2023 Annual Conference
Wildfire’s 2023 Annual Conference
October 12-13
Check out the Agenda at a Glance and the full 2023 Program!
Join Wildfire for a two-day conference honoring Community Action Agency staff, human services providers, and other partners who share our vision of stopping poverty before it starts. Tickets available at the door!
$200 Members / $230 Non-Members (join today!)
Ignite change on social media! Tag @wildfireazorg and use #EndPovertyAZ #IgniteLastingChange
Conference Keynote Speakers
Iya Affo
Iya Affo is the founder of Heal Historical Trauma. As a descendant of spiritual and physical healers, Iya’s life has centered around spirituality, indigenous healing, and wellness. Iya strives to cultivate love and inclusivity and hopes to facilitate reculturing and the subsequent healing of indigenous people all over the world. Today, she is a Culturalist and Historical Trauma Specialist who earned Western Certification as a Trauma Specialist. Iya is Certified to facilitate Dr. Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model for Caregiving, and Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI). She is a Certified Trauma & Resilience Life Coach, a Certified Adverse Childhood Experiences Trainer and has completed Certification for the Native American based Fatherhood is Sacred/Motherhood is Sacred program. Iya serves as the Chair of the Historical Trauma committee and develops curriculum for the Resilience Empowerment Program with the Arizona Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Consortium. She is an Adjunct Faculty member at the Arizona Trauma Institute\Trauma Institute International, is the founder of Phoenix Rising to Resilience virtual community on the PACEs Connection platform and was recently appointed to the Gilbert Community Engagement Task Force to advocate for people who have been disempowered.
Dr. Nika Gueci
Dr. Nika Gueci is a born and bred New Yorker who moved to the desert to advance Arizona State University’s Charter of inclusion and belonging. She is the Executive Director of ASU’s Center for Mindfulness, Compassion and Resilience, created as an institutional-priority initiative to build human capacity through an innovative whole-person approach. Here, she furthers individual and community resilience through translational research, customized curriculum and leadership trainings. Nika has presented over 1k speeches, workshops, and events; and has been invited to speak on media sources such as AZ3TV, NPR, ASU News, and keynote at national conferences. She serves as co-chair of the Mental Well-Being Committee, Arizona Department of Health Services and leads a state-wide strategy to reduce loneliness and social isolation.
She is a Senior Fellow at ASU’s Learning Enterprise as venture design lead on Personal Development Solutions, created for learners to realize and develop their full potential as thriving human beings.
Nika has been recognized as one of the top 50 women leaders of Arizona for 2023. She is a registered yoga teacher and ardent advocate for animal rights. She serves on the Arizona Veterinary Medical Association Wellness Task Force and fosters dogs. She holds an EdD in leadership and innovation from Arizona State University, MA in communication from New Mexico State University and a BA in Russian from Columbia University in the City of New York.
Lodging Information:
Harrah’s Ak-Chin Hotel and Casino
15406 North Maricopa Road, Maricopa, AZ 85139
Book rooms by September 8, 2023 to receive Wildfire’s discounted rate. To reserve lodging, follow this link and enter code S10AWC3. Or call: 1-800-CAESARS and provide the group code as well.
Thank you to our sponsors:
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
- Snell & Wilmer
- Morgan Stanley
- Trico Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- A New Leaf/MesaCAN
- City of Phoenix
Bronze Sponsors
- NACOG
- The Kurr Carr Group, Inc.
