Advocates for Youth's expert and nationally recognized staff offer training sessions to build agencies’ capacity and provide keynote presentations and interactive workshops for your conferences and meetings.

Adolescent Sexual Health Advocacy Training

Advocates offers a general training of advocacy skills, focusing on coalition building, needs assessments, using the media, passing legislation at the local level, and other skills needed to be an advocate for youth. The training can be tailored for specific communities of youth such as young women of color, GLBT youth, etc. For more information, contact Advocates' Coordinator of the Youth Activist Network, Sarah Audelo, via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420.

Creating Youth-Adult Partnerships

This interactive workshop looks at the importance of youth-adult partnerships in HIV prevention activities and gives participants the tools to form partnerships. The training explores cultural differences between youth and adults, barriers to partnerships, and ways to overcome these barriers. The training, which can be tailored to fit individual groups, provides both young people and adults new skills. For more information, contact Advocates' Coordinator of the Youth Activist Network, Sarah Audelo, via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420.

Faith-Based Teens for AIDS Prevention

Created in 1994, Advocates Teens for AIDS Prevention (TAP) Program was adapted for use in use in faith-based settings. Using a customized version of TAP, this training combines public health concepts with spirituality. Similar to the secular version, this will build the skills of participants to implement TAP programs in their parishes or faith-based agencies. For more information, contact Advocates' State Strategies Manager, Meredith Schonfeld-Hicks via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420.

Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) Youth Cultural Competency

Advocates offers cultural competency training for youth serving organizations in working with GLBT youth involved in their programs. The training focuses on increasing the capacity of the individuals and organizations to meet the needs of these underserved youth. The training is based on models outlined in Advocates' publications A Youth Leaders' Guide to Building Cultural Competency, and Creating Safe Space for GLBTQ Youth: A Toolkit. For more information, contact Advocates' Director of HIV/STI Prevention Programs, Jennifer Augustine via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420.

Let's Talk Month

October is Let's Talk Month, a national campaign sponsored by Advocates for Youth to facilitate parent-child communication regarding sexuality. Advocates offers parental educational materials, highlighting Advocates' acclaimed resource, Talking with TV (a guide to using television as a positive tool for inter-generational communication). For more information, contact Advocates' Director of Education and Outreach, Barbara Huberman via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420.

Organizational Development

Advocates offers training to help strengthen organizations by looking at how to fulfill the organization’s mission and program objectives. The training addresses building leadership, board development, approaching foundations, among other tips and strategies. For more information, contact Advocates’ Program Director of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives, Tom Klaus via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420.

Peer Education Facilitation Skills

Advocates offers training in the basic components of setting up peer education programs, including such issues as knowledge of HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention education, group facilitation skills, team building, public speaking skills, youth-adult partnerships, youth involvement strategies, peer education networking, youth development strategies, and cultural competency. The training can also be tailored to meet the needs of pre-existing peer education programs, offering new skills for seasoned peer educators. For more information, contact Advocates' Manager of Young Women of Color Initiatives, Trina Scoot, via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420.

Redressing Homophobia in Communities of Color

Advocates for youth offers training for youth serving organizations that may lack resources to effectively address homophobia in their communities, and to those organizations that have a strong commitment to GBLTQ issues. The training covers topics such as stigma related to race/ethnicity; sexual orientation, and/or gender identity; and explores how stigma places GLBTQ youth of color at risk for unsafe sex, violence, and substance abuse. The training explores strategies and principles of how to create inclusive programming for GLBTQ youth of color; community mobilization; and cultural competence. This training is designed to enable providers to better meet the needs of GLBTQ youth of color by integrating an awareness of racism and the understanding of how culture shapes sexual attitudes, values, and beliefs. Facilitators utilize the Advocates for Youth Creating Safe Space for GLBTQ Youth: A Toolkit among other helpful resources. For more information, contact Advocates' Director of HIV/STI Prevention Programs, Jennifer Augustine via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420. 

Science-Based Sex Education

Advocates' staff provides training sessions on the following topics: (1) reframing sex education to promote positive and healthy messages and behaviors; (2) parent-child communication; (3) using media as a partner in sex education; (4) healthy adolescent sexual development; and (5) European approaches to adolescent sexuality. For more information, contact Advocates' Director of Adolescent Sexual Health Services, Laura Davis via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420.

Teenage Pregnancy Prevention

For a workshop or training session in your local area, please contact the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative at 202.419.3420. We can tailor a training just for your group. For more information, contact Advocates' Director of Adolescent Sexual Health Services, Laura Davis via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420.

Teens for AIDS Prevention (TAP)

Advocates offers training on its award winning Teens for AIDS Prevention (TAP) program. A peer education/peer leadership HIV education program, TAP is designed for use with pre-existing youth groups to develop effective youth-led HIV/STI prevention interventions. Grounded in health behavior change and youth leadership methodologies, TAP provides individuals and organizations with the tools necessary to set up a TAP program in their agency/organization. Designed for both adult and youth participants, TAP has been used successfully by Boys and Girls Clubs, Girls Inc. affiliates, Campfire councils, faith community youth groups, 4-H Clubs, as well as various community-based organizations. For more information, contact Advocates' Director of HIV/STI Prevention Programs, Jennifer Augustine via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420. 

Young Women of Color Cultural Competency

Similar to GLBT youth training described above, but focused on young women of color. This training emphasizes gender and racial issues as well as building cultural competency skills. For more information, contact Advocates' Director of HIV/STD Prevention Programs, Jennifer Augustine via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420. 

Youth Development as a Prevention Strategy

HIV/STI prevention or pregnancy prevention does not exist in a vacuum. Youth development focuses on strengthening life skills that relate to sexual health as well as to other factors in a young person's life. Using Advocates' Life Planning Education (LPE) resource, this training merges youth development approaches with public health prevention frameworks. LPE is a comprehensive program designed to give teens the knowledge and skills needed to successfully function in today's society. It helps young people explore issues such as healthy sexuality, relationships, violence, health promotion, community, responsibility, and self-esteem. Packed with hundreds of interactive experiential exercises and using a variety of teaching techniques, LPE is ideal for young people age 12 to 18. For more information, contact Advocates' Director of HIV/STI Prevention Programs, Jennifer Augustine via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420.

Youth Involvement in Community Planning Groups

This interactive training assists statewide and regional Community Planning Groups on the nuts and bolts of having young people in their planning process. Several models of youth involvement are reviewed. For more information, contact Advocates' Director of HIV/STI Prevention Programs, Jennifer Augustine via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone at 202.419.3420.