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Mission

The mission of EyesOpenIowa is to support Iowa communities in ensuring the sexual health of all adolescents through advocacy, education and collaboration.




Events

EyesOpenIowa 9th Annual Conference Wrap Up
November 7-8, 2011

2011 Annual Conference"I needed this boost to re-energize me as to why I love this field I am in and what I do!! Great!!”

“Danene was a great presenter and it was nice to capstone Iowa’s great work over recent years…it’s been a long road but we need to enjoy and realize our successes.”

On Warren Blumenfeld – “Love, love, love him! I found a new hero!”

“The best conference I’ve attended for a long time!”

2011 Annual ConferenceThese were just a few responses from over 90 participants, on the evaluations following EyesOpenIowa’s 9th Annual Conference, "Re-frame, Re-new, Re-imagine, Challenges & Opportunities in Adolescent Sexual Health".

Danene Sorace, whose key projects have included Working to Institutionalize Sex Education (WISE) led by the Grove Foundation and the Future of Sex Ed Project, a partnership of Advocates for Youth, Answer and SIECUS, opened the conference. She reminded us that Iowa leads the way in mandating evidence-based sexual health education in our schools. “The hard work has paid off, but we have more to do. We have many children and families to reach”, said Danene.

2011 Annual ConferenceThe workshops received high marks as well, with in-depth discussions on Sex Education in the Faith Community and Latino Community, Knowing What to Say to our children and helping parents find the right words, Advocacy, PREP in Iowa and our statewide WISE Iowa initiative. A presentation that provided a unique and exciting perspective was given by youth from the Whyld Girls and Backyard Boyz Mentor programs.

2011 Annual ConferenceTo top it all off, Dr. Warren Blumenfeld, Professor in the Dept. of Curriculum & Instruction at Iowa State University, opened his heart and helped us take a look into ours as he discussed how homophobia is a price we all pay in our society.

2011 Annual ConferenceParticipants this year had an opportunity to bid on silent auction items that included two beautiful quilts, a free nights stay with breakfast the at West Des Moines Marriott, wine baskets, scarves, a basket full of baby items and more! The auction netted nearly $700 with proceeds going toward educational materials.

Our many thanks to all our presenters, the Department of Human Services, West Des Moines Marriott staff and the Board and staff of EyesOpenIowa who helped make this conference a great success!

Re-Frame, Re-New, Re-Imagine: Challenges & Opportunities in Adolescent Sexual Health

EyesOpenIowa 9th Annual Conference

The goal of this conference is to increase the capacity of Iowa’s adolescent sexual health community to think critically about the current context of young people’s lives in order to develop improved policies, practices, and outcomes. Conference attendees include community health educators, public school teachers and administrators, sexuality educators, teen pregnancy prevention program administrators and staff, youth development workers and others invested in improving the sexual health of Iowa's teens.