I had the privilege to facilitate a Storytelling Workshop for the Fåha' Digital Media board and staff! Thank you so much Daisy Demapan and Shannon Sasamoto for having me and trusting my expertise!
The workshop featured various fun storytelling activities designed to enhance storytelling skills, including pattern development, active listening, and improvisation, among others.
We were also able to incorporate Lalaga, "a card game that uses Pasifika wisdom (talanoa) to foster empathy and connection through sharing stories." (https://lalaga.co/). Shoutout to Arizona Leger for shipping the cards over to Saipan!
If you or your organization is in need of a trainer/workshop facilitator, please feel free to reach out to me, and let's see what we can do together!
I was invited by the Rotaract Club of Saipan to facilitate a conflict resolution workshop. This workshop featured experiential activities simulating conflict and allowed participants to engage in group discussions and come up with a conflict resolution process.
I was invited to facilitate teambuilding activities for Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation Behavioral Health Services Community Guidance Center’s (CGC) Community Outreach and Response Services (CORS).
My personal philosophy for teambuilding is that they’re not just games meant for fun, but that activities should be intentional and meaningful and should contribute to building up teams. Therefore, my activities focused on building communication and conflict resolution skills. I had activities lined up for diversity and trust, but we ran out of time.
After each activity, we spent time debriefing and processing what we learned and how we can apply it in the workplace.
Last February 8 and 9, 2024, I facilitated a 2-day Training of Trainers for the behavioral health presentations of the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation Behavioral Health Services - Community Guidance Center. My participants included training and outreach staff, as well as some direct service providers from each of the clinics and programs under CGC.
The overall goals of this TOT were that:
CGC staff will understand the science of learning and development
CGC staff will be able to apply the science of learning and development in designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating presentations and training curricula
CGC staff will be cross-trained in all standardized behavioral health presentations offered to the community
On Day 1, we provided an overview of the ADDIE training cycle, conducted a sample needs assessment, developed learning objectives, designed design documents and lesson plans, practiced developing presentation slides, and practiced facilitating training activities and practiced debriefing of participants. Towards the afternoon, we demonstrated how to facilitate our standardized presentations and drew lots for the teach backs on Day 2.
On Day 2, we covered all 4 levels of evaluation and how to evaluate at each level. We then developed a sample pre-test/post-test for a sample presentation. Finally, the highlight of the TOT were the teachbacks from the participants on CGC’s standardized presentations.
I had fun designing, developing, and facilitating this TOT to share my expertise in L&D with our CGC staff and hope that they can apply the same KSAs in their own clinics and programs.
I am one of the CNMI's Youth Mental Health First Aid (Y-MHFA) Instructors. In my work as a Y-MHFA Instructor:
I received an Honorable Mention at the national level for Youth MHFA Instructor of the Year
I was recognized by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing as one of the top Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Instructors for 2023 by "Teaching the most First Aiders in the Northern Mariana Islands." Last 2023, I was able to facilitate a total of 6 Youth MHFA trainings across the islands of Saipan and Rota (having done Tinian in 2022) and certified a total of 111 MHFAers
In 2024, I trained and certified a total of 66 Y-MHFAers in the CNMI.