Building Resiliency and Voice with Early Career Educators

Are you within the first five years of your education career? 
Are you interested in strengthening your own resilience and professional voice alongside other early career educator members in Minnesota? 

As a benefit of your membership, early career educators are encouraged to apply for this free professional development opportunity.

Using our central course text, Elena Aguilar’s Onward, BRAVE participants receive support, mentorship and professional development in discovering their resiliency within by practicing work/life balance techniques, building culturally-responsive classrooms, and exploring ways to use their voices as a tool for advocacy and change. And, most importantly, this five-session, cohort-based course provides our early career educators with both time and a safe space to connect with their newer colleagues from across the state who are navigating similar systems in their own schools and locals. 

Session dates 

It is strongly encouraged that participants attend all five sessions to fully benefit from our cohort connections and course content.

  • December 13, 2025, from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. via Zoom (Session 1: Cohort Meet and Greet)
  • January 24, 2026, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. via Zoom (Session 2: BRAVE with Students)
  • February 21, 2026, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. via Zoom (Session 3: BRAVE with Colleagues)
  • March 21, 2026, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. via Zoom (Session 4: BRAVE with Community)
  • April 18, 2026, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. in-person in St. Paul (Session 5: Public Education Stakeholder Panel) 

Course benefits:

  • Cohort-based peer and professional support.
  • Mileage and meals for final in-person session (and hotel accommodations, if needed, for those who live greater than 35 miles from St. Paul).
  • One copy of Elena Aguilar’s Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators and The Onward Workbook.
  • Professional development speakers on Trauma-Informed Instruction, Union Resources, First Amendment Educator Rights and Public Education Stakeholder Communication.
  • Up to 25 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) pending full course completion.
  • Option to pay for graduate credit from Minnesota State University Mankato School of Education pending completion of additional course work.

Contact information

Program Coordinator
Melissa Del Rosario, Education Issues Specialist
Melissa.DelRosario@edmn.org
651-247-5548

Program Office Assistant
Elizabeth Pettersen, Education Issues Support
Elizabeth.Pettersen@edmn.org
651-292-4893