Parent Up Pittsburgh: February

Talking with Teens About Race

In this presentation participants will gain a greater understanding about racial justice from the experience of both, a professional racial justice educator who facilitates workshops on race and an African American mother of two sons whose first hand experiences with racism fuels her passion. Teens, just like children, care about their identity and are witness to issues about race and injustice. They need environments where adults are open to difficult conversations, honest with responses to their questions and prepared to empower them as they navigate the confidence needed to care about and engage in the work needed to eliminate racism.

Speaker Information:

Barbara Johnson

VP of Race and Gender Equity, YWCA Greater Pittsburgh

Before YWCA Greater Pittsburgh, Susquehanna University, one of the top five employers of Snyder County, hired her to lead their new Office of Workforce Diversity and Inclusion as an integral member of their Human Resources Department. She developed diverse community partnerships and established a professional development initiative for university employees. Before Susquehanna, most of her career was at Carlow University where she started their first Office of Multicultural Programs and under her leadership grew into their Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

She holds an undergraduate degree (BA) in Performing Arts/Dance, a master’s degree (MEd) in educational leadership, and is completing the final manuscript of essays on race/racism to complete a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Non-Fiction Creative Writing.

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Parenting is tough. It doesn’t get easier as children get older; every age presents a new challenge that we have to “level up” to meet. Parents are constantly learning and gaining new tools to better protect, teach, and guide their children.

That’s why we created Parent Up. We want to provide parents of tweens and teens a safe space to ask questions, to learn, and to network with other parents going through the same thing.

Parent Up: An Empowering Parenting Series presented by NAMI Keystone PA, premiering in September 2020, will be presented virtually. Each session we will spotlight a new topic and host regional experts to help guide a 90-minute workshop to build knowledge and strengthen parenting skills.