Speakers and Sessions

REBUILDING SEL SKILLS IN THE AGE OF COVID-19

As schools return, educators will be facing a host of psychological issues in students, from social disconnection to anxiety.

Neuroscience and psychology researchers have found that stress, trauma, and social isolation can inhibit the brain’s ability to learn, but by supporting social and emotional development and building safe relationships, educators can raise resilience and self-regulation, improve behavior and belonging, and help students learn.

This live virtual conference will show how all learning is social and emotional for the brain and provides practical strategies to raise resilience, restore trust and relationships, and rebuild self-regulation and social emotional learning. Discover ways to manage misbehavior; to recreate calm, attached classrooms; to reduce stress; and to heal from trauma so that all students in our racially diverse schools can learn and thrive — whether in classrooms, online, or in hybrid environments.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@learningandtheb / #latb57) for conference updates and news.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

You will gain knowledge about:
  • Using emotions and empathy to promote learning
  • Revising social-emotional learning for a COVID-19 World
  • Science-based strategies for social emotional learning and skills
  • Strategies for managing difficult child behaviors and classrooms
  • Ways to reduce the effects of stress and trauma so that students can learn
  • Restoring social relationships, trust, and attachment in the classroom
  • Empowering SEL and student voice in hybrid and remote environments
  • Raising child resilience and stress-proofing brains for stressful times
  • Applying restorative practices and positive classroom management
  • Rebuilding student self-regulation and executive function skills
  • Using SEL for interventions for reading and learning difficulties



This Unique Conference Will Provide You With:

  • 2 days of LIVE keynote presentations and breakout sessions from renowned brain and SEL experts
  • Real-time Q&A with experts and LIVE tracks and breakout groups with colleagues
  • Up to 15 hours of LIVE Professional Development
  • Access to an additional 25 hours of recordings for the two weeks following the conference
  • Slides and resources from the conference
  • The latest research from brain and social sciences on SEL
  • Research and strategies for early education, elementary, secondary, college/university educators, and clinicians



WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Educators, Parents
Curriculum, Staff Developers
Speech-Language Pathologists
Learning Specialists, Special Educators
Early Childhood Educators, Professionals
Superintendents, Principals, Assistant Principals
PreK-12 Teachers, Administrators, School Heads
Literacy, Reading, Math, SEL, Technology Teachers
Restorative Practice, Conflict Resolution Educators
School Climare/Social-Emotional Health Professionals
College, University Professors, Teen Counselors

 

Featured Speakers

Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD

Director, USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education (CANDLE) who has been studying and monitoring the brains of effective teachers to see how they connect with and motivate their students; Professor of Education, USC Rossier School of Education; Professor of Psychology, Brain, and Creativity Institute; Faculty, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California; Member of the Council of Distinguished Scientists at the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, Aspen Institute; Past President, IMBES (International Mind, Brain and Education Society); Recipient of the 2008 Transforming Education Through Neuroscience Award from the Learning & the Brain Foundation and IMBES; Author, Emotions, Learning, and the Brain: Exploring the Educational Implications of Affective Neuroscience (2015); Co-Author, “Understanding Emotional Thought Can Transform Educators’ Understanding of How Students Learn” (2020, Educational Neuroscience), “Building Meaning Builds Teens’ Brains” (2020, Educational Leadership), “The Brain Basis for Integrated Social, Emotional, and Academic Development” (2018, Aspen Institute), and "Embodied Brains, Social Minds, Cultural Meaning: Integrating Neuroscientific and Educational Research on Social-Affective Development (2017, American Educational Research Journal)

Stuart G. Shanker, DPhil

Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Psychology, York University; CEO, The MEHRIT Centre, Ltd.; Founder and Scientific Director, Self-Reg Global Inc.; Author, Reframed: Self-Reg for a Just Society (2020), Self-Reg Schools: A Handbook for Educators (2019), Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage With Life (2017), and Calm, Alert, and Learning: Classroom Strategies for Self-Regulation (2012)

Marc A. Brackett, PhD

Founding Director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence; Professor, Child Study Center, Yale University; Co-Creator, The RULER Approach to Social and Emotional Learning, Host, “Dealing With Feelings” Podcast; Developer, How We Feel App; Author, Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive (2019); Co-Author, “Emotionally Intelligent School Leadership Predicts Educator Well-Being Before and During a Crisis” (2024, Frontiers in Psychology) and “Preventative Initiatives to Promote Psychological Adjustment Among Primary Students” (2023, International Journal of Educational Psychology)

