In the context of substance misuse prevention, professional development involves acquiring the
skills and knowledge necessary for both personal development and career advancement. But,
for those new to the field, it can be challenging to find and access the type of professional
development opportunities that will fuel their growth.
Join us for a deep dive into professional development. Tailored for early career practitioners
looking to elevate their prevention practice, we will explore the foundational prevention
competencies that every prevention professional should build toward, where to find professional
development opportunities to support gr owing those capacities, and best practices for planning
your personal approach to professional development whether you intend to pursue prevention
certification, are seeking career advancement or simply want to improve your own abilities. Our
presenters will share practical insights and valuable resources to support your professional
development journey, as well as give participants the opportunity to connect to learn from each
other’s experiences.

Learning Objectives: As a result of this training, participants will be able to:

• Define key foundational competencies important for early prevention practitioners to
• develop
• List sources (e.g., organizations, websites) providing professional development
• opportunities for prevention professionals
• Describe the process for developing a personal approach to professional development

Sandra Puerini Del Sesto, M.Ed, ACPS is a consultant and master trainer in behavioral health
and strategic planning for states and non profits. For over thirty five years, Ms. Del Sesto has
provided training throughout the United States in all areas of prevention practice. She is a
member of the advisory boards of the New England Prevention Technology Transfer Center
(PTTC), the National Latino PTTC and the New England School of Addiction Studies. Sandra
serves as the RI delegate to the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC).

Jessica Goldberg is a Training and Technical Assistance Specialist with Education
Development Center. For over a decade, Jess has specialized in building capacity to improve
behavioral health at the national, state, regional and local levels. Her areas of expertise include
preventing youth substance use; promoting cross sector collaborations; addressing health
disparities; strategic planning, logic model development, and sustainability planning. Jess is a
Certified Prevention Specialist and holds an MSW and an MPH from Boston University.