GENERAL SESSION - KEYNOTE
8:45 AM - 10:00 AM. Thursday, September 10, 2026
Ballroom
Holding Both Truths: Familismo, Collective Survival, and the Courage to Confront Harm -
Gena Castro Rodriguez , PhD
Familismo is one of the greatest strengths of Latino culture, rooted in love, loyalty, sacrifice, and collective survival. Yet the same values that sustain and protect our communities can, at times, make it difficult to confront abuse, violence, and harm within our own families and institutions. This keynote explores how we can honor the strengths of familismo while finding the courage to break the silence, hold people accountable, and create safer, healthier communities for future generations.
GOALS:
1. To Describe at least three core values of familismo and explain how these values promote resilience, connection, and collective well-being within Latino communities.
2. To Identify at least three ways cultural values, family dynamics, or systemic factors may contribute to the minimization, concealment, or continuation of interpersonal violence and abuse.
3. To Analyze the balance between honoring cultural strengths and promoting accountability, safety, and trauma-informed responses when working with individuals, families, and communities.
4. To Apply at least two culturally responsive, trauma-informed strategies to support healing, encourage safe disclosure, and strengthen prevention efforts while respecting cultural identity and family relationships.
Community-wide Objectives
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Increase understanding of familismo, a foundational Latino cultural value, by highlighting its role in fostering resilience, connection, healing, and collective well-being.
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Increase awareness of the complex intersection of culture, family dynamics, and systemic influences that can both protect individuals and, at times, contribute to the silence surrounding interpersonal violence and abuse.
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Promote culturally responsive, trauma-informed approaches that honor cultural strengths while supporting accountability, safety, and healing for individuals, families, and communities.
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Equip participants with practical strategies to facilitate culturally humble conversations, encourage safe disclosure, strengthen prevention efforts, and promote resilience within Latino communities.
Gena Castro Rodriguez, PsyD, LMFT San Francisco, CA
Dr. Gena Castro Rodriguez is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, educator, and nationally recognized thought leader with more than three decades of experience in victim advocacy, mental health, trauma-informed care, and community wellness. Rooted in her lifelong commitment to social justice and equity, her work has consistently centered the voices and needs of historically marginalized communities, particularly survivors of violence and individuals impacted by systemic inequities. Based in San Francisco, she has led the development of culturally responsive services, interdisciplinary interventions, and innovative models of care aimed at disrupting cycles of trauma and promoting healing and resilience.
Throughout her career, Dr. Castro Rodriguez has held numerous influential leadership positions. She served as Executive Director of the National Alliance for Trauma Recovery Centers at UCSF, where she amplified a national movement for survivor-centered care and policy change. As Chief of Victim Services for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and Director of the Survivor Center at the Prosecutors Alliance, she led groundbreaking initiatives to integrate trauma-informed, survivor-centered approaches into justice systems. Earlier, as Co-founder and Executive Director of the Youth Justice Institute, she helped build pathways to leadership and healing for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. In all her roles, she has prioritized equity, accountability, and culturally competent care.
Currently an Associate Professor in the Graduate Counseling Psychology program at the University of San Francisco, Dr. Castro Rodriguez teaches, mentors future clinicians, and advances research at the intersection of mental health, crime victimization, and social change. Her work with the university’s Center for Community Wellness has expanded mental health services and treatment across the Bay Area. A frequent speaker, advisor, and consultant to organizations nationwide, she continues to lead transformative efforts in trauma recovery, victim advocacy, and systems change—uplifting a vision of public health and public safety rooted in dignity, healing, and community strength.
GENERAL SESSION - KEYNOTE
8:45 AM - 10:00 AM. Friday, September 11, 2026
Ballroom
Faith in the Age of Uncertainty: Why We Build and Why We Lead -
Eddy F. Borrayo MSW
Today's social service leaders are navigating unprecedented challenges, including the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration-related trauma, racial inequities, the growing mental health crisis, workforce shortages, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma. These realities require more than effective management—they call for resilient leaders who can cultivate hope, strengthen communities, and inspire transformation.