Mithu Storoni, MD, PhD

Physician; Researcher; Certified Neuro-ophthalmologist; Author, “Why Stress is Dangerous – and How to Avoid Its Effects” (2019, BBC) and Stress Proof: The Scientific Solution to Protect Your Brain and Body—and Be More Resilient Every Day (2017)

Chloé S. Valdary, BA

Writer; Entrepreneur; CEO and Director of Theory of Enchantment, a framework for teaching social emotional learning, character development, and interpersonal growth that uses pop culture as an educational tool in the classroom and beyond

Louis J. Cozolino, PhD

Professor of Psychology, Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Pepperdine University; Author, The Neuroscience of Human Relationships: Attachment and the Developing Social Brain (2014, 2nd Edition), Attachment-Based Teaching (2014), The Social Neuroscience of Education: Optimizing Attachment and Learning in the Classroom (2013), The Neuroscience of Trauma and Effective Trauma Treatment (2011), and The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social Brain (2010, 2nd Edition)

1) EMOTIONAL BRAINS: REVISING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING FOR A COVID-19 WORLD

The Science of Development: Why All Learning is Emotional and Social

Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD

Director, USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education (CANDLE) who has been studying and monitoring the brains of effective teachers to see how they connect with and motivate their students; Professor of Education, USC Rossier School of Education; Professor of Psychology, Brain, and Creativity Institute; Faculty, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California; Member of the Council of Distinguished Scientists at the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, Aspen Institute; Past President, IMBES (International Mind, Brain and Education Society); Recipient of the 2008 Transforming Education Through Neuroscience Award from the Learning & the Brain Foundation and IMBES; Author, Emotions, Learning, and the Brain: Exploring the Educational Implications of Affective Neuroscience (2015); Co-Author, “Understanding Emotional Thought Can Transform Educators’ Understanding of How Students Learn” (2020, Educational Neuroscience), “Building Meaning Builds Teens’ Brains” (2020, Educational Leadership), “The Brain Basis for Integrated Social, Emotional, and Academic Development” (2018, Aspen Institute), and "Embodied Brains, Social Minds, Cultural Meaning: Integrating Neuroscientific and Educational Research on Social-Affective Development (2017, American Educational Research Journal)

Social and Emotional Learning: From Science, to Practice, to Systemic Change During COVID-19

Marc A. Brackett, PhD

Founding Director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence; Professor, Child Study Center, Yale University; Co-Creator, The RULER Approach to Social and Emotional Learning, Host, “Dealing With Feelings” Podcast; Developer, How We Feel App; Author, Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive (2019); Co-Author, “Emotionally Intelligent School Leadership Predicts Educator Well-Being Before and During a Crisis” (2024, Frontiers in Psychology) and “Preventative Initiatives to Promote Psychological Adjustment Among Primary Students” (2023, International Journal of Educational Psychology)

Using Schools to Enhance Social Emotional Outcomes of Urban Youth

David A. Adams, MEd

Senior Director of Strategy; Chief Executive Officer and Creator, Resilient Scholars Program, The Urban Assembly; Advisory Board Member, Emotion Regulation Benchmarks Project, Center for Emotional Intelligence, Yale University; Member of the Board of Directors, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL); Member of the Council of Distinguished Educators, National Commission on Social Emotional and Academic Development, Aspen Institute; Subject Matter Expert, National Center to Improve Social Emotional Learning and School Safety; Civil Affairs Officer, Army Reserves; Co-Author with David Caruso, The Educator's Practical Guide to Emotional Intelligence (2020)

Energizing College Learning With the Science of Emotions

Sarah Rose Cavanagh, PhD

Psychologist; Senior Associate Director, Teaching and Learning; Associate Professor of Practice, Psychology Department; Simmons College; Director, Laboratory for Cognitive and Affective Science; Professor of Psychology; Research Affiliate, Emotion, Brain, and Behavior Laboratory, Tufts University; Author, Mind Over Monsters: Supporting Youth Mental Health With Compassionate Challenge (2023),  HIVEMIND: Thinking Alike in a Divided World (2019), and The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom With the Science of Emotion (2016); Co-Author, Emotion and Motivation (2023)

 

Theory of Enchantment - An Innovative Approach to SEL

Chloé S. Valdary, BA

Writer; Entrepreneur; CEO and Director of Theory of Enchantment, a framework for teaching social emotional learning, character development, and interpersonal growth that uses pop culture as an educational tool in the classroom and beyond

