SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA, NOVEMBER 6, 2019 ─ The Minnesota Social Service Association (MSSA) announces the conference keynote for the MSSA 2020 Annual Training Conference and Expo March 11-13, 2020 in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.

This year’s conference theme, Shaping Our Future Together, recognizes that in order to create actionable steps towards our best future all voices need to be recognized, heard and counted. This holds true in our personal and professional lives, in our interactions with our clients, and within the programs and policies we develop from our organizations and communities to our local and state governments. When we bring all our voices together, we can drive collective action to realize our vision of a positive future. Conference participants will learn and initiate dialogues about current and emerging best clinical experiences, hear from presenters on their lived experiences, and be presented with diverse cultural and regional perspectives. 

Keynote speaker, Deborah Jiang-Stein, will set the stage by sharing her story of hope, healing, and recovery. Author of the memoir, PRISON BABY, is a skilled storyteller and national speaker. She’s founder of the nonprofit, unPrison Project, working to empower and inspire incarcerated women and girls with programs, resources, and tools for life skills and mentoring. Her memoir is described as “One woman's struggles—beginning with her birth in prison—to find self-acceptance, proving that redemption and healing are possible, even from the darkest corners.” For more than 10 years, Deborah has championed support for people in need of freedom, life skills development, education, shelter, and career building. Currently Deborah is developing a stage play based on Prison Baby to open in New York and then tour nationally, to include performances in colleges and prisons.

The MSSA Conference agenda offers over 130 education sessions with up to 20 hours of continuing education covering a broad range of topics for health and human service professionals. The call for conference presentation proposals is now open. Conference tracks include: 

• Adult Services 
• Behavioral Health 
• Child Well-Being 
• Developmental Disabilities
• Diversity & Inclusion 
• Ethics
• Gender-based Violence
• Health & Wellness 
• Macro Practice
• Supervision & Leadership
• Additional Topics 

For more information on the conference call for presentation proposals, and soon to open registration and exhibitor/sponsor opportunities for the 127th Annual Training Conference & Expo visit the MSSA website .