Top speaker Damon West to headline Casper College’s ‘Empower Change’ seminar
Casper College’s School of Social and Behavioral Sciences is hosting its annual seminar Wednesday, Sept. 17, featuring a series of sessions on the theme “Empower Change: Turn Struggle Into Strength.” All seminar events are free and open to the public.
The college will host two keynote speakers at the seminar: Damon West and Dr. Kevin McCauley. West holds a master’s degree in criminal justice, works as a college professor, and travels the world as an internationally known keynote speaker. He is a three-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author and former crime boss in Dallas who was sentenced to life in prison for organized crime. USA Today calls him the “modern-day Shawshank Redemption and the most in-demand speaker in America.” West’s keynote will take place at 11 a.m. in Casper College’s Wheeler Concert Hall.
West said, “I’m passionate about sharing the coffee bean message because it tells us the power is inside of us to change the world around us. Be a coffee bean means being the best version of ourselves each day.”
Dr. Kevin McCauley is a senior fellow at Meadows Behavioral Healthcare. He graduated in 1992 from Drexel University School of Medicine and first became interested in the treatment of substance use disorders while serving as a naval flight surgeon. McCauley wrote and directed two films: “Memo to Self” about the concepts of recovery management, and “Pleasure Unwoven” about the neuroscience of addiction, which won the 2010 Michael Q. Ford Award for Journalism from the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers. McCauley’s keynote will take place at 9 a.m. in Casper College’s Wheeler Concert Hall.
“I am very honored and glad to celebrate recovery month with the community of Casper, Wyoming! With so many promising new pathways into recovery — collegiate recovery programs, GLP-1 agonists and psychedelics — there’s never been a better time to find recovery. We will discuss all of these innovations and more,” McCauley said.
Three members of the Casper College community will present between McCauley and West, starting at 10 a.m. Speakers include Communication Instructor Terry Rogers and a partner presentation from Psychology Instructor John Ordiway and Addiction Studies Instructor Kristi Hann. These 20-minute sessions will delve into key aspects of turning struggle into strength by overcoming the lies we tell ourselves and reprogramming how we process trauma for a more empowered future.
“This seminar highlights the power to choose our path, even after trauma,” said Hann. “Healing helps us replace harmful beliefs with truth and self-worth. With effort, we can rewrite our story and live with purpose.”
Following the 11 a.m. keynote, the seminar will break for lunch at noon and resume at 1:30 p.m. for the Constitution Day event, a “Living Room Conversation” focused on topics including mental health, addiction, and incarceration. Living Room Conversations are guided discussions on specific topics that facilitate the connection between people despite their differences in age, politics, gender and/or nationality.
Bri Weigel, communication instructor and seminar co-chair, spoke about the afternoon event and topic.
Weigel said, “Mental health, addiction, and incarceration can all feel like heavy, complicated topics. But those are the topics that need our attention most, and Living Room Conversations provides a safe, structured environment to express ourselves and learn from others.”
All morning presentations will take place in the Wheeler Concert Hall located in the Music Building. Living Room Conversations will take place in the T-Bird Nest located on the third floor of the Casper College Student Union and University of Wyoming at Casper building. Both the Music Building and the Union/University building are located on the Casper College campus.
The Casper College School of Social and Behavioral Science and Casper College sponsor the 2025 Social and Behavioral Sciences Seminar and Constitution Day. For more information, contact Weigel at brianne.weigel@caspercollege.edu.