Thoughtfully Applying SEL and Restorative Practices During and After COVID-19

Nathan Maynard, BBS

Student Voice Advocate; Co-Founder, BehaviorFlip; Former School Administrator; Expert in Behavioral Neuroscience, Dialectical Behavioral Coaching, Motivational Interviewing, Positive Youth Development, Restorative Justice, and Trauma-Informed Building Practices; Co-Author, Hacking School Discipline: 9 Ways to Create a Culture of Empathy and Responsibility Using Restorative Justice (2019)

Teaching Social Emotional Learning Through Reading and Writing Workshops

Michael Anderson, MS

Former Elementary School Teacher; National Milken Educator Award recipient; Former Program Developer, Northeast Foundation for Children; Author, Tackling the Motivation Crisis (2021), What We Say and How We Say It Matter: Teacher Talk That Improves Student Learning and Behavior (2019), Learning to Choose, Choosing to Learn (2016), and The Well-Balanced Teacher (2012); Co-Author, What Every Teacher Needs to Know K-5 Series (2011)

SEL from the Start: Supporting the Development of Social and Emotional Skills even in this Challenging COVID-19 World

Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman, PhD

Director, Social Development Lab.; Professor of Education, Department of Educational Leadership, Foundations, and Policy; Professor, Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning, Curry School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia; Research Advisor, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL); Co-Author, SEL from the Start: Building Skills in K-5 (2020), "Educating the Whole Learner" (2020, Educational Leadership), and "Social and Emotional Learning in Elementary School Setting: Identifying Mechanisms That Matter" (2014, Handbook on Social and Emotional Learning)

Brain-Aligned Strategies: Addressing the Social, Emotional and Academic Needs of All Students

Lori L. Desautels, PhD

Founder, RevolutionsinEducation; Assistant Professor, College of Education, Butler University; Creator and Instructor of Butler's Applied Educational Neuroscience certificate program; Former School Counselor; Founder, Indianapolis Counseling Center; Author, Connections Over Compliance: Rewiring Our Perceptions of Discipline (2021), Eyes Are Never Quiet: Listening Beneath the Behaviors of Our Most Troubled Students (2019), Unwritten - The Story of a Living System: A Pathway to Enlivening and Transforming Education (2016), and How May I Serve You?: Revelations in Education (2012)

2) REGULATED BRAINS: REBUILDING SELF-REGULATION & EXECUTIVE FUNCTION SKILLS

The Science and Practice of Self-Reg

Stuart G. Shanker, DPhil

Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Psychology, York University; CEO, The MEHRIT Centre, Ltd.; Founder and Scientific Director, Self-Reg Global Inc.; Author, Reframed: Self-Reg for a Just Society (2020), Self-Reg Schools: A Handbook for Educators (2019), Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage With Life (2017), and Calm, Alert, and Learning: Classroom Strategies for Self-Regulation (2012)

The Impact of Adversity on Young Children's Self-Regulation and Executive Function Development

Dana C. McCoy, PhD

Assistant Professor of Education; Director, Settings for Early Education and Development (SEED) Lab., Harvard Graduate School of Education; Co-Author, “The Joint Development of Literacy and Self-Regulation in Early Childhood” (2020, The Handbook of Reading Research), “Preschool Self‐Regulation and Preacademic Skills as Mediators of the Long‐Term Impacts of an Early Intervention” (2019, Child Development), “Contextual Variation in Young Children’s Acquisition of Social-Emotional Skills” (2019, PLoS One) and “Classifying Social-Emotional Trajectories Through Elementary School: Impacts of the Chicago School Readiness Project” (2018, Developmental Psychology)

Neuroscience, Mindfulness, and Self-Regulation: Helping Children with Autism, ADHD, Trauma, and Sensory Disorders Regulate Their Emotions

Varleisha D. (Gibbs) Lyons, PhD, OTD, MS, OTR/L, ASDCS, FAOTA

Vice President, Practice Engagement and Capacity Building, The American Occupational Therapy Association; Former Associate Professor and Director of Inaugural Masters of Occupational Therapy Program, Wesley College; Author, Self-Regulation and Mindfulness: Over 82 Exercises & Worksheets for Sensory Processing Disorder, ADHD, & Autism Spectrum Disorder (2017); Co-Author, Trauma Treatment in Action (2021) and Raising Kids with Sensory Processing Disorders (2020, 2nd Edition)

