2026 Programming
February
Stronger Together: Mental Health Awareness for Our Community
February 26, 2026 | 5:30 pm | O'Kelly Hall Room 343
Melissa will provide an educational session focused on mental health, including an overview of mental states and common mental illnesses. She will address the stigma that often surrounds mental health concerns and explore practical ways community members can help reduce that stigma. She will review some treatment options available and the differences between inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services.
FREE - Open to all community members
Instructor Background:
Melissa Lennon is a Grand Forks native who serves as the Director of Business Development for Altru Inpatient Behavioral Health. She returned to Grand Forks after earning her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND. Since joining Altru’s Behavioral Health team, she has focused on strengthening community understanding of behavioral health and reducing the stigma around mental health. Her work centers on building connections, expanding access, and ensuring behavioral health resources are visible and approachable for everyone.
March
Brain Injury 101
March 18, 2026 | 5:00 | O'Kelly Hall Room 343
Carly Endres, Senior Project Coordinator with the North Dakota Brain Injury Network (NDBIN) will cover the definition of brain injury, prevalence, common symptoms and what it is that NDBIN does to help survivors, caregivers and professionals.
FREE - Open to all community members
Instructor Background:
Carly Endres is a senior project coordinator for the North Dakota Brain Injury Network (NDBIN) at the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine & Health Sciences.
In this position, Carly works on developing, implementing, and managing program initiatives for NDBIN, as well as developing, promoting, and implementing NDBIN educational activities.
Carly previously worked with Grand Forks Public Schools as a special education strategist. Originally from Grand Forks, North Dakota, Carly earned a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education and master's degree in special education at UND. In July 2019, she became a Certified Brain Injury Specialist, and in 2022 added the trainer portion and is now a Certified Brain Injury Specialist Trainer, or CBIST. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational practice and leadership with a specialization in special education at UND.
April
Gardening with Native Plants
April 29, 2026 | 5:00 pm | O'Kelly Hall Room 343
Gardening with native plants supports wildlife while creating landscapes adapted to North Dakota’s soils and climate. This presentation covers what native plants are, why they thrive in local conditions, and how they benefit pollinators and other wildlife. Attendees will explore examples of native flowers, grasses, shrubs, and trees, learn how to choose the right plant for the right place, and gain practical tips for incorporating native plants into home landscapes, including maintenance and starting plants from seed.
FREE - Open to all community members
Instructor Background:
Carrie Knutson is the Horticulture Agent in Grand Forks County with NDSU Extension, where she has served for 19 years. She holds a Master’s degree in Horticulture from North Dakota State University and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Natural Resource Management. Carrie is passionate about youth gardening, environmental education, and helping residents solve horticulture and soil-related challenges.
May
Behind the Yellow Tape: Forensic Photography Basics
May 6, 2026 | 12:30 pm | Gustafson Hall
No two crime scenes are alike, and each requires careful documentation to preserve a fair and accurate record for reconstruction and evidence analysis. Participants will gain hands-on experience using DSLR cameras to photograph a realistic mock crime scene. Along the way, you’ll learn how and what forensic photographs are taken, and uncover some of the myths about forensic science often seen in the media.
FREE - Open to all community members
Course size limited to 15 participants, waitlist available
Instructor Background:
Lindsay Fugleberg holds a Master of Science in Biology from the University of Nebraska-Kearney and 160 hours of specialized crime scene investigator training. Lindsay's specific forensic interestes include crime scene investigation and trace DNA collection from crime scenes. Lindsay currently teaches a variety of forensic courses including Serology, Fingerprinting, Forensic Photography, Pattern Evidence and Analysis of Forensic Evidence.
The Role of AI in Health Care
Date and time TBA | Location TBA
The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform every aspect of our world is becoming increasingly evident, perhaps nowhere more so than health care. AI has the power to efficiently process data far beyond our own capacity, reducing the burden on health care providers and freeing up more time for patient engagement. The real power of AI to transform health care, however, may lie in the use of “supervised learning” to create deep learning models and neural networks that can find patterns that humans can’t see. Some of these patterns, derived from huge datasets, can detect diseases like cancer much earlier than is possible now, and can predict risk far better. This can potentially translate to thousands of lives saved.
But the promise of AI does not come without challenges, especially in health care. How much of what we hear is hype, how much is fear of change, and what are the real risks involved? Can AI that is developed in one part of the country be safely used in another with different patient populations? What can we do to prevent or remediate bias? Drawing on current, real-world examples in areas like patient diagnosis and treatment, mortality and disease progression prediction, and radiographic imaging, this presentation will provide answers to these questions and illustrate how AI is already being used to transform the health care sector.
FREE - Open to all community members
Instructor Background:
Richard Van Eck is the founding Dr. David and Lola Rognlie Monson Endowed Chair in Medical Education and Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS). His faculty development and research activities focus on evidence-based teaching, innovative teaching methods, games and learning, artificial intelligence, and telehealth. He provides support to the MD program on curriculum design, evaluation, micro-credentialing. Rick has a PhD in instructional design from the University of South Alabama, serves as the principal investigator (PI) on the American Medical Association’s Innovation grant (gamification for competency-based medical education) and previously served as the PI on the AMA Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium projects on interprofessional telemedicine simulation. A frequent keynote speaker, presenter, and author of research on serious games, Rick has edited two volumes on interdisciplinary approaches to serious games and presented at TEDx Manitoba and SXSW.