In between sessions at the 2016 Partners in Prevention conference, September 28-30, enjoy a break in the exhibitor gallery and learn more about programs, products and services designed for you and the children and families you serve. Twenty nonprofit organizations, state agencies and universities will be exhibiting.

One such organization is the Ounce of Prevention Fund. At the conference, the Ounce will showcase Achieve OnDemand — an online learning experience for home visitors that includes self-paced courses, virtual workshops and webinars relevant to the unique challenges home visitors face every day. Stop by the Ounce's table to learn how they are partnering with PEI to make these online trainings available in Texas.

Many thanks to all the other exhibitors that also will provide conference-goers with valuable information and resources: 3rd Millennium Classroom; Any Baby Can, Any Baby Can, Nurse-Family Partnership;, Colin's Hope; DFPS: Statewide Intake; DSHS: Case Management for Children & Pregnant Women; HHSC: Community Access & Services; HHSC: Early Childhood Intervention; HHSC: Office of Acquired Brain Injury; Memorial Hermann Prevention and Recovery Center; Pregnancy and Postpartum Health Alliance of Texas; Texas Certification Board of Addiction Professionals; Texas Council of Child Welfare Boards; Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center; Texas Juvenile Justice Department; Texas Legal Services Center; Texas Network of Youth Services; TexProtects: The Texas Association for the Protection of Children and The University of Oklahoma, College of Liberal Studies.

Sessions are filling quickly, so register today.

Follow us on Twitter @TexasDFPS for exclusive conference updates. Use our conference hashtag #PIPcon2016 to stay connected and share your thoughts. Stay tuned for more information about when and how to download our new conference app for iPhones and Android devices.

Courtney Seals has joined the Prevention and Early Intervention leadership team as division administrator for community and systems support. Seals joined the Texas Home Visiting team in 2015 as a project manager working directly with community contractors. In her new role, she will oversee a team of specialists responsible for communications, training, continuous quality improvement and system building. Seals will report to Sarah Abrahams, deputy associate commissioner for prevention and early intervention.

We chose Courtney out of a pool of highly skilled internal and external candidates because of her fierce commitment to excellence, her wealth of knowledge and experience, and her positive approach to the work we do," said Abrahams.

"Courtney is a passionate advocate for children and families, and she brings direct service experience as well as expertise in administration and public policy to our team."  In her previous positions, Seals directed community and home-based prevention and intervention programs, incorporating performance-management, quality-improvement and staff-development strategies to achieve superior results.

Seals said she strives to bridge lessons from the field with systems-level approaches that improve outcomes for communities. "We intend to develop expertise by fusing best practice with innovation. I am dedicated to cultivating resources for communities, building awareness of community needs and initiatives, and promoting systems change that will help families thrive.

Seals attended The University of Texas at Austin and carries a bachelor's degree in urban studies with a minor in business foundations, a master’s degree in public affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs with a specialization in social and economic policy, and a second master’s degree in community and regional planning from UT's School of Architecture.