Self-Regulation in the Classroom: Helping Students Learn How to Learn in Today's World

Richard M. Cash, EdD

International Speaker, Educator, and Consultant; Former Director of Gifted Programs; Author, “Enhancing Social-Emotional Learning With Self-Regulation for Learning” (2019, Free Spirit Publishing Blog), Advancing Differentiation: Thinking and Learning for the 21st Century (2017), and Self-Regulation in the Classroom: Helping Students Learn How to Learn (2016); Co-Author, Differentiation for Gifted Learners: Going Beyond the Basics (2013)

Self-Reg in the Classroom

Stuart G. Shanker, DPhil

Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Psychology, York University; CEO, The MEHRIT Centre, Ltd.; Founder and Scientific Director, Self-Reg Global Inc.; Author, Reframed: Self-Reg for a Just Society (2020), Self-Reg Schools: A Handbook for Educators (2019), Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage With Life (2017), and Calm, Alert, and Learning: Classroom Strategies for Self-Regulation (2012)

Building Students’ Social Emotional Strength and Self-Management Through Literacy

Nancy N. Boyles, EdD

Professor Emerita; Former Professor of Reading and Graduate Reading Program Coordinator, Southern Connecticut State University; Literacy Consultant; Author, Classroom Reading to Engage the Heart and Mind: 200+ Picture Books to Start SEL Conversations (2020), Reading, Writing, and Rigor: Helping Students Achieve Depth of Knowledge in Literacy (2018), Lessons and Units for Closer Reading, Grades K-2 (2016), Lessons and Units for Closer Reading, Grades 3-6 (2015), and Closer Reading, Grades 3-6: Better Prep, Smarter Lessons, Deeper Comprehension (2014)

3) SOCIAL BRAINS: RESTORING CLASSROOM RELATIONSHIPS, TRUST, & ATTACHMENT

The Neuroscience of Human Relationships and Attachment

Louis J. Cozolino, PhD

Professor of Psychology, Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Pepperdine University; Author, The Neuroscience of Human Relationships: Attachment and the Developing Social Brain (2014, 2nd Edition), Attachment-Based Teaching (2014), The Social Neuroscience of Education: Optimizing Attachment and Learning in the Classroom (2013), The Neuroscience of Trauma and Effective Trauma Treatment (2011), and The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social Brain (2010, 2nd Edition)

The Power of Discord: Fostering Relational Connections and Resilience in Children in Times of Uncertainty

Edward Z. Tronick, PhD

University Distinguished Professor of Psychology; Professor of Developmental Brain Sciences; Director, Child Development Unit, University of Massachusetts, Boston; Associate Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Associate Professor, School of Public Health, Harvard University; Recipient, Society for Research in Child Development Lifetime Achievement Award; Co-Author, The Power of Discord: Why the Ups and Downs of Relationships are the Secret to Building Intimacy, Resilience, and Trust (2020) and “The Power of Disconnection During the COVID-19 Emergency: From Isolation to Reparation” (2020, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy)

The Power of Discord: Fostering Relational Connections and Resilience in Children in Times of Uncertainty

Claudia M. Gold, MD

Behavioral Pediatrician; Faculty, Infant-Parent Mental Health Fellowship Program, University of Massachusetts, Boston; Faculty, Brazelton Institute, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School; Author, The Developmental Science of Early Childhood (2017) and The Silenced Child: From Labels, Medications, and Quick-Fix Solutions to Listening, Growth, and Lifelong Resilience (2016); Co-Author, The Power of Discord: Why the Ups and Downs of Relationships Are the Secret to Building Intimacy, Resilience, and Trust (2020)

The Social-Emotional Brain: Connecting Language, Culture, Resilience, and Social Interaction in Learning

Andrew N. Meltzoff, PhD

Job and Gertrud Tamaki Endowed Chair, Department of Psychology; Co-Director, Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington; Co-Author, “Childhood Experiences and Intergroup Biases Among Children” (2020, International Journal of Gender, Science, and Technology), “Self‐Concepts, Self‐Esteem, and Academic Achievement of Minority and Majority North American Elementary School Children” (2018, Child Development), “Exploring the Infant Social Brain: What’s Going on in There?” (2016, Psychology), and “‘Like Me’: A Foundation for Social Cognition” (2006, Developmental Science)

