Training
TRAINING
Our training department provides instruction and technical assistance throughout Illinois. Our objective is to expand and strengthen a statewide system of curricular and training resources to meet the increasing demand for adolescent sexual health education in schools and communities.
For more information, contact:
Nikki Zaleski, Youth Development and Training Coordinator, at nikki@icah.org or at 312 427-4460 x234
Joy Messinger, MPH, MSW, CHES, Manager of Sexual Health Education, at joy@icah.org or at 312-427-4460 x239
Learn more about our training programs:
- Training for Youth by Youth
- Training for Youth by Adults
- Training for Adults by Youth
- Training or Adults by Adults
- Training Calendar & Registration
- Training Testimonials
Our training department also provides access to a variety of tools and resources:
- Adolescent Sexual Health Toolkit
- Sexuality Education Standards
- Lending Library
- Research & Publications
- Partner Publications
- Helpful Links
Our training team includes:
- Manager of Sexual Health Education: Joy Messinger is a passionate community activist who comes to ICAH with diverse experiences in health education, youth development, violence prevention, policy research, and service learning from her time living and working in Upstate New York, Central North Carolina, and Chicago. As Manager of Sexual Health Education. she provides support and guidance to ICAH’s training initiatives and strategies including the POWER Through Choices Project and the Peer Education Program. Joy is a NCHEC Certified Health Education Specialist, an alumna of the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health and the University of Illinois at Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work. Outside of her work at ICAH, Joy volunteers as a birth doula and writes on- and off-line about adoption, bisexuality, reproductive justice, and intersectional activism. She also organizes with several local and national feminist, Asian American, and LGBTQ groups, including Invisible to Invincible: Asian Pacific Islander Pride of Chicago and the Chicago Chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.
- Youth Development and Training Coordinator: Nikki graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Gender Studies and Performance Studies. She has been the youth worker for Sisters Empowering Sisters for almost four years, a reproductive justice group for young women that recently found its new home at ICAH. She was also delighted to come on board as one of three youth organizers for the School of Justice with ICAH. Nikki is an artistic associate for Sojourn Theater as well as a founding member of Ag47, an arts mentorship collective that serves girls in the Logan Square neighborhood. She works in public schools as a teaching artist through Urban Gateways and Communities in Schools of Chicago. In addition to her work with youth, Nikki is a director and playwright for FYI Performing Health Collective, which performs plays about sexual health and sexual violence in schools and programs.
- Youth Leadership Council (YLC): YLC Members are part of ICAH's cadre-training program to offer sexuality education professional development to youth and adults in Illinois. ICAH staff and youth leaders work collaboratively by offering interactive modules that are medically accurate, age-appropriate and youth-friendly. The Youth Leadership Council receives rigorous sexuality education training from ICAH staff and are supported by an adult educator during all workshops.
- Cadre Training Team: Our adult trainings are facilitated by a diverse cadre of trainers from across Illinois who are certified to address adolescent sexuality issues. This cadre is made up of trainers with expertise in sexual health education, counseling, and direct service. The training department contracts with a these trainers, enabling ICAH to effectively administer our statewide training program.
