Search Institute

James R. Vollbracht
Search Institute Trainer
Vision Training Associates

Professional Expertise
James Vollbracht is a trainer, speaker, and author with over 20 years of experience empowering individuals, communities, and organizations to support the positive development of youth.

Contributions to Search Institute
As a senior trainer for Search Institute, Vollbracht is responsible for educating communities, organizations, and individuals about Developmental Assets and for helping them design strategies to build these assets for youth.

Vollbracht has been the keynote speaker at national and regional conferences across the country, Governor’s Conferences, and at kick-off presentations & trainings for school districts, the Canadian Parks and Recreation National Conference, and the Illinois State Educator’s Conference. Most recently, he presented to the National Association for Partnerships in Education and the Girl Scouts of America. A recent presentation was carried live over CFAX Radio in Victoria, British Columbia, to an audience of more than 20,000. He recently designed and facilitated a statewide community mobilization training in Wyoming that attracted more than 400 community members, representing 45 different community mobilization teams. He is also working with communities to translate and apply the key components of America’s Promise: The Alliance for Youth, a multi-year national campaign chaired by General Colin Powell.

Keynotes:

• Creating Schools that Care for Kids
• The Power of Strength-Based Schools
• How to Create Culture & Community That Cares for Kids

Presentations:

• Introducing Developmental Assets
• What’s Up With Our Kids
• Everyone’s an Asset Builder
• Sharing the Asset Message
• Customized Assets Trainings for Staff & Parents

Six-hour workshops:

• Building Developmental Assets in School Communities
• Assets in Action: A Journey of Community Change
• Leading with Assets

Major Trainings

Vollbracht offers stand-alone trainings or “connected trainings” that can involve educators, community members, parents, and youth. As an example, school staff trainings combined with youth asset leadership and service training, and coupled with parent training provides a powerful way to train temas of all ages in asset building. Several communities attribute these trainings to beginning or re-invigorating their asset initiatives. Vollbracht has conducted positive youth development trainings throughout North America; has delivered national leadership trainings for Lions Club International, the largest service organization in the world; and has worked with schools nationally in adopting school-based character education programs.

Request James Vollbracht for the following trainings by calling Search Institute Training, VTA at 877-240-7251 ext. 1.

Major Publications

• Stopping at Every Lemonade Stand: How to Create Culture That Cares for Kids
• The Way of Virtue (Humanics LTD, 1998)

Vollbracht is the author of the following children’s books, which are used in schools, congregations, and other settings to teach kindness, respect, and compassion:

• Her Father’s Garden (Wisdom Publishing, 1997)
• Small Acts of Kindness (Paulist Press, 1996)
• The Way of the Circle (Impact Publishing, 1994)

Professional History
Prior to joining Search Institute in 1995, Vollbracht served as:

• Western regional training manager, Quest International
• At-risk coordinator and English teacher

• M.A. in human development, St. Mary’s College, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• B.A. in education, University of Washington, Seattle

Community Activities

• Task Force member, Healthy Communities • Healthy Youth initiative, Bozeman, Montana
• Founder and volunteer, Youth Reach International, Bozeman, Montana