The Social-Emotional Brain: Connecting Language, Culture, Resilience, and Social Interaction in Learning

Patricia K. Kuhl, PhD

Co-Director, Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences; Professor, Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington; The Bezos Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Learning; Recipient of the “William James Lifetime Achievement Award”, the “George A. Miller Prize” in Cognitive Neuroscience, the American Psychological Association’s “Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award”, and the “Karl Spencer Lashley Award” from the American Philosophical Society; Co-Author, “Brain Myelination at 7 Months of Age Predicts Later Language Development” (2022, Neuroimage), Developing Minds in the Digital Age: Towards a Science of Learning for 21st Century Education (2019), How Babies Think: The Science of Childhood (2001), and The Scientist in the Crib: What Early Learning Tells Us About the Mind (2000)

Building Meaning Builds Teens’ Brains: The Importance of Relationships, Relevance, and Meaning-Making for Adolescent Learning

Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD

Director, USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning, and Education (CANDLE) who has been studying and monitoring the brains of effective teachers to see how they connect with and motivate their students; Professor of Education, USC Rossier School of Education; Professor of Psychology, Brain, and Creativity Institute; Faculty, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California; Member of the Council of Distinguished Scientists at the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, Aspen Institute; Past President, IMBES (International Mind, Brain and Education Society); Recipient of the 2008 Transforming Education Through Neuroscience Award from the Learning & the Brain Foundation and IMBES; Author, Emotions, Learning, and the Brain: Exploring the Educational Implications of Affective Neuroscience (2015); Co-Author, “Understanding Emotional Thought Can Transform Educators’ Understanding of How Students Learn” (2020, Educational Neuroscience), “Building Meaning Builds Teens’ Brains” (2020, Educational Leadership), “The Brain Basis for Integrated Social, Emotional, and Academic Development” (2018, Aspen Institute), and "Embodied Brains, Social Minds, Cultural Meaning: Integrating Neuroscientific and Educational Research on Social-Affective Development (2017, American Educational Research Journal)

Building Meaning Builds Teens’ Brains: The Importance of Relationships, Relevance, and Meaning-Making for Adolescent Learning

Douglas Knecht, MA

Interim Dean of Children’s Programs, Bank Street College of Education, which is working with USC researchers to monitor teachers' brain activity, emotional and stress responses, vocal patterns, and body language to try to understand how teachers' practices and physiological responses affect how well students connect with their lessons; Co-Author, “Building Meaning Builds Teens’ Brains” (2020, Educational Leadership)

The Social Child: Restoring Relationships, Healing Trauma, and Creating Attached Classrooms

Louis J. Cozolino, PhD

Professor of Psychology, Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Pepperdine University; Author, The Neuroscience of Human Relationships: Attachment and the Developing Social Brain (2014, 2nd Edition), Attachment-Based Teaching (2014), The Social Neuroscience of Education: Optimizing Attachment and Learning in the Classroom (2013), The Neuroscience of Trauma and Effective Trauma Treatment (2011), and The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social Brain (2010, 2nd Edition)

HIVEMIND: Lessons from Social Media, Honeybees, and Social Neuroscience for the Classroom

Sarah Rose Cavanagh, PhD

Psychologist; Senior Associate Director, Teaching and Learning; Associate Professor of Practice, Psychology Department; Simmons College; Director, Laboratory for Cognitive and Affective Science; Professor of Psychology; Research Affiliate, Emotion, Brain, and Behavior Laboratory, Tufts University; Author, Mind Over Monsters: Supporting Youth Mental Health With Compassionate Challenge (2023),  HIVEMIND: Thinking Alike in a Divided World (2019), and The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom With the Science of Emotion (2016); Co-Author, Emotion and Motivation (2023)

 

Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College

Peter Felten, PhD

Executive Director, Center for Engaged Learning; Professor; Assistant Provost for Teaching and Learning, Elon University; Co-Editor of the International Journal for Academic Development; Fellow, John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education; Co-Author, Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College (2020), The Undergraduate Experience: Focusing Institutions on What Matters Most (2016), Transforming Students: Fulfilling the Promise of Higher Education (2014), and Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching (2014)

4) RESILIENT BRAINS: RAISING RESILIENCE & REDUCING STRESS DURING STRESSFUL TIMES

Stress-Proof: Managing Stress in the Age of COVID-19

Mithu Storoni, MD, PhD

Physician; Researcher; Certified Neuro-ophthalmologist; Author, “Why Stress is Dangerous – and How to Avoid Its Effects” (2019, BBC) and Stress Proof: The Scientific Solution to Protect Your Brain and Body—and Be More Resilient Every Day (2017)

