This school year, I had the opportunity to attend and present at the Wellness Together Conference in San Diego alongside Jaz Ponce, Wellness Coach, and Sean Murphy, Director of School Partnerships. The conference brought together educators, clinicians, and community partners from across the state who are deeply committed to student wellness, school engagement, and systems-level change. Being in that space was both grounding and energizing.

During this session, we shared our Compass Care model, designed to address the ongoing challenge of chronic absenteeism in schools. Presenting together felt especially meaningful because it gave us the chance to show how our work truly comes together across roles and programs. Jaz shared what the day-to-day, student-facing work looks like. Sean spoke to the importance of strong school partnerships and how that work shows up at the systems level. I shared from the program and data side, focusing on how we learn from our work and use that information to keep improving. Together, we were able to paint a fuller picture of how coordinated, cross-team efforts lead to more responsive support for students.

Conferences like Wellness Together are also an important way to get the word out about the work happening across our programs. While Compass Care was a key example we shared, the conversations didn’t stop there. We were able to talk more broadly about our approach to student wellness, engagement, and collaboration, and how that work can look different depending on the school community. These spaces create opportunities for connection, partnership, and for others to take pieces of what we do back to their own work.

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Another highlight was connecting with other practitioners and leaders doing meaningful work in student wellness. Even brief conversations can be impactful, and they serve as a reminder that conferences aren’t just about presenting… They’re about learning from one another, building relationships, and expanding what’s possible when we share openly.

Attending and presenting at the Wellness Together Conference was a reminder of why this work matters. It reinforced the importance of collaboration, visibility, and shared learning, and how powerful it is when we show up together, not just to talk about our work, but to amplify it in ways that ultimately support more students and schools.