To read more of Ian's inspiring story, head over to our Mountain Youth blog HERE!

If you are new to the valley and are needing a friendly face to connect with, you can find this caring and compassionate heart in Whitney Young. That is exactly how I met her, and I am grateful that I found myself in the same community meeting as Whitney one day shortly after moving to Eagle County. I have since learned that Whitney does not know a stranger, because she has an inherent and natural way of making everyone she meets instantly feel like a friend. Ironically, this is the same character trait that Whitney experienced in many other Eagle County residents that convinced her that this was where she was meant to put down roots and build a life after moving here from Maryland over a decade ago. She describes the friends and community that she was met with early on as a sort of family away from home and Whitney would eventually meet her love Karrisa, now her wife, which made her fall in love with Eagle County even more.

Whitney’s amazing personality is not only what helps her to create lasting friendships, but also what makes her perfect for the many roles that she plays in Eagle County. After stepping in as merely an interim Executive Director at the Family Learning Center of Edwards, FLC, in November of 2019, Whitney found herself the leader of a facility that, like many others, was facing the chaos and uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic. Whitney tackled the challenges and unknowns seamlessly, and it was clear that she was meant to be more than just an interim employee. Whitney has been the official Executive Director at FLC ever since, and the center is thriving. She credits her amazing team of teachers and staff for this success as well, and states that she couldn’t do the work without each and every one of them.

FLC is an early learning center for children ages 8 weeks through 6 years old. All children are welcome, and the center consists of children from all income levels. FLC is a bi-lingual school which boasts a bi-lingual staff and classroom environment. There is a focus on explorations of music and traditions to cultivate awareness of cultural diversity. The Family Learning Center incorporates the 7 key values of respect, compassion, honesty, independence, celebrations of diversity, joy of learning, and appreciation of nature into the curriculum and all lesson plans support the inclusion of the key values in the vocabulary of both children and staff. Many of the teachers are primarily Spanish speaking and actively learning English, so the environment at FLC is beneficial for both students and staff alike! Whitney wants to instill that at FLC, they are a melting pot of all different socioeconomic statuses and backgrounds and she strives to make the environment as equitable as possible for all. Whitney believes that “It’s never too early to have kids learning and growing together.” She aims to meet each child where they are at, and her goal is to make every child feel loved and accepted, regardless of what they are able to bring to the table. Whitney’s role as Executive Director is to not only run the center, but also to secure grants, support the teachers, find resources for families, and refer students for additional services when needed. She also makes arrangements to bring important services directly to the center, such as the MIRA bus, to provide vaccines for children and families who may have difficulty getting to healthcare providers. Whitney expresses that she has an extremely supportive team of staff members and is amazed by the creative ways that the teachers at FLC come up with to reach their students and help them succeed. Whitney is a lifelong learner and strives to continuously grow and learn. She takes courses and does her research to gain a better understanding of the work that the classroom educators at FLC do, and to find new ways to be able to support her teachers.

To read more, head over to our Mountain Youth blog HERE!

Eat Chat Parent is now Eat Chat Connect! With a new year comes a new name to recognize and encourage youth and their entire support network to participate in and feel a part of our Community Education events. Eat Chat Connect is for all youth in our community along with parents, teachers, coaches, grandparents, trusted adults, and youth serving professionals to learn, connect, and grow with one another.

In December, Maggie Seldeen from High Rockies Harm Reduction spoke at our Eat Chat Connect event on fentanyl awareness and overdose prevention. Fentanyl is the single deadliest drug on the market. It is easy to obtain and comes in many different forms. Our community partners, Vail Police Department, the Sheriff’s Department, SpeakUp ReachOut, All Points North, Eagle County Paramedics, and Vail Health Behavioral Health were there to provide information and resources to attendees, to build community, and trust. Community members conversed, connected, and took tools home with them to prevent an overdose, with most attendees leaving with Narcan, a life-saving opioid overdose treatment.

In January, we are excited to have Dr. Stacie Freudenberg, Psy.D., LP with Bright Future Foundation and Dr. Aubrey Austin, PhD, LP with Vail Psychologist back for a second presentation to talk about consent, healthy relationships and building youth confidence. Come learn how to identify what makes a healthy relationship, how to set safe boundaries, and to create a “culture of consent”. The presentation is on Tuesday, January 10^th from 5:30-7:30pm at Colorado Mountain College.

Register HERE!

As always, these events are free to everyone, with dinner, childcare and interpretation provided. Please join us with your family to learn, connect, engage, and grow as a community. We look forward to seeing you there!

If you have any questions, or would like more information, please contact Stevi Bratschie, Community Education Manager, at sbratschie@mountainyouth.org

If you have any questions, or would like more information, please contact Cameron Dole, Youth Engagement Coordinator, at cdole@mountainyouth.org

We always welcome new and enthusiastic participants in our Communities That Care teams. For more information on how to get involved, please contact Sandy Schroeder, Director of Community Engagement, at sschroeder@mountainyouth.org.

Save the Date- Interpreter Training &

In alignment with Mountain Youth's values of being inclusive and bridging community, we are thrilled to be working with the Community Language Cooperative to host a training and certification course for interpreters. This is intended for individuals that have competency in English and Spanish spoken language and want to further their interpretation skills and/or become more marketable with a certification.

Robin Thompson will serve as moderator for this event.

Cost: $10 per person, lunch included

Date: January 25

Time: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Location: Colorado Mountain College