When Bad Things Happen to Good Brains: The Effects of Toxic Stress on Development

Charles A. Nelson III, PhD

Director, Nelson Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Boston Children’s Hospital; Research Director, Division of Developmental Medicine; Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research; Professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School; Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Professor, Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, School of Public Health, Harvard University; Co-Author, “Signs of Attachment Disorders and Social Functioning Among Early Adolescents With A History of Institutional Care” (2019, Child Abuse & Neglect), “How Early Experience Shapes Human Development: The Case of Psychosocial Deprivation” (2019, Neural Plasticity), and Neuroscience and Cognitive Development: The Role of Experiences and the Developing Brain (2006)

How Mindfulness Reduces Stress and Fosters Emotional Health and Cognitive Focus in Secondary Students

John D.E. Gabrieli, PhD

Director, MIT’s Integrated Learning Initiative; Grover Hermann Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Cognitive Neuroscience; Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences; Co-Director, Clinical Research Center; Associate Director, Athinoula A. Martinos Imaging Center, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Co-Author, “Reward-Related Neural Circuitry in Depressed and Anxious Adolescents: A Human Connectome Project” (2021, Journal of the American Academy), “Mindfulness Supports Emotional Resilience in Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic” (2022, MedRxiv), “Sleep Quality, Duration, and Consistency Are Associated With Better Academic Performance in College Students” (2019, NPI Science of Learning), and “Greater Mindfulness Is Associated With Better Academic Achievement in Middle School” (2019, Mind, Brain, and Education)

Using Technology With a Heart: Easing Anxiety and Empowering Social Emotional Learning and Student Voice in a Hybrid or Remote Classroom

Stacey Roshan, MA

Director of Innovation and Educational Technology; Math Teacher, The Bullis School; Member of the EdTech Advisory Board, Loyola University; Selected as one of the “Teachers of the Future” by the National Association of Independent Schools; Author, Tech With Heart: Leveraging Technology to Empower Student Voice, Ease Anxiety, and Create Compassionate Classrooms (2019)

Teaching Resilience and Healing Trauma With Empathy for a Chaotic World

Michele Borba, EdD

Psychologist; Educator; Bullying Prevention and Character Development Expert; Author, Thrivers: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine (2021), End Peer Cruelty, Build Empathy: The Proven 6Rs of Bullying Prevention That Create Inclusive, Safe, Caring Schools (2018), Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World (2016), The Big Book of Parenting Solutions (2009), No More Misbehavin': 38 Difficult Behaviors and How to Stop Them (2005), and Building Moral Intelligence: The Seven Essential Virtues That Teach Kids to Do the Right Thing (2002)

Peer Mentoring and Social-Emotional Resilience in Youth With Learning Difficulties

Fumiko Hoeft, MD, PhD

Professor of Psychological Sciences; Director, Brain Imaging Research Center, University of Connecticut; Director, Laboratory for Learning Engineering and Neural Systems (brainLENS.org) located at University of Connecticut and the University of California, San Francisco; Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco; Senior Scientist & Senior Advisor, Haskins Laboratories; Co-Director of Haskins L2 (Language & Literacy) Global Innovation Hub, Yale University; Recipient of the 2015 Transforming Education through Neuroscience Award from Learning & the Brain Foundation; Co-Author, "Direct and Indirect Contributions of Executive Function to Word Decoding and Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten” (2019, Learning & Individual Differences), “Impact of Mentoring on Socio‐Emotional and Mental Health Outcomes of Youth with Learning Disabilities and Attention‐Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” (2019, Child and Adolescent Mental Health), and “Brain Basis of Cognitive Resilience: Prefrontal Cortex Predicts Better Reading Comprehension in Relation to Decoding” (2018, PloS One)

At the Breaking Point: Stress and Mental Health on Principals and Administrators in the Age of COVID

Peter M. DeWitt, EdD

Educational Consultant; Former K-5 Teacher and Principal; Columnist, "Finding Common Ground", Education Week; Editor, Connected Educator Series; Author, "Should We Be Concerned About the Mental Health of Principals?" (2020, Education Week), Instructional Leadership (2020), Coach It Further: Using the Art of Coaching to Improve School Leadership ( 2018), School Climate; Leading With Collective Efficacy (2017), and Collaborative Leadership (2016); Co-Author, School Climate Change (2014)

