The Catalyst Foundation for Youth Development LLC

NEW WORKSHOP ALERT!!!

The Catalyst Foundation for Youth Development Presents
"The Story I Carry": Exploring Identity, Memory, and Meaning
Facilitated by Durwin B. Brown (aka Brotha D)

🪶 The Story I Carry

Professional Development Workshop

"The Story I Carry" is an immersive, circle-based professional development experience designed to strengthen empathy, trust, and relationship-centered leadership. Participants are invited to bring a sentimental object that represents a meaningful part of their story and share its significance in a structured, psychologically safe environment. Through guided reflection and facilitated dialogue, this workshop explores how identity, memory, culture, and lived experience shape the way we lead, teach, and engage others. Grounded in restorative practices and trauma-informed principles, this experience helps teams move beyond surface interactions and build deeper human connection because every person carries a story, and every story matters.

🎒 Invisible Backpack Activity –
We all carry an invisible backpack filled with experiences, expectations, wounds, memories, and strengths that shape how we show up in the world. "The Invisible Backpack" activity invites participants to reflect on the unseen stories that influence their behavior and to reconsider how they interpret the behavior of others. Through guided questions and facilitated dialogue, this exercise builds empathy, challenges assumptions, and encourages trauma-informed, relationship-centered leadership. When we recognize that everyone is carrying something, we learn to lead with greater compassion, patience, and understanding.

When your former student from the beginning of your teaching career pulls up on you. I must say today's Saturday Lifeskills Workshop was emotional on a few levels. The focus of discussion was around our REAL SELVES and how we show up and respond to different challenges in LIFE. It got DEEP. Add to all of this, the lovely young lady in the middle is Ms. Ay'Anna Moody Google her magazine article), the Executive Director of the Community Foundation. She answered ALL of their questions and left no stone unturned in sharing her life's journey, where she's been and where she's going. Not only is she a phenomenal powerhouse in sports entertainment but an extremely humble, spiritual, and kind human being. I am beyond proud of her and am forever indebted and appreciative to her for making/taking time out of her busy schedule to spend time with us. 💝👩🏾‍🎓👨🏾‍🎓👸🏽🤴🏾👌🏾💯

NEW WORKSHOP ALERT!!!

🚭 V**E TRAP IS HERE.

The Catalyst Foundation for Youth Development Presents

V**E TRAP: Underage Va**ng, Ni****ne Addiction & Youth Exploitation

Facilitated by Durwin B. Brown (aka Brotha D)

This powerful, eye-opening workshop exposes the truth about youth va**ng — from how ni****ne hijacks the teenage brain to how corporations target young people with candy flavors and influencer marketing.

This prevention-focused, trauma-informed workshop educates students on the health risks of va**ng, the neurological impact of ni****ne on developing brains, and the marketing tactics used to target youth. Participants gain practical refusal skills and support strategies for quitting.

🚭 QUICK VA**NG DATA FACTS (YOUTH)

• 1.63 million U.S. middle & high school students currently v**e (2024).

• About 1 in 13 high school students currently use e-ci******es.

• About 1 in 28 middle school students currently v**e.

• 1 in 4 teen v**ers use every single day.

• Nearly 9 out of 10 youth v**ers use flavored products.

• One v**e pod can contain as much ni****ne as a pack of ci******es.

• Teen brains continue developing until about age 25 — ni****ne disrupts that development.

• Over 60% of teen v**ers say they want to quit.

• Many regular teen users spend $500–$1,200 per year on va**ng.

• Youth who v**e are more likely to try other substances compared to those who don’t.

We’ll break down:

✔ What’s really inside a v**e

✔ How addiction starts

✔ Why flavors are designed for teens

✔ How to resist peer pressure

Flavors aren’t for adults — they’re for recruitment.

Addiction starts before awareness.

Most teens who v**e didn’t plan to get addicted.

This isn’t rebellion. It’s marketing.

This isn’t about shame.

This is about protection, awareness, and power.

Let’s protect our youth. Let’s protect their breath.

👩🏾‍🎓👨🏾‍🎓👸🏽🤴🏾👌🏾💯

Saturday Lifeskills Workshops with my BRILLIANT BLACK STUDENTS! Topic: "Social Media and the Digital Divide"

Participants were educated on developing critical media literacy skills to recognize, resist, and safely exit harmful online peer pressure while building self-worth beyond digital validation. Youth viewed the film “Nerve” which explores the dangers of online validation, anonymity, and crowd-driven risk in the social media age.
By the end of this workshop, participants were able to: identify how peer pressure and online audiences influence decision-making and risk-taking behavior, explain how social media platforms use likes, views, and comments to trigger dopamine and encourage escalation, differentiate between consent and coercion in digital spaces, especially under public
pressure, recognize the long-term consequences of digital “footprints”, including academic, legal,
and career impacts.
👩🏾‍🎓👨🏾‍🎓👸🏽🤴🏾👌🏾💯 #