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Maine Career Development Association

Upcoming events

    • Tuesday, April 29, 2025
    • 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
    • Zoom
    Register

    April 2025 Café Breakout Room Topics (you will be able to select your room during the café):

    • TOPIC 1: Mental Health and Career Counseling, led by Megan Tazzi
    • TOPIC 2: LinkedIn Best Practices and Trends, led by Jim Peacock
    • TOPIC 3: Is the Job Market Getting More Challenging?

    This is a FREE event and open to all! However, we encourage you to become a member of MCDA to support this and other programs that promote professional development for career practitioners. 

    A Zoom link will be provided upon registration and sent directly to your email. Please use that link to join the career café!

    If you are interested in supporting our Career Cafés as a Career Café Coordinator, please contact Amy Jaffe at [email protected] or Ashley Bigda at [email protected]


    • Friday, June 06, 2025
    • 9:00 AM - 3:45 PM
    • Maine Municipal Association, 60 Community Drive, Augusta
    Register

    2025 Annual Conference

    Fostering creativity and wellbeing in career development

    Friday, June 6, 2025, 9 am - 3:45 pm


    Maine Municipal Association

    60 Community Drive, Augusta, Maine


     

    Dirk Matthews, NCDA President-Elect Sabrina Woods, Career Coach and International Trainer

    Register and renew your membership below!


    CONFERENCE AGENDA

    8:30-9:00: Registration, Coffee & Networking

    9:00-9:10: Welcome & Announcements

    9:15-11:45 Morning Session: Dirk Matthews

    Creative Adaptation in Career Development: Approaching our work creatively in response to rapidly changing times

    Overview

    Creativity is a misunderstood concept, often evoking the work of artists, filmmakers, and performers. Creativity's core is the ability to produce or implement original or alternative ideas. With the rapid changes in the workforce, implementing career theories and interventions requires creative approaches. In this presentation, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the creative process, identify creativity in their work, and learn new ways to support individuals' career development and mental health.

    About the speaker

    Dirk Matthews is the Interim Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations at Columbia College Chicago. He is a leader in development and career services and an educator. For the past 25 years, Dirk has provided career services in higher education and to adults while teaching film and career preparation courses for 26 years. He also trains career development providers seeking certification.

    Dirk is also the President-Elect (FY26) of the National Career Development Association (NCDA), an architectural photographer, and a career services provider in his private practice.

    Dirk received his master’s degree in organizational psychology from California Southern University and holds Certified Master of Career Services (CMCS) and Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) certifications and is a Facilitating Career Development Instructor (FCDI). He has been published in several journals, including Career Developments, and has an extensive history of presenting on subjects ranging from film analysis and portfolio development to career development. His recent research focuses on the impact of the pandemic on organizations and creativity in the career development process.


    11:45-1:00: Lunch & MCDA Annual Meeting

    1:00-3:30 Afternoon Session: Sabrina Woods


    Creative & Holistic Approaches to Foster Resilience and Self-Care for You and Your Clients / Students


    Can stress harm your productivity and effectiveness at work? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. When we feel heightened stress, our sympathetic nervous system goes into that fight or flight state. In this state, our brains are foggy, and we see fewer options. This means our problem-solving abilities are compromised.

    On the flip side, shifting a little focus to your well-being can put you in a more calm, clear-headed, optimal place. This mind-set shift (and activation of the parasympathetic nervous system) can help you not only to be more effective during your everyday work, but also help you to be more focused, creative, and even a better teammate. Join us for a hands-on, experiential session to explore this topic and engage in some positive psychology and mindfulness-based practices to bring you back to your "best self".

    Beyond building our resilience to manage stress better, we’ll segue into creative techniques and mindfulness-based tools to use during your client / student coaching sessions.

    Creative Activities and Topics will include:
    • Get a Boost from Your Past – When our self-esteem is dipping, we can use this exercise to gain more confidence and renewed energy.
    • Face Your Fear, Free Your Energy – Explore your worst-case scenario and face those fears, as a means to getting unstuck and freeing up that energy that is being wasted on worry.
    • Bull’s Eye Exercise – An insightful and innovative tool for decision making, whether that be choosing a major, deciding on a career path, or debating a job offer.

    About the Facilitator


    Sabrina Woods is a holistic career coach and international trainer with 20 years in the higher education field within career services at universities including Northeastern, Harvard and the University of London. In her private practice, her joy comes from tapping holistic and mindfulness-based practices while helping people with major career and life transitions. Sabrina also facilitates workshops, staff retreats and train-the-trainer sessions ranging from the Myers Briggs to Mindfulness to Building the Foundations for Career Advancement. Her workshops combine her insights, enthusiasm and infectious energy. Sessions have been taught in the US, UK and Middle East for organizations ranging from MIT and Princeton to Cook County Health (hospital in Chicago) to Vanguard. She is also Past President of the Career Counselors Consortium based in Boston. When she's not coaching or training, you can find Sabrina on the bike path, reading about neuroscience or making muffins (morning glory are a favorite!). See website and Linkedin for more details.


