Give the gift of mental fitness.  

Molly Stewart Lawlor, Ph.D., is an expert in child and adolescent social and emotional development. Dr. Lawlor’s research includes the investigation of mindfulness and psychological adjustment in children and adolescents, and evaluations of social-emotional learning programs for children and adolescents in school settings. She is lead author and serves as the Director for Curriculum and Research for the MindUP program (mindup.org), an evidence-based social emotional learning program grounded in neuroscience. Dr. Lawlor is also an advisor to children’s media projects including Peabody award-winning Stillwater (Apple TV), the award-winning Scout and the Gumboot Kids (Canadian Broadcasting Company), and Committee for Children’s Mind Yeti, a guided mindfulness app. Molly is passionate about bringing research to practice in order to make social emotional learning and contemplative practice accessible for all children and their adults.

Dr. Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl is the NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. From 1991 to 2020, she was a Professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, and Special Education in the Faculty of Education at University of British Columbia (UBC).

Prior to her graduate work, Dr. Schonert-Reichl worked as middle school teacher and then as a teacher at an alternative high school for adolescents identified as at risk for high school completion.

Known as a world renowned expert in the area of social and emotional learning (SEL), Dr. Schonert-Reichl’s research focuses on identification of the processes that foster positive human qualities such as empathy, compassion, altruism, and resiliency in children and adolescents. Her projects in this area include studies examining the effectiveness of classroom-based universal SEL programs including including MindUp. Dr. Schonert-Reichl has over 150 publications in scholarly journals, book chapters, and reports, and has edited two books on mindfulness in education. She has presented over 300 research papers at scholarly conferences and has given over 400 presentations on the topic of children’s social and emotional development and SEL to lay audiences, including parents, community organizations, educators, and policy makers. She is the recipient of the 2021 Janusz Korczak Medal for Children’s Rights Advocacy, the 2019 Postsecondary Leader of the Year Award – Canadian Edtech Awards, the 2015 Joseph E. Zins Distinguished Scholar Award for outstanding research on SEL, and the 2009 Confederation of University Faculty Associations BC’s Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award in recognition of sustained outstanding contributions to the community beyond the academy through research over the major portion of a career.

Dr. Schonert-Reichl has been involved with many scholarly committees and consultancies. She serves as an advisor to the British Columbia (BC) Ministry Education on the development and implementation of the redesign of the Curriculum and Assessment Framework that focuses on the promotion of students’ personal and social competencies; an Expert Advisor to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s (OECD) Education 2030 initiative, a Board Member of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), an advisor to UNESCO’s Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) on SEL.

Dr. Schonert-Reichl’s research has been highlighted in several magazines and newspapers across Canada, the US, and internationally, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Le Monde, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Scientific American Mind, Neurology Now, The Huffington Post, The Telegraph, The Atlantic, The Daily Mail, The Los Angeles Times, US News, The National Post, Canadian Living Magazine, Reader’s Digest – Canada, The Greater Good, The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, The Vancouver Sun, 24, and Today’s Parents.

For more information, see Kim’s website at: http://sel.ecps.educ.ubc.ca/

Robert W. Roeser is the Bennett Pierce Professor of Care, Compassion and Human Development at Penn State University. He has a Ph.D. from the Combined Program in Education and Psychology at the University of Michigan (1996) and holds master’s degrees in religion and psychology, developmental psychology and clinical social work. Dr. Roeser’s main research interests focus on adolescent development, school as a main cultural context affecting the holistic development of the person; and on the role of contemplative practices like mindfulness and compassion training in education for adults and students alike.

Associate Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Fordham University

Josh’s primary research focuses on understanding and promoting the social-emotional and academic development of children from diverse backgrounds in urban communities through the rigorous design and evaluation of preventive interventions targeting schools, teachers, students and classroom settings. Current research studies include: a follow-up of an elementary school social-emotional learning intervention on youth mental health outcomes across middle and high school transitions; an RCT of a mindfulness-based intervention with NYC public school teachers; and the development, quasi-experimental, and RCT studies of a school-based social-emotional learning intervention integrated with an intensive video-based teacher coaching model.

Josh is currently focusing on the contextual influences on the social, emotional and academic development of diverse, urban youth during middle childhood and adolescence; the Influence of continuity/discontinuity in quality of instructional and non-instructional settings on youth development and School-based interventions to promote positive teacher/classroom and youth development. His recently published articles include:

Amishi Jha is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Miami, and Director of Contemplative Neuroscience for the Mindfulness Research and Practice Initiative, prior to which she was an Assistant Professor at the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her PhD from the University of California–Davis, and received her postdoctoral training at the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center at Duke University in functional neuroimaging. She studies the neural bases of attention and the effects of mindfulness-based training programs on cognition, emotion and resilience. With grants from the Department of Defense and several private foundations, she has been systematically investigating the applications of mindfulness training in education, corporate, elite sports, first-responder, and military contexts. In addition to her own published body of research, her work has been featured in many outlets including TED.com, NPR, and Mindful Magazine. In addition, she has been invited to present her work to NATO, the UK Parliament, the Pentagon, and at the World Economic Forum.