This keynote explores how faith, philosophy, and psychologyintersect to develop resilient individuals, effective leaders, thriving communities, and enduring legacies. Participants will examine the timeless wisdom of Sankofa (learning from the past), Ubuntu (our shared humanity), and Tao (living in alignment), alongside the evidence-based psychological principles of Cognitive Reframing (Dr. Aaron Beck), Collective Efficacy (Dr. Albert Bandura), and Psychological Flexibility (Dr. Steven C. Hayes). Together, these perspectives provide a practical framework for navigating uncertainty while strengthening resilience, collaboration, and purpose.
Central to the keynote is W.H.Y. We Build-2030—a leadership and leadership development framework created and implemented at Rincon Family Services. Grounded in the principles of Will, Hope, and Yearning, W.H.Y. We Build serves as the organization's philosophy for developing leaders at every level, strengthening organizational culture, and empowering individuals to build healthier organizations and stronger communities through purpose-driven leadership.
GOALS:
1. To Assess your own resilience by applying the principles of Cognitive Reframing, Psychological Flexibility, and the W.H.Y. We Build framework to identify practical strategies for managing adversity, preventing burnout, and sustaining personal well-being.
2. To Apply the leadership principles of Will, Hope, and Yearning, together with the wisdom of Sankofa, Ubuntu, and Tao, to strengthen decision-making, cultivate resilient teams, and lead with purpose during times of uncertainty and change.
3. To Demonstrate how Ubuntuand the principle of Collective Efficacy can strengthen collaboration, build trust across organizations, and create partnerships that improve outcomes for individuals, families, and communities.
4. To Develop a personal leadership action plan that identifies at least three commitments to mentor future leaders, strengthen organizational culture, and build a sustainable legacy of hope, service, and community transformation through purpose-driven leadership.
The Person – Building Personal Resilience
The Leader – Leading Through Uncertainty
The Community Member – Strengthening Collective Impact
The Legacy Builder – Creating Lasting Impact
Participants will leave with practical strategies to strengthen personal resilience, lead through uncertainty with greater confidence, foster collaborative communities, and intentionally build a legacy that extends beyond their position, profession, or organization.
Eddy F. Borrayo MSW, CADC, CODP II
President / CEO Rincon Family Services, Chicago
Eddy Borrayo is certified as a substance abuse and dual diagnosis counselor by the Illinois Certification Board, Inc. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Loyola University of Chicago, and graduate degree in Social Work from University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration.
Today, Eddy is an internationally acclaimed speaker and business consultant. His presentations on various topics encompass cultural competence, mental health, suicide and suicidal ideation, integrated treatment for substance abusers, working with the dually diagnosed client, and topics addressing community awareness and health disparities.
Eddy has been a presenter in local, national and international conferences, such as: Illinois Association of Agencies and Community Organizations for Migrant Advocacy (IAACOMA); the Latino Behavioral Health Conferences in Los Angeles and Napa, California and Seattle, Washington; and at the Inaugural International Migrant Summit in Morelia, Mexico (May, 2007). He has been highlighted in local print and television media addressing health disparities, and was a presenter on behavioral health for TV Azteca, an international Spanish-speaking news media company. Television appearances include programming efforts covering addiction and family disparities on Univision’s Sabado Gigante show.
Eddy has dedicated his life to helping people and organizations become the best they possibly can. In harmony with his ongoing professional efforts, he is a Program Surveyor with CARF International (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) and travels nationally as part of an accreditation team to survey Opioid Maintenance Programs. In his previous position as Clinical Director and Vice President of Program Development and Consultation at Access Behavioral Services, Inc., he assisted behavioral health organizations with strategic planning, marketing, start-up initiatives, licensure and accreditation.
Throughout his career spanning 18 years in behavioral health and 13 years in management, Eddy has worked with several major non-profits and for-profits in staff and consultant roles. His experience includes administrative and clinical positions in a number of organizations that serve disfranchised and at risk populations.