More Than an Eating Disorder:
Finding Identity Outside of Recovery
Saturday, February 17, 2024
9:00am to 4:30pm
at the houston food bank
(535 Portwall St., Houston, TX 77029)
Join us for the
HEDS Community Conference 2024
this conference is for:
Those who are recovering from an eating disorder.
Those who have recovered from an eating disorder.
Those supporting someone recovering from an eating disorder.
Conference Schedule
| 9:00am to 10:00am | Check-In, Social Hour, and Morning Snack |
| 10:00am to 10:30am | Welcome |
| 10:30am to 11:45am | Breakout Workshops (click for more info)
|
| 11:45am to 12:45pm | Visit Sponsors + Lunch |
| 12:45pm to 2:00pm | Finding Identity Outside of Recovery: A Panel Discussion with Rich Beckwith, Meghan Brower, Kaitlyn Chana, Jacquelyn Gonzalez, Sam Hernandez, Kelly Webster |
| 2:00pm to 2:30pm | Visit Sponsors, Stretch Break, and Afternoon Snack |
| 2:30pm to 4:00pm | Unmasked with Mike Marjama Keynote Presentation |
| 4:00pm to 4:30pm | Closing Remarks + Raffle Basket |
Meet our Keynote Speaker
mike marjama
Mike Marjama is a trailblazing athlete, who has used his platform to transform into passionate advocate for health and wellness. Mike spent 10 years on an amazing journey, climbing through the minor leagues to eventually make his Major League debut in 2017. In 2018, he was recognized as one of the 30 best catchers in MLB, serving as the Opening Day catcher last year.
As an athlete, he recognizes how athletes can create positive impacts by sharing their stories and advocating for their passions. Mike’s personal challenges with mental health and eating disorders, beginning early in his life have shaped his new journey as a public speaker, advocate, and activist. In 2018, he shared his challenges with a national audience through LeBron James’ digital media company, Uninterrupted, bringing awareness to how mental health and eating disorders can impact young men, athletes and beyond. Mike is the first male professional athlete to speak out about eating disorders and their impact on athletes.
Upon retiring from baseball, Mike has committed his life to helping shape the dialogue around mental health and wellness, youth sports, and inciting change to help men, women, young, and old to find the help and support they need.
Mike lives in Sacramento, CA, yet spends his time around the country speaking at events, supporting the work of nonprofits, and helping craft better legislation to improve mental health and wellness.
unmasked
It’s amazing how our journey changes when we embrace the idea that avoiding help is a limiting factor for success. In a real and figurative way, Mike’s success was achieved behind a mask. His goal is to help others live a full life free of being hidden behind our self-constructed walls of fear, shame, and isolation. He shares personal stories and anecdotes and empowers audiences to see how they can be open to giving and receiving support from those closest to them. Mike is real, raw, and intends to break down the barriers for help-seeking behavior. He isn’t telling you to not have big goals, quite the contrary, but rather to live a life that allows you to fulfill them in the healthiest way possible.
The Breakout Workshops
Taking Your Power Back
with Dr. Ametis Bassir, PhD, LPC-S, RP and Abbie Madden, MS, RDN, LD, CEDS
Panel Discussion
Our panel is made up of six folks who have recovered from an eating disorder. This discussion centers around how they have found identity and purpose outside of their eating disorder and recovery journey.
Swipe through to meet our panelists!
kaitlyn chana (she/her)
Kaitlyn Chana is a passionate and diligent healthcare leader who strives for purpose and helps others. Following a decade in the news industry with a degree in broadcast journalism, Kaitlyn felt compelled to amplify people’s voices to create change. But, she wanted to do more, so she dreamed bigger. Her strengths lie in her commitment and vision for the future by leveraging quantitative data in a qualitative format to forge better connections that capture the why behind her actions.
Kelly webster (she/her)
I am 34 years old and have been married for almost 5 years and am a mom to my almost 2 year old son! I am a second-career registered dietitian. After recovering from my eating disorder in my late 20s, I decided to go back to school to get a second bachelors degree to become an RD. I developed my eating disorder in college and it was exasperated by my stressful work life post college as a wedding planner and working in marketing. Changing careers was one of the best life decisions I have ever made. I love to dance (at weddings, in my kitchen, or my car), baking, watching Gilmore Girls, and being around my loved ones!
Jacquelyn Gonzalez
Jacquelyn is an advocate for mental and physical wellbeing after overcoming personal challenges of her own. She shares her unique perspective on recovery, emphasizing the importance of self compassion. She is a proud first generation graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio currently working as a marketing manager. In her free time she enjoys working out, traveling, reading and cooking.