Dr. Jean Clinton is a Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster, division of Child Psychiatry. She is on staff at McMaster Children’s Hospital with cross appointments in Pediatrics and Family Medicine, and an Associate in the Department of Child Psychiatry at Sick Children’s Hospital. She is a Fellow of the Child Trauma Academy, as well as a Zero to Three Academy Fellow since 2013. She has been a consultant to children and youth mental health programs, child welfare, and primary care for over 30 years. Dr. Clinton was appointed as an education advisor to the Premier of Ontario and the Minister of Education 2014 – 2018.

Dr. Clinton is renowned nationally and internationally as an advocate for children’s issues. Her special interest lies in brain development, and the crucial role relationships and connectedness play. Jean champions the development of a national, comprehensive child well-being strategy including a system of early learning and care for all young children and their families. She is equally committed to ensuring that children’s and youths’ needs and voices are heard and respected.

Dr. Clinton has also authored her first book, Love Builds Brains which can be ordered online through Tall Pines Press, on Amazon and in book stores everywhere.

Sona Dimidjian, Ph.D. is Director of the Renée Crown Wellness Institute and Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research focuses on cultivating mental health and wellness among women, children, and families by engaging people’s capacities for learning to care for themselves and their communities. She develops and studies programs and practices in education and healthcare settings, with an emphasis on navigating key developmental transitions, such as the perinatal period, early childhood, and adolescence. She also has a longstanding interest in expanding access, scaling, and sustaining effective programs, using both digital technology and community-based partnerships. Her current research projects focus on preventing depression and supporting wellness among new and expectant mothers, promoting healthy body image and leadership among young women, and enhancing mindfulness and compassion among youth, families and educators. She is the co-author with Sherryl Goodman, Ph.D., of a book for new and expectant mothers, Expecting Mindfully: Nourish Your Emotional Well-Being and Prevent Depression During Pregnancy and Postpartum. She also is the editor of Evidence-Based Practice in Action: Bridging Clinical Science and Intervention. She is the recipient of numerous awards acknowledging her teaching and clinical research, including the Dorothy Martin Women’s Faculty Award, the Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award, and the Robert L. Stearns Award at the University of Colorado Boulder along with the Susan Hickman Award from Postpartum Support International and the Women and Psychotherapy Award from Division 35 of the American Psychological Association. She received her BA in psychology from the University of Chicago and her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Washington.

Dr. Megan Jones Bell is clinical director of consumer and mental health at Google and gets to think about how to improve health for billions of people. She was formerly chief strategy and science officer at Headspace and helped guide Headspace through its transformation from a meditation app into a comprehensive digital mental health platform, Headspace Health. Megan founded one of the first digital mental health start-ups, Lantern, where she pioneered blended mental health interventions leveraging software and coaching.

Megan started her career at Stanford University where she was an assistant professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. At Stanford and in her work with the European Union Megan developed and disseminated over two dozen evidence-based digital mental health interventions and conducted research in the US, Europe, India, and Brazil. Megan clinically specializes in the treatment of adolescents and young adults and is an expert in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders and obesity.

Megan serves on the Board of the Child Mind Institute, Castilleja School and the Scientific Advisory Board for HFC. She also advises a number of digital health and wellness start-ups. Megan is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Megan earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology, graduating cum laude from University of California, San Diego. She received her master’s degree and doctorate in clinical psychology from PGSP-Stanford University, and completed fellowships at Yale University and Stanford University School of Medicine.

Tia Barnes, Ph.D., is an associate professor in Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware. Her research examines the social-emotional well-being of minoritized school populations. She has published papers in several journals including Infant and Child Development, the Journal of School Violence, Aggression and Violent Behavior, and Beyond Behavior. She is the creator of the Scholarly Self-Care podcast and is the 2021 recipient of the Joseph E. Zins Award for SEL Research from the Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning.

Dr. Kate Truitt is a Los Angeles-based Clinical Psychologist, Applied Neuroscientist, and holds an M.B.A. in Healthcare Administration. She serves as the CEO of Dr. Kate Truitt & Associates, an award-winning mental health clinic, and the Amy Research Foundation, which focuses on bridging the gap between neuroscience and psychotherapy while transcending barriers to access for care. Through her educational initiative, the Truitt Institute, she and her team offer advanced trainings for healthcare professionals and specialized courses for broader audiences. They also partner with community programs, emphasizing mental health literacy and personal empowerment.

Internationally recognized for her expertise in the neuroscience of trauma, stress, and resilience, Dr. Truitt contributes to platforms like Oprah Today, BBC, and Today. She presents at global institutions such as the United Nations and U.S. Department of Defense and is a community advocate with the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, the Girl Scouts of America, and the Kevin Love Fund.

Dr. Truitt is the international author of Healing in Your Hands: Self-Havening Exercises to Harness Neuroplasticity, Heal Traumatic Stress, and Build Resilience as well as her scientifically grounded memoir, Keep Breathing: A Psychologist’s Intimate Journey Through Loss, Trauma, and Rediscovering Life. These writings underscore her dedication to providing accessible mental health resources and reducing stigma. Her pioneering NeuroTriad Model integrates neuroscience, trauma-informed care, and resilience. As a co-developer of the Havening Techniques, Dr. Truitt further demonstrates her commitment to empowering individuals toward self-healing.

Dedicated to the principle that mental health is a human right, Dr. Truitt is at the forefront of efforts to foster individual and collective well-being through education, empowerment, and accessible mental health support.