In honor of Mental Health Awareness month, Girl Scouts of Nassau County (GSNC) hosted its 2nd annual Mental Health Symposium, in partnership with Northwell Health. We gathered practitioners from across Nassau County to learn about Northwell's approach to managing and addressing stress distress, and then took action through learning and application to optimize our role as difference-makers for the young people in our schools, community centers, faith-based settings, Girl Scout troops, clinical touchpoints - and in our own families. Using Northwell and GSNC activities and tools, we talked openly and collectively as thought partners and colleagues in this work, and recognized the critical need for us to all work together to champion the young people in our care.
At GSNC, we know all too well that young people report feeling overwhelmed, lonely, and marginalized at alarming rates. And hosting this Symposium is our commitment to gathering key thought leaders and practitioners in this work to boldly advance our mission to support girls' mental wellness.
We concluded the evening with powerful group provocations to take back into each of our own professional contexts, and created a new learning community that we're excited to merge with our inaugural 2025 panelists and attendees for our 2026 Symposium.
This summary statement serves as a beacon for our work and commitment to our outreach and partnership with fellow youth-serving organizations.
If we believe in the power of youth in Nassau County, we will champion them by:
- building rapport and trust,
- leaving the door open,
- not being afraid to uphold a boundary,
- increasing social and emotional learning,
- creating resources and opportunities outside of devices and social media,
- being a voice for the voiceless, with tools to express their emotions, connections, and self-awareness,
- supporting those who support our youth,
- listening for what is spoken and unspoken,
- building authentic, safe communities where youth feel they belong, with access to stress busters and tactile and creative ways to express their feelings, and
- creating better access to care, through a dual parent/child early
intervention with embedded skills and empowerment that provides
unconditional positive support and fosters a safe space for
individuals to be their authentic selves.
Thank You to Our 2025 Keynote Speaker!
Thank you to our keynote speaker Dr. Vera Feuer, Medical Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Northwell Health who spoke about Stress First Aid, providing valuable insights into managing stress and fostering mental well-being.
Vera Feuer MD
Medical Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Northwell
Health
Professor, Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Emergency
Medicine, Zucker SOM at Hofstra/Northwell Health
Dr. Feuer completed her general psychiatry training at Drexel
University and her child and adolescent psychiatry training at
Hofstra-Northwell Health, where she has remained and worked on
initiatives improving emergency care and youth mental health access.
She has directed the Adult and Pediatric Emergency Psychiatry Services
at LIJMC, led the opening of the Pediatric Behavioral Health Urgent
Care, School Behavioral Health Centers and comprehensive school mental
health partnerships across Long Island working with over 50 school
districts to provide child psychiatry access, consultation, community
education and professional development. She has been a national leader
in developing care standards for pediatric crisis behavioral health
care and innovative program development. Her interests include access
to mental health care for children, suicide prevention, fostering
resilience and collaborating with schools and primary care
providers.
Thank You to Our 2025 Community Experts!
Yolanda Adams
LMHC, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Office of Children of Family Services
Erin Barrett
ATR, LCAT, Assistant Director of Child & Adolescent Services Charles Evans Center Health Care
Gabrielle Fidis
MA, RDT, LCAT, Creative Arts Therapist II, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
Brian Peterson
MBA, CASAC-M Director/Field Office Office of Mental Health
Dr. Nichelle Rivers
Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Eastern Suffolk BOCES
Rochelle Robinson
Psy.D, Owner, Pivotal Point Psychological Consulting, PLLC
Annmarie Wacha-Montes
PsyD, Director, Behavioral Health; Psychologist Northwell Healthcare
TAKING ACTION: First Annual Mental Health Symposium Learnings and Action Items - February 2024
In February 2024, Girl Scouts of Nassau County (GSNC) hosted its inaugural Mental Health Symposium at the Long Island Children’s Museum. The symposium brought together over 50 community stakeholders invested in youth mental health on Long Island for an event dedicated to addressing the mental health crisis in our country, with a focus on our local communities.
Recognizing the importance of fostering open conversation and sharing knowledge to cultivate a supportive environment, GSNC brought together ten experts from diverse fields—including psychiatry, mental health equity, health care policy, crime victim services, adolescent trauma specialists, and more—to discuss issues that adolescents, especially girls, are facing today. The discussion also included tools that we as non-profits, educators, trusted adults, and practitioners can utilize to better serve our population.
This report captures our key learnings and action items from this powerful gathering, as well as recommendations for sector leaders and youth-serving organizations to take their own steps to fortify mental well-being for the young people in their care.