5) BEHAVED BRAINS: IMPROVING BEHAVIOR AND DISCIPLINE IN A CHAOTIC WORLD

Empowering All Learners: Creating Socially and Emotionally Engaged, Safe, and Inclusive Classrooms

Douglas B. Fisher, PhD

Chair, Department of Educational Leadership, San Diego State University; Classroom Teacher, Health Sciences High and Middle College; Co-Author, The Artificial Intelligence Playbook (2024), Welcome to Teaching (2024), Belonging in School (2024), The Vocabulary Playbook: Learning Words That Matter (2023), Confronting the Crisis of Engagement: Creating Focus and Resilience for Students, Staff, and Communities (2022), The Social-Emotional Learning Playbook (2022), The Restorative Practices Playbook: Tools for Transforming Discipline in Schools (2022), and Removing Labels: 40 Techniques to Disrupt Negative Expectations About Students and Schools (2021)

Brain-Changing Strategies to Trauma-Proof Our Schools: Building Social Emotional Intelligence and a Culture of Kindness

Peter A. Levine, PhD

Founder, Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute/Foundation for Human Enrichment; Developer of Somatic Experiencing®, a naturalistic and neurological approach to healing trauma; Founder and President of Ergos Institute of Somatic Education; Renowned Trauma Expert with doctorates in both Biophysics and Psychology; Author, Trauma and Memory: Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past: A Practical Guide for Understanding and Working With Traumatic Memory (2015) and Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma (1997); Co-Author, Trauma-Proofing Your Kids (2008) and Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes: Awakening the Ordinary Miracle of Healing (2006)

Rebuilding Social Emotional Learning, Discipline, and Empathy for Today's Schools

Michele Borba, EdD

Psychologist; Educator; Bullying Prevention and Character Development Expert; Author, Thrivers: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine (2021), End Peer Cruelty, Build Empathy: The Proven 6Rs of Bullying Prevention That Create Inclusive, Safe, Caring Schools (2018), Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World (2016), The Big Book of Parenting Solutions (2009), No More Misbehavin': 38 Difficult Behaviors and How to Stop Them (2005), and Building Moral Intelligence: The Seven Essential Virtues That Teach Kids to Do the Right Thing (2002)

Brain-Changing Strategies to Trauma-Proof Our Schools: Building Social Emotional Intelligence and a Culture of Kindness

Maggie Kline, MS, LMFT, SEP

Marriage, Family and Child Therapist; Retired School Counselor and School Psychologist; Senior International Faculty Member, Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute; Creator, Conscious Connections PlayShops, which combines art and attachment play; Author, Brain-Changing Strategies to Trauma-Proof Our Schools: A Heart-Centered Movement for Wiring Well-Being (2020); Co-Author, Trauma-Proofing Your Kids (2008) and Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes: Awakening the Ordinary Miracle of Healing (2006)

Connections over Compliance: Rewiring our Perceptions of Discipline

Lori L. Desautels, PhD

Founder, RevolutionsinEducation; Assistant Professor, College of Education, Butler University; Creator and Instructor of Butler's Applied Educational Neuroscience certificate program; Former School Counselor; Founder, Indianapolis Counseling Center; Author, Connections Over Compliance: Rewiring Our Perceptions of Discipline (2021), Eyes Are Never Quiet: Listening Beneath the Behaviors of Our Most Troubled Students (2019), Unwritten - The Story of a Living System: A Pathway to Enlivening and Transforming Education (2016), and How May I Serve You?: Revelations in Education (2012)

Empowering All Educators to Handle Challenging Students: Succeeding With COVID-19, Neurodiversity, Behavior, and SEL

Marcia Eckerd, PhD
 

Psychologist; Community Medical Staff, Norwalk Hospital; Former Director of Clinical Programs of the New Learning Therapy Center; Member, CT Autism Spectrum Disorder Advisory Council; Board of Directors of NeuroClastic.org, an autistic nonprofit providing education and resources on autism; Member, Professional Advisory Board of Smart Kids with LD; Member, Member, Clinical Advisory Group of AANE.org (Asperger/Autism Network). Author of articles on autism in the Journal of Health Service Psychology, Autism Spectrum News, Autism Parenting Magazine, Psych Central, “Divergent Thinkers,” and Psychology Today “Everyday Neurodiversity.”