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KIRK LOWIS, M.A., CTP-E
ABOUT KIRK.
Kirk Lowis, M.A., CTP-E, has worked in youth development for nearly 30 years. He’s a popular trainer with Michigan Afterschool Association and at agencies around the state and nationally where he’s known for his high energy, passion, knowledge, and engaging approach in the areas of social-emotional learning and trauma-informed practices. He currently works with at-risk youth and adjudicated youth. He received his Certified Trauma Practitioner in Education from the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children. He's also a Certified Trainer with Starr Global Learning Network and a Youth Work Methods Trainer with the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality and Kalamazoo Youth Development Network. He's a recipient of a Governor's Service Award commendation for nonprofit service and a Significant Educator Award from Kalamazoo Public Schools. In addition to his work with youth, Mr. Lowis is also the Resident Meditation Instructor with Dharmadhatu Kalamazoo and has been practicing meditation since childhood. He believes that professional development should be hands-on and engaging, leaving participants energized and prepared to utilize new practices.
Check out Kirk's recent article on trauma-informed practices in Youth Today:
SAFE HAVENS: INTEGRATING TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE
AND STARR GLOBAL LEARNING NETWORK TRAUMA TRAINING
Research suggests that over half of the youth in the U.S. are exposed to a potentially traumatic event each year. Studies also tell us that one of the most significant factors in a young person’s resiliency is having consistent access to a supportive and caring adult. Trauma-informed practices are a way to engage young people, both with and without histories of trauma, by creating safe and supportive environments and practices with the goal of helping youth thrive in the face of adversity. Click below to see a listing of trauma-informed workshops, including Starr certified trauma trainings. These workshops can partially fulfill requirements for level one Certified Trauma Practitioner-Education and Certified Trauma Practitioner-Clinical
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING
What does Social-Emotional Learning look like at the program level when interacting with youth? How does it look with staff and agency interactions? SEL curriculum strategies are just the beginning of successful social-emotional learning implementation. There are opportunities for modeling and supporting youth social-emotional learning development all around us every day. Bring your SEL practices to a deeper level by experiencing one of these unique, hands-on workshops. Click the link below for workshop information.
ENGAGING WITH CHALLENGING YOUTH BEHAVIORS
What are our expectations and assumptions when working with challenging youth behaviors? What do healthy trauma-informed and culturally sensitive guidelines look like in practice. This interactive workshop will explore the context behind “bad” behavior so that we can better help the youth and ourselves. Learn about more effective strategies which consider the roles that chronic stress and trauma play in challenging behaviors. Gain a better understanding of how to distinguish between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors so that we can build resiliency in youth and in ourselves. Click the link below for information on Behavior workshops
MINDFULNESS-AWARENESS, MEDITATION, AND SELF-CARE
Do you ever feel stressed out or overwhelmed by your work? Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. Vicarious (or second-hand) trauma and chronic stress are realities of youth development work and can lead to feelings of helplessness, isolation, sleep disturbances, memory disruptions, anxiety, depression, and irritability - just to name a few side-effects. The good news is that there are things you can do to build your own resiliency while also becoming more effective at your work with vulnerable youth. This workshop will give you tools to check in on your own resiliency and mindfulness strategies to help build resiliency in you and the youth you serve. Click below for workshop information.
ENGAGING YOUTH THROUGH DEVELOPMENTALLY AND CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PRACTICES
What are some of the common needs that all youth share? How do these needs change over time and through different developmental stages? When it comes to youth, one size fits all approaches are rarely effective or helpful. This hands-on workshop will introduce you to several key factors for developmentally and culturally responsive practices. Participants will be given the opportunity to create a deeper understanding of how our own journeys impact our work with youth. We will also explore how to chart a roadmap to more effective practices that better serve all youth. Click the link below for more information.
BUILDING COMMUNITIES: STAFF TRAINING
How do we best model social-emotional learning, team building, and resilience strategies for youth? By the way we approach our own work within youth service organizations and how we relate to ourselves, our staff, our agency, and youth. These hands-on workshops will give valuable strategies and tools to connect and strengthen our own work, your team, and your work with youth. Click below for more information.
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”