Rich Beckwith (he/him)
My name is Rich Beckwith, and I am 40 years old. I have been married to my wife Jessica for 16 years and have been together for over 20 years. I have two daughters, Laura, who is 13, and Hannah, who is 11. One of my main goals, in terms of eating disorder recovery, is to continue to attempt to break the stigma from the news and social media that males don’t have eating disorders. I have seen and talked to many people who think it is too “macho” to admit they have a problem or seek help. I love to educate them on my story, and as an educator at heart, I love explaining and educating everyone on the fallacy of males and eating disorders.
sam hernandez (she/her)
Sam is a content creator, Thought Leader, and the brains behind the Media Startup, Moonstone Botanicals. With a decade-long commitment to nonprofit advocacy for survivors of human trafficking, they’ve honed their skills in narrating ethical and impactful stories. Sam champions the cause of treating minds and bodies with kindness. Their journey in trauma work led them to discern the intersectionality of body shame and its potential risks, especially when coupled with other forms of marginalization.
Wholehearted Sponsors
Courageous Sponsors
Brave Sponsors
Interested in
sponsoring the conference?
Our conferences aren’t possible without our incredible lineup of sponsors! Your sponsorship will be going towards three main areas:
Conference Logistics
The bread and butter of our conference is the logistics. This includes our venue, food, systems to collect registration, giveaways, and more. Our venue is being held at the Houston Food Bank and all food will be provided through them.
Keynote Speaker
Finding identity outside of the eating disorder can be one of the key components that leave people feeling stuck. We are excited for this year’s keynote speaker to provide hope and insight on how to walk through this process by sharing their personal experiences related to finding their own identity outside of recovery and their relationship with food and body image.
InkFactory
If our budget allows, we would love to bring a live artist to the conference through InkFactory who can draw the key takeaways in real time. This drawing would also be provided digitally to all attendees. You can learn more about InkFactory and see examples on their website here.
More information coming soon!
Stay in-the-know with community conference updates by providing your email address below.
Taking Your Power Back: Practical Skills for Recovery
with Dr. Ametis Bassir, PhD, LPC-S, RP and Abbie Madden, MS, RDN, LD, CEDS
During Taking Your Power Back, Dr. Bassir and Abbie will facilitate a collaborative and educational discussion on what it looks like to take your power back in recovery. They will guide folks through identifying core values, exploring why skills are important to have and how to effectively implement them, and working together to create coping skill boxes.
Meet Dr. Ametis Bassir (she/her)
Dr. Bassir is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor, EMDR Trained Therapist, and Reiki Practitioner. She received her doctorate in counselor education from Sam Houston State University and a Master’s in Counseling from George Washington University. She is an adjunct faculty member in the counselor education department at Sam Houston State University and owns her own private practice in Houston. Her areas of specialty include eating disorders, anxiety, relationship issues, trauma, and women’s issues.
Meet Abbie Madden (she/they)
Abbie is a registered dietitian (RD) and certified eating disorder specialist (CEDS). She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nutritional sciences from Oklahoma State University. She has experience working at various levels of eating disorder treatment and sees clients with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and ARFID. She also specializes in nutrition therapy for polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). In her free time, she enjoys playing with her dog Ozzie, thrift shopping, and growing a variety of houseplants.
EFFT Caregiver Workshop
led by Dr. Anna Brown, PsyD
During the EFFT Caregivers Workshop, Dr. Brown will guide families and support teams through an education discussion on what EFFT is and how to incorporate it into everyday life. Joined by other EFFT providers, attendees will break up into different groups to practice skills on how to support their loved ones.
meet dr. anna brown (She/Her)
Speaker Bio Coming Soon
Movements & Meditation
with Alii Chargois, RYT-200
My workshop, “Movements & Meditation”, will be centered around yoga-based movements and end with meditation. You can anticipate a slow and intentionally drawn together practice that will end with a sound led meditation. This includes lots of stretching, some heat building in the body and a very relaxing sound bowl meditation. I encourage you to use this time to foster a closer relationship to yourself and your thoughts. I suggest bringing a yoga mat (and props), pen and journal, and a water bottle.
meet alii chargois (She/her)
My name is Alexandria and I have been practicing yoga for over 15 years. In 2018 I completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training and have gained over 100 hours worth of leading classes since then. My main focus when guiding a practice is to make sure you feel the fullness of the pose. My goal is for you to feel comfortable through the entire class and for you to walk away deeply rooted in your body.
