Monthly Webinars
“Promising Practices for ADHD Treatment
in the Latino Community “
November 8th, 2024 from 12:00-1:30 PM ET
Presented by Luke Smith, MD, Tamara Schlez, & Miguelina Suero
All of our monthly webinars on Latine mental health are free!
Webinar Description:
Among Latino children, ADHD is often misidentified and underdiagnosed, leading to a lack of or inadequate support. Interventions used often are not helpful because cultural factors are not addressed, and family engagement is challenging. Over a five-year period, we adapted evidence-based practices and developed practical tools to support and empower Latino children with ADHD and their families with robust clinical and functional improvement. Audience members will learn of this program and gain access to tools and resources to help them in their work with Latino youth.
Meet Our November Presenters:
Luke Smith, MD is a practicing Spanish-bilingual psychiatrist and the Executive Director at El Futuro, a community-based nonprofit organization that seeks to transform mental health care for the Latino community in North Carolina and beyond. He is boarded in Child/Adolescent and General Psychiatry. El Futuro provides bilingual therapy, psychiatry, case management, substance use treatment, and other mental health services in a welcoming environment of healing and hope. Now in its 20th year, El Futuro serves more than 2,500 individuals each year with clinics in Durham and Siler City, drawing people from 58 North Carolina Counties. El Futuro is a training site for resident physicians, medical students, social work students, psychology interns and other graduate level students who come for year-long experiences. While services are provided inside the walls of vibrant and colorful clinics, outside the walls El Futuro is very active through a variety of community engagement activities. Many of them are based out of El Futuro’s creative and interactive therapeutic green space located next to their Durham clinic.
Tamara Schlez, ADHD Program Lead, creció en Buenos Aires, Argentina, donde completó su licenciatura en Psicología. En su país, dedicó más de 15 años al trabajo con niños y adolescentes con dificultades de aprendizaje. En este proceso, se da cuenta de que una gran parte de ayudar a los niños es trabajar junto con sus padres. Hace seis años llegó al RTP con la idea de desarrollarse profesionalmente en un lugar donde pudiera seguir trabajando con familias y abogando por las necesidades de sus hijos. Ser parte de El Futuro le da la oportunidad de cumplir su misión de apoyar a las familias y ayudarlas a cumplir sus propios sueños. En su tiempo libre, Tamara disfruta estar con su familia, ver amigos, estar al aire libre y viajar.
Miguelina Suero, Family Support Specialist, immigrated to the US along with her immediate family from Dominican Republic when she was 11-years old. She was able to obtain dual degree in Criminal Justice (BS) and Psychology(BA) at Fayetteville State University. She worked as an advocate for almost 6 years, assisting families dealing with Domestic Violence and Sexual assault. Those years were eye-opening for her to see the need of more resources and just general education about Mental Health in the Lantinx Community. She is passionate to provide that “grain of sand” to those in need. When she heard about the ADHD program at El Futuro, she became interested in seeing how she could become part of it, even if it was as a volunteer. She’s honored to become part of such a great organization and truly committed to doing her best to help families, who are dealing with children with ADHD.
“Fun Fact: I have 3,932 pictures in my camera roll, ALL pictures are of my amazing 3- and 8-year-old and NOT one good picture of myself alone…That should tell you a little bit about what I love doing. I also enjoy just being outdoors, having good conversations or just chill in silence with my loved ones.”
Ready to Register?
Click the button below and we’ll see you on November 8th!
*Please note that our procedures have changed! You only need to register in one place, even if you want to receive CEs.*
Save the Dates for Our Upcoming Webinars:
We have a great year of webinars planned for you! We hope you’ll join us as we dive into the following topics in 2024.
November 8th: ADHD in Latine Communities – Register Here
November 15th: Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR) (this is a special one-time training and will be held in SPANISH only) – Register Here
December 13th: Family Preparedness & Early Childhood Development in Latine Communities – Register Here
Programming for 2025 will be available soon!
