In March 2021, Dr. Gaal accepted the newly created position of director for the MO AFL-CIO’s Missouri Works Initiative’s Worker Wellness Program. (At the end of January 2019, after 40 years of service, John retired as the Director of Training and Workforce Development for the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council.) As a labor representative, he continues to serve on the St. Louis County Workforce Development Board and International Vocational Education and Training Association’s Board of Directors (past-president).
John completed a union apprenticeship in carpentry over 40 years ago and has since earned an associate’s degree in construction management, a bachelor’s degree in architecture, master’s degree in international business, and a doctorate in organizational leadership. In addition, he completed post-
doctoral projects at Harvard University (Trade Union Leadership: 2009) and University of Florida (Marketing & Management: 2014). John was honored with two Fulbright (Specialist) Scholarships in Labor and Industrial Relations (Tokyo, Japan: 2010 and Toronto, Canada: 2015). He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed and professional journals on issues related to various aspects of workforce development. Since 2018, John completed the Mental Health First Aid Train-The-Trainer course, NAMI Family-to-Family Teacher Training course, Missouri Certified Peer Specialist certification, NWI’s Certified Wellness Practitioner certification, QPR Train-the-Trainer certification course, CWM Suicide Train-the-Trainer certification course, and Missouri Community Health Worker credential course.
Dr. Gaal has been married for 38 years, has four children, and is in his 27th year as an adjunct professor at Webster University.
Resilience & Thriving in the Classroom & Community
Type: Workshop
Resilience theory refers to the ideas surrounding how people are affected by and adapt to challenging things like adversity, change, loss, and risk. Resilience is not a fixed trait. One must grow her/his capacity to practice resilience…a process that is not static or linear.
This presentation will briefly explain how educators can move beyond using coping strategies as well as share other evidence-based practices to assist themselves and others around them.