    3:30 Closing & Adjourn

Past events

Friday, April 04, 2025 April Volunteering Call
Tuesday, March 25, 2025 March 2025 Career Café
Thursday, March 20, 2025 NEC Conference: Balancing Career Development in 2025: Strategies to Thrive
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 February 2025 Career Café
Tuesday, January 28, 2025 January 2025 Career Café
Tuesday, December 03, 2024 December 2024 Career Café
Friday, November 15, 2024 2024 MCDA Fall Workshop
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 October 2024 Career Café
Tuesday, September 24, 2024 September 2024 Career Café
Friday, June 21, 2024 2024 Annual Conference
Tuesday, May 28, 2024 May 2024 Career Café
Tuesday, April 30, 2024 April 2024 Career Café
Tuesday, March 26, 2024 March 2024 Career Café
Thursday, March 21, 2024 NEC 2024 Conference: Turbulent Times Require Innovative Interventions
Tuesday, February 27, 2024 February 2024 Career Café
Tuesday, January 30, 2024 January 2024 Career Café
Friday, January 26, 2024 MCDA 2024 Winter Workshop on Neurodiversity
Tuesday, November 28, 2023 November 2023 Career Café
Friday, November 03, 2023 2023 MCDA Fall Workshop
Tuesday, October 31, 2023 October 2023 Career Café
Tuesday, September 26, 2023 September 2023 Career Café
Tuesday, May 23, 2023 May 2023 Career Café
Friday, May 12, 2023 2023 Annual Conference
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 April 2023 Career Café
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 March 2023 Career Café
Tuesday, February 28, 2023 February 2023 Career Café
Tuesday, January 31, 2023 January 2023 Career Café
Tuesday, November 29, 2022 November 2022 Career Café
Friday, November 04, 2022 2022 MCDA Fall Workshop
Tuesday, September 27, 2022 September 2022 Career Café
Friday, June 17, 2022 2022 Annual Conference
Tuesday, May 24, 2022 May 2022 Career Café
Tuesday, April 26, 2022 April 2022 Career Café
Tuesday, March 22, 2022 March 2022 Career Café
Tuesday, February 22, 2022 February 2022 Career Café
Tuesday, January 25, 2022 January 2022 Career Café
Tuesday, November 30, 2021 November 2021 Career Café
Tuesday, October 26, 2021 October 26, 2021 Career Café
Friday, October 01, 2021 2021 MCDA Fall Workshop
Tuesday, July 20, 2021 July 20, 2021 Career Café
Friday, June 11, 2021 2021 Annual Conference Webinar Series
Tuesday, May 25, 2021 May 25, 2021 Career Café
Tuesday, April 27, 2021 April 27, 2021 Career Café
Tuesday, March 30, 2021 March 30, 2021 Career Café
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 February 23, 2021 Career Café
Tuesday, January 26, 2021 January 26, 2021 Career Café
Tuesday, December 01, 2020 December 1, 2020 Career Café
Friday, November 13, 2020 Fall Workshop 2020
Tuesday, October 27, 2020 October 2020 Career Café
Tuesday, September 29, 2020 September 2020 Career Café
Wednesday, August 19, 2020 Virtual MCDA Workshop: The Intersection of Career Development and Mental Health Counseling: How I built a holistic career counseling practice & what I learned in my first year
Tuesday, August 04, 2020 Virtual MCDA Workshop: The Importance of Story in Career Advising
Friday, July 24, 2020 Virtual MCDA Workshop: Resilient U How to Help People Bring Their Best, Most Resilient Selves to Their Job Search and Their Work
Thursday, July 09, 2020 Virtual MCDA Workshop: LinkedIn: The Largest Career Database in the World
Tuesday, June 23, 2020 Virtual MCDA Workshop: Success Coaching: Holistic Explorations in Career Counseling
Tuesday, June 23, 2020 Career Café: MaineHealth Talks Hospitality and Healthcare
Thursday, June 11, 2020 Virtual MCDA Workshop: Career Counseling as Social Justice Work: Turning Passion into Action
Tuesday, June 02, 2020 Career Café
Friday, May 29, 2020 Virtual MCDA Workshop: Podcasts and YouTube as a Career Advising Tool
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 Virtual MCDA Workshop: Serving Clients in Recovery: Where Career Development and Addiction Recovery Best Practices Meet
Saturday, May 09, 2020 Virtual MCDA Workshop: Choose Your Own Adventure: Pathways to a Credential of Value
Tuesday, May 05, 2020 Central Maine Career Cafe
Tuesday, April 07, 2020 Central Maine Career Cafe

Click here to view previous events prior to 2020.



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