Continuing Education
For participants that register for continuing education, these webinars will provide:
*1.5 Contact Hours (or 0.15 CEUs): Contact Hours include CEs for Social Workers, mental health clinicians, nurses, other healthcare providers, and several other disciplines who utilize contact hours.
CEUs are calculated by tenths. Example: 0.1 CEU = 1 Contact Hour of participation.
*NBCC credit: this program is approved for 1.5 NBCC Hours
El Futuro has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6947. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. El Futuro is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs, including the awarding of NBCC credit.
Participants should confirm continuing education credit information for licensure requirements with their state licensing board(s). If you need any additional information about this webinar for your licensure, please reach out to us at lamesita@elfuturo-nc.org.
Cancellation Policy
In the event of a cancellation, we will provide notification as soon as possible so participants can adjust their schedule accordingly. Participants who need to cancel may choose to do so at any time but will not receive a Certificate of Completion.
Accommodations
Please contact lamesita@elfuturo-nc.org to let us know if you need accommodations at least 1 week before an event. We will work to the best of our abilities to fulfill all accommodation requests.
Concern Response and Grievance Policy
We have carefully modeled the environment around our learning activities to be one characterized by mutual collegiality, kindness, and a commitment to constant learning. This environment allows for providers of all disciplines, regardless of their level of experience, to feel comfortable in taking part in and benefiting from our programming. It is our hope that all La Mesita members will join us in preserving this environment we have cultivated over the years through your participation across our programming.
You can request our full grievance policy or submit a concern by reaching out to us at lamesita@elfuturo-nc.org.
Alvely Alcántara, LCSW
Rossy C. Garcia, MEd 
Katy Sims, MD 
Everardo Aviles, LCSW, LCAS (Eve)
As a medical anthropologist and social work researcher, Dr. Gulbas’ research embodies interdisciplinarity through the integration of applied theories of health and human development with qualitative and ethnographic methodologies. Her work seeks to understand how people—children, families, and providers—navigate complex sociocultural landscapes in the pursuit of mental health. Most of her work, to date, focuses attention on developing more robust interpretations of suicide risk. With funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health, this body of research has contributed to advancements in theoretical and empirical knowledge of the broader contexts within which youth suicide risk is situated. 
R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez is a developmental psychologist and an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the principal investigator of a study that examines the impact of immigration-related threat and stress on school communities. She earned a PhD in developmental psychology from Columbia University and hold a BA in human biology from Stanford University. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first gen college student.
Dr. Parra-Cardona is an Associate Professor in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (SHSSW) at the University of Texas at Austin. At the SHSSW, he serves as Coordinator for Mexico and Latin American initiatives. He also serves as Area Director for Research at the UT Austin Latino Research Institute. Dr. Parra-Cardona’s program of research is focused on the cultural adaptation of evidence-based parenting interventions for low-income Latinx populations in the US and Latin America.
Bianka Reese, PhD, MSPH is a research scientist and program evaluator specializing in adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her previous research in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her work as the Research and Evaluation Manager at SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led largescale evaluations of multilevel, community-based sexual health promotion initiatives and research projects aimed at elevating the voices of diverse youth in North Carolina. Dr. Reese is currently the Senior Research Strategist at Creative Research Solutions, LLC, an award-winning national evaluation, research, and assessment firm.
Tania Connaughton-Espino, MPH is an independent researcher focused on adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her interest in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her previous work with SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led the training and evaluation department, conducted capacity-building workshops for youth serving professionals including on the topic of how to be more affirming of LGBTQ youth, and from her extensive experience working with the Latinx population in NC.
Maru Gonzalez, EdD is an Assistant Professor and Youth Development Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University. Her areas of inquiry include youth development with a focus on activism, social justice, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ young people across familial, school, and community contexts. 
Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, PhD
Hector Y. Adames, PsyD