s the power of AI—when you know how to use it well. This session is designed to introduce JMG specialists to the practical ways AI can support your work and give you back more time for what matters most. You'll explore real examples tailored to your role and learn simple strategies for asking AI the right questions to get the results you need. Whether you’re brand new to AI or looking to build on what you’ve tried, this session will give you tools you can use right away to make your workday easier and more efficient.

This workshop is designed to support specialists working with a truly disconnected, out-of-school youth population who are striving to earn their GED. We will share practical tips and strategies for building meaningful connections and delivering effective, personalized support. A key focus will be on rapport-building, which serves as the foundation for our work with this unique population. We’ll explore how using “voice and choice” empowers students and helps reduce barriers to engagement. By centering our approach around each student's interests, strengths, and goals, we move away from a one-size-fits-all model. We will encourage specialists to tailor their approach to each student, recognizing that flexibility and creativity often lead to the best outcomes. Examples of our rapport-building techniques include “coffee with a purpose,” where we meet students individually for informal conversations that are not focused on academics or employment—just genuine connection. We’ll also demonstrate how we use students' personal interests to guide programming, such as organizing talent tours aligned with their dreams—even unconventional ones. We’ll discuss communication strategies tailored to student needs, from spontaneous check-ins to regularly scheduled meetings that work around their life responsibilities, like childcare. Collaboration is also key—we take a team-based approach, supporting each other’s caseloads, hosting group events to build community, and planning activities like a summer fishing trip. Finally, we’ll highlight our partnerships with educators, community agencies, and other programs to ensure a full support network. If we can't help with something directly, we connect students to someone who can.

Juggling multiple programs while adapting to new cultures can be overwhelming, often pulling you in different directions. This presentation offers strategies to maintain efficiency while protecting your well-being and personal life. Key topics covered: -Techniques for balancing work responsibilities with personal and family life; Managing time effectively while navigating multiple programs; Maintaining data accuracy without becoming overwhelmed; Setting boundaries to ensure professional success and personal well-being; Prioritizing self-care and quality time with family. By the end, you’ll gain practical insights to stay organized, manage expectations, and foster a healthy work-life balance—all while excelling in your role.

Building Bridges is a unique workshop designed to increase staff confidence in building and maintaining partnerships. The workshop will provide skills and tips for forging positive relationships with businesses and schools that serve our community’s youth population. Participants will be guided through the phases of developing these relationships, starting with identifying potential partners and progressing to maintaining strong, long-term partnerships. Along the way, we will share some of our successes and lessons learned.

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Best Practices for supporting a team that is high performing, does amazing work, keeping them from burnout and awareness of secondary trauma

When talking with schools, it’s easy to lead with what your program offers—but what matters most is how it solves a problem for them. In this session, participants will learn how to frame the JMG program in ways that resonate with school leaders by using school-centered language, aligning with district priorities, and communicating your value. You’ll leave with a personalized pitch you can use in your next school meeting.

Five years ago, COVID tore through our OOS program like a hurricane, changing everything in its wake. The most bothersome part of the new normal? It was really, really hard to get our youth out of their houses, out of their comfort zones, and back in front of our Specialists. For years, it felt like we tried so many strategies to accommodate participants' wants and needs while making them realize the importance of in-person meetings and attending events. Would OOS youth ever come back? Twelve months ago, we tried a simple yet nerve-wracking strategy. We stuck to it no matter what. And then, just a few months later, the youth came back. This presentation will tell our story, while emphasizing the simplicity of our strategies, but also outlining the numerous benefits we have enjoyed since we made the change.

This presentation explores the powerful impact job shadowing can have on youth as they navigate their path toward future careers. By stepping into real-world work environments, students gain firsthand insight into various industries, helping them make informed decisions about their career interests and goals. Beyond exposure, job shadowing fosters valuable networking opportunities with professionals, enabling young people to build connections that can lead to internships, mentorships, and even future job offers. Attendees will learn how job shadowing builds confidence and sharpens soft skills, while also learning how to facilitate meaningful job shadowing partnerships, prepare students to engage professionally, and collaborate with local businesses and community organizations.

You've engineered the ultimate story--now it's time to deploy! But in today's digital jungle, getting your message through the noise is no easy feat. In this high-stakes, interactive briefing, we'll uncover the covert channels marketers use to transmit their narratives, identify which ones are mission-critical (spoiler: not all are created equal), and equip you with tactical strategies to launch your message swiftly and effectively. You'll gain access to classified tools from the JMG arsenal, receive plug-and-play templates, and learn how to activate them in the field. Expect hands-on exercises, real-time demos, and a chance to interrogate the experts during our debriefing session. Bring your laptop. Bring your questions. And prepare to go operational!

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This youth-led panel explores one essential question: How do we create workplaces where the future of Michigan wants to work? Moderated by a Michigan employer, the conversation will center the voices of young people as they share their honest experiences, expectations, and ideas for the future of work. Through real stories and forward-thinking insights, these emerging leaders will challenge assumptions and offer a bold vision for building more meaningful, inclusive, and inspiring workplaces across our state.

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In this fast-paced showcase, Michigan employers and workforce partners will each give a short, impactful pitch about who they are, what they offer, and how they can support youth success. Learn how these stakeholders are working to create opportunities that not only build career pathways—but also inspire young people to stay, grow, and thrive right here in Michigan.

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Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) has launched its Adult Student Attainment Strategy to accelerate more Michiganders into high wage earning careers through postsecondary opportunities. In particular this strategy supports adult learners with disabilities, earning a high school diploma or equivalency, adults with some college and no degree, justice impacted individuals and Veterans. We will share some of our strategic cross sector work between K-12, higher education, adult learning, and workforce development through partnerships, professional learning and policy recommendations. Explore how you can be connected with our work, what strategies and initiatives we are uplifting. MCAN and its partners are creating new opportunities for collaboration and integration, empowering learners at all stages toward Michigan’s pursuit of Sixty by 30.

Registered Apprenticeships are structured, "earn-and-learn" training models that combine paid work experience with classroom instruction, developing skilled professionals in specific occupations. For individuals, Registered Apprenticeships offer career pathways with paid work experience, mentorship, wage increases, classroom instruction, and a nationally recognized credential.

Similarly, high-quality apprenticeship readiness programs are recognized as proven strategies to accelerate skill development while providing the highest level of safety, quality, and return on investment. To encourage the expansion of high-quality apprenticeship readiness programs in the state, Michigan Apprenticeship Readiness Certificate (MARC) endorsements are reserved exclusively for high-quality pre-apprenticeship training that connects participants with Registered Apprenticeship opportunities upon program completion.

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Each day concludes with dedicated Team Time—an opportunity for program teams to come together, reflect on key takeaways, and connect new learning to their own program goals. This intentional time is designed to spark meaningful conversations, align on priorities, and begin developing actionable plans for how to implement new ideas and strategies in the year ahead. Teams are encouraged to use this space to collaborate, problem-solve, and ensure that insights from the summit translate into impactful outcomes for youth.

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