Greg Puckett a native southern West Virginian with a passion for prevention. He has worked tirelessly to bring special projects and initiatives to his community. He led the charge to support funding for Teen Courts throughout West Virginia, serves on several state committees and on the Board of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), where he is a past recipient of CADCA’s National Advocate of the Year award. For the past decade, he has traveled throughout the United States to train communities on sustainability, and locally has worked to revitalize his hometown of Princeton, West Virginia. Through the “Princeton Renaissance Project” the group has been actively using culturally effective change strategies to revitalize its local downtown theater. The project is also a community engine to reduce substance misuse, reinvigorate hope in its young people, and engage the future, while embracing its past.

He is the father of two children, Lauren, and Joseph, who keep him dedicated to making positive changes and leaving a legacy for the next generation to follow.

• Email: greg.puckett@strongcommunities.org
• Website: http://strongcommunities.org/
• LinkedIn: @gregpuckettwv

Community Toolbox: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/promotion-strategies/overview/main

My Guest today is Kendra Tapie, who serves as the Region Director of Prevention at Serenity Foundation of Texas, managing 3 prevention campuses in Abilene, Wichita Falls and Weatherford. Kendra is passionate about training and using her experience to equip, refresh and encourage others to be more effective in the Prevention field. Kendra helped form a Teen Recovery Group for students under the age of 18 and is a part of the Texas training cadre with the Human Health Service Commission. She has a degree in public speaking and master’s in counseling and human development and is an Advanced Certified Prevention Specialist. In 2023 Kendra was recognized as the Texas Prevention Specialist of the Year.

• Email: kendra@serenitytexas.com
• Website: https://serenitytexas.com/
• https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-transformational-leadership-2795313
• https://youtu.be/c8ZCBZ_xDXU?feature=shared

Elliott Orrin Hinkle, they/them, BS - Principal and Founder of Unicorn Solutions LLC. Elliott is a skilled speaker, facilitator, advisor, and national expert focused on elevating lived expertise in systems that serve children, youth, and families particularly in support of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. They bring 12+ years lived and professional experience on topics such as child welfare, youth mental health, and the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Elliott has lived experience in the Wyoming Foster Care System as a young person but calls Oregon home. This is their 3rd year as a Federal Lived Experience Expert Partner for the Equity Technical Assistance Center (ETAC). Elliott has worked on the Children's Bureau Capacity Building Center for States Project and Division X TA Project at ICF and the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) Reviews via JBS International, and Oregon Healthy Transitions Project at Portland State University, a SAMHSA grant. Passionate about wellbeing and accessibility, they are a recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Equity.

Dr. Ashley Austin, a cisgender ally to the transgender and nonbinary (TNB) community, is Professor of Social Work at Barry University and Co-creator and purveyor of the AFFIRM Interventions. Dr. Austin is actively engaged in research and clinical practice aimed at improving the well-being of TNB children, teens, and adults. Her clinical social work practice is rooted in an affirmative and compassionate stance and has a focus on supporting clients of all ages in their journeys toward living fully authentic and connected lives.

• elliottunicornsolutions@gmail.com
• https://www.unicornsolutions.org
• Instagram: @unicornsolutionsllc
• aaustin@barry.edu
• Supporting Trans Youth (lgbtqequity.org)
• Federal Guidance on Gender-Affirming Care​ – The National SOGIE Center
• www.samhsa.gov/behavioral-health-equity/lgbtqi
• lgbtqequity.org/june-2024-podcast-series/#