This post is the final installment of a special blog series, Show Me a Baltimore Hero, where Healthy Teen Network highlights Baltimore Heroes. Join us to learn more about the people who bring the Charm to Charm City.

Join us on Thursday, October 15^th, for a plenary session on holistic approaches to improve the lives of young people: Youth 360°: Rewiring Our Approach at Healthy Teen Network’s Annual National Conference, Youth 360°: How & Where Youth Live, Learn, & Play Matters. Stories of how young people have thrived in Baltimore may not always rise to the top when we think of Charm City. More often, we might recall stories, such as those the popular HBO series, The Wire, brought to life, of an urban area filled with deprivation. However, Healthy Teen Network believes, and our panelists will affirm, with their life stories and ideas, that all young people have an opportunity for a healthy and fulfilling life. Invited panelists will share their personal experiences coming of age in Baltimore, what supports helped shape them, and what they are doing today to support and empower youth.

This panel brings together several Baltimore heroes:

Jason Newton, an award-winning reporter and WBAL co-anchor, will moderate the Youth 360°: Rewiring Our Approach plenary session. He is an avid supporter of Baltimore youth, speaking at high school events, and he is actively involved in local events for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. Born and raised in Baltimore, Jason is dedicated to giving back to his community.

Jason’s news travels have taken him around the country covering stories of national interest, including the nation’s largest military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in the days following 9/11, the 2004 Democratic National Convention and Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, he earned an Associated Press award for “outstanding in-depth reporting” covering the efforts of Maryland firefighters to help clean up and restore order to Slidell, La., one of the hardest hit communities by Katrina.

Jason started his TV career in Salisbury, moving on to Milwaukee, before finally coming home to Baltimore to serve as the co-anchor of WBAL-TV 11 News Today. He has a degree in broadcast journalism from University of Maryland College Park. He has taught with the broadcast department at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

D. Watkins is an award-winning writer, educator, and speaker who the Baltimore Sun says “Has amazing material and a clear engaging voice…in the tradition of black writers who use their own story and their own narrative as a way to look at the bigger picture.”

D. is a columnist for Salon magazine and his work has been published in The Huffington Post, Aeon, AlterNet, The City Paper and other magazines. D. has been featured as a reoccurring guest on NPR’s Monday Morning, Tell Me More, The Real News Network, Huff Post Live, and The Marc Steiner Show.

He has lectured at countless events and programs around the country. His Salon Magazine essay “Too Poor for Pop Culture” was one of the most read articles in 2014, finishing at #2. Watkins was the winner of Baltimore Magazine’s “Best Original Voice,” award for 2014 and featured in the Baltimore Business Journal as being one of the top 40 under 40 to watch.

D. currently holds a Master’s in Education from Johns Hopkins University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Baltimore. He is a professor at Coppin State University and runs a creative writing workshop at the Baltimore Free School.

D. lives in east Baltimore. His debut collection of essays The Beastside will be published by Skyhorse in the Fall of 2015 followed by his memoir The Cook-Up which will be released by Grand Central in early 2016.

Holistic Life Foundation is a Baltimore-based 501(c)3 committed to nurturing the wellness of children and adults in underserved communities. Through a comprehensive, holistic approach which helps children develop their inner lives, Holistic Life Foundation demonstrates deep commitment to learning, community, and stewardship of the environment. The Holistic Life Foundation defines “mindfulness” as “the combination of awareness, centering, and being present. It is the awareness of your thoughts, emotions, actions, and energy. It is the ability to get centered and stay centered in all situations. And it is the ability to be present, not letting internal and external distractions take you from the current moment. This leads to the development of empathy, compassion, love, balance, and harmony.”

Brothers Ali and Atman Smith partnered with Andres Gonzalez to found the Holistic Life Foundation because of their commitment to change the world by helping people and the planet. Inspired by opportunities to apply for grant funding, the three eventually founded the nonprofit organization, with the desire to bring back the sense of family to their neighborhood in Baltimore. Reflecting back on their experiences as children, they realized the mentors and older siblings in the neighborhood supported their growth and development, and they wanted to bring back this sense of community to Baltimore.

Mischa Toland completes the Youth 360°: Rewiring Our Approach plenary session, sharing her personal experience growing up in Baltimore. She is an active preacher, teacher, author, and visionary leader, as well as founder of Greatness Now, a national human development company based in Baltimore, with a mission to develop viable relationships, provide quality services, create unique products, and produce inspiring publications that offer hope, build character, and improve quality of life.

Mischa’s professional career has involved working in the nonprofit sector, the for profit sector, the juvenile justice system, and the educational system in capacities that range from volunteer to grassroots organizer to administrator/manager. Over the course of her 25 years as a human service professional, Mischa’s notable work with countless children, youth, and families has garnered her allies both locally and abroad.

A prolific and accomplished writer, Mischa has written and published twenty of her own books. She has done freelance writing for Jubilee Magazine and The Baltimore Sun’s Unisun Magazine; was a contributing writer for the National Cares Mentoring Movement Mentors Manual; and in addition to publishing her own works, Mischa’s publishing company (Morals & Values Press) has published other authors as well. Her newest literary work, Everything God Does is Right, was released in August 2013.

As a spiritual transformation coach, Mischa carefully guides individuals via a spiritual framework through a process of understanding what life, the pains of life, and the many transitions of life is saying to them. As a radio and television personality, Mischa hosted Every Woman on WEAA 88.9 FM in Baltimore. She served as a contributing relationship expert on WAOK 1380 AM in Atlanta, and she served as host and executive director of The Mischa Toland Show on WBFF-2 THIS TV in Baltimore.

Mischa has been the recipient of many citations, certificates, and awards—the most recent of which are the coveted honor of being named one of the 2012 Top 100 MBE’s in the Mid Atlantic Region and the Big Brothers Big Sisters 2014 Champion of Mentoring Award. Mischa attended Morgan State University where she majored in Social Work and Psychology.