Join us next week to level up your work with families 

While the COVID-19 pandemic may restrict us from convening together in person, that shouldn’t stop us from holding powerful conversations about the future of 2Gen work.

Next week, Ascend will bring together some of our field’s boldest and brightest leaders for 2Gen Level Up Week, a series of dynamic online conversations on how we can level up our work with families. We’ll also be launching new research-driven tools and resources for two-generation (2Gen) approaches that build family well-being. Tune in via our Twitter handle and the hashtag #2GenLevelsUp, starting Monday, to join the discussion.

Each day will feature a new conversation and related resource to help inform the field. Five days. Five talks. Five (plus!) new tools. You can find our agenda below.

Want to be involved? Spread the word, and join the conversation. Share the event with your networks, come join in on the conversation starting Monday. We can’t wait to build community with you all and level up our work, together.

2Gen Level Up Week Agenda 

Monday, October 26: Stronger Foundations: A Twitter Live Conversation Between Parents
Time:  4 pm ET / 1 pm PT
Who: Amber Angel, Program Coordinator, Los Angeles Valley College Family Resource Center in Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
Drayton Jackson, Board Director, Central Kitsap School District 3, Bremerton, WA
Resource: Principles for Engaging and Centering Parent Voice

Parents are the closest to the problems we are trying to solve, and as such, have the most nuanced ideas and organic urgency about how to address them. For this conversation, we put the parents in the driver’s seat. Amber and Drayton will jump on a Twitter Live video chat for a thought-provoking conversation about parent voice and involvement in 2Gen work.

Tuesday, October 27: Upcycled Resources: Live-tweeting 2Gen Approaches in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia
Time: 3 pm ET / 12 PT
Who: Laura Zeilinger, Director, District of Columbia Department of Human Services, Washington, DC
Lourdes Padilla, Secretary of Human Services, Maryland Department of Human Services, Baltimore, MD
Resources: Two Generation Approach to Managing TANF: DC as a Case Study for Policymakers;
State 2Gen Model: Maryland as a Case Study for Policymakers

Too often we think that the most effective interventions must be innovations, but sometimes the most time-tested ways of working with families are actually the most powerful. The Ascend team will be live tweeting a conversation between network partners from D.C., Virginia, and Maryland, who share the story of a critical policy change made five years ago that might just be a model for others in our post-pandemic world.

Wednesday, October 28: Brighter Beginnings: Five Network Partners on Whole-Family Intake
Time: 12 pm ET / 9 am PT 
Who: Belva Dorsey, CEO, Enrichment Services Program, Inc., Columbus, GA
Duane Yoder, President, Garrett County Community Action, Oakland, MD
Gregan T. Crawford, Vice President of Family Economic Security, Garrett County Community Action, Oakland, MD
Liz Kuoppala, Executive Director, Mahube-Otwa Community Action Partnership, Erhard, MN,
Jason Parent, Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, Aroostook County Action Program, Presque Isle, ME
Resources: Building Strong Client Relationships: The Garrett County Community Action Committee Two-Generation Approach Begins with a Strong, Whole-Family Intake Process  

First impressions are everything. For this event, network partners will have a Twitter discussion, moderated by us, about how we improve our work to make parents’ experiences less transactional, and more relational, when they seek the services they need.

Thursday: October 29: Purposeful Process: A 2Gen Story Slam on Measuring Impact
Time: 10 am ET / 7 am PT
Who: Sharon McGroder, Research Consultant, SMc Research Consulting, Sterling, VA
John Till, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation, The Family Partnership, Minneapolis, MN
Brian Campbell, Senior Policy Advisor, Economic Security Administration (ESA), DC Department of Human Services (DHS), Washington, DC
Resource: Making Tomorrow Better Together: Process Outcomes and Measures for 2Gen Organizational Change

The health and economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased demand on all family-supportive programs, calling on us to do more for families. But how do we best hold ourselves accountable? On Thursday, we’ll host a 2Gen Story Slam, featuring personal videos from our network partners on the struggle to define and measure the impact of our work.

Friday, October 30: Going Big: 2Gen Leaders on Scaling Up
Time: 11 am ET / 8 am PT
Resource: 2Gen Platforms for Scale: Whole-Family Approaches Rooted in Community with National Reach 

On the last day of our #2GenLevelsUp Week, we’ve turned to our Network to talk about how we can use what’s in our communities already to scale up and expand our work to make sure no one is left behind. We’ll be sharing their insights on our blog and Twitter, and will also be calling on you, the broader 2Gen community, for your perspectives.