FALL 2020 SPEAKER BIOS

NEFERTITI AUSTIN

TINA PAYNE BRYSON, LCSW, PHD

Tina is the author of The Bottom Line for Baby and co-author (with Dan Siegel) of The Power of Showing Up, The Yes Brain, and two New York Times bestsellers, The Whole Brain Child and No-Drama Discipline, both of which have been translated into over forty languages. Tina is a psychotherapist and the Founder/Executive Director of The Center for Connection, a multidisciplinary clinical practice that uses an interpersonal neurobiology lens. Dr. Bryson keynotes conferences and conducts workshops for parents, educators, clinicians, and industry leaders all over the world, and she makes frequent media appearances. Visit Tina’s website here. (Speaking December 8, 2020) 

AMBER COLEMAN-MORTLEY

MONA DELAHOOKE, PHD

Mona M. Delahooke, Ph.D. is a clinical child psychologist and infant/toddler specialist with a passion for supporting families and children. She has worked widely with multi-disciplinary teams in the area of developmental and emotional differences for over 30 years. She is a senior faculty member of the Profectum Foundation and is a trainer and consultant to schools, public/private agencies and parents. Her blog and book, Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children’s Behavioral Challenges, explores how we can use neuroscience and compassion to better understand and solve children’s behavioral challenges.Visit Mona’s website here. (Speaking December 8, 2020) 

TIFFANY DUFU

Tiffany Dufu is a catalyst-at-large in the world of women’s leadership and the author of Drop the Ball, a memoir and manifesto that shows women how to cultivate the single skill they really need in order to thrive: the ability to let go. Named to Fast Company’s League of Extraordinary Women, Tiffany is Founder and CEO of The Cru, a peer coaching platform for women looking to accelerate their professional and personal growth. She was a launch team member to Lean In and was Chief Leadership Officer at Levo. Prior to that, Tiffany served as President of The White House Project, as a Major Gifts Officer at Simmons College in Boston, and as Associate Director of Development at Seattle Girls’ School. Tiffany serves on the board of Girls Who Code and Simmons College. Visit Tiffany’s website here. (Speaking January 12, 2021)

PHYLLIS FAGELL

Phyllis is a licensed clinical professional counselor, certified professional school counselor and journalist. She is the author of Middle School Matters: The 10 Key Skills Kids Need to Thrive in Middle School and Beyond — and how Parents Can Help, a journalist, and a frequent contributor to The Washington Post‘s On Parenting column, a columnist for the education associations AMLE and PDK, Intl, and a freelancer for Working Mother, Psychology Today, U.S. News, Edutopia, ASCD, among others. Visit Phyllis’s website here. (Speaking December 1, 2020) 

DEVORAH HEITNER, PHD

Devorah researches, writes, and speaks about young people and their relationships with digital media and technology. She is the author of Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World and the Connecting Wisely curriculum and the founder of Raising Digital Natives a resource for parents and educators seeking advice on how to help children thrive in a digital world. Her mission is to cultivate a culture of empathy and social/emotional literacy in our digital lives. Dr. Heitner’s work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, TIME magazine and Education Week. She has a Ph.D. in Media/Technology & Society from Northwestern University and has taught at DePaul and Northwestern Universities. Visit Devorah’s website here. (Speaking November 17, 2020) 

ANA HOMAYOUN, MA, PPS

KATIE HURLEY, LCSW

Katie is a child and adolescent psychotherapist, writer, speaker, and author of No More Mean Girls, The Happy Kid Handbook, and The Depression Workbook for Teens. Katie is the founder of “Girls Can!” empowerment groups for girls between ages 5-11. Katie covers child and adolescent development, mental health, and parenting for the Washington Post, Psychology Today, PBS Parents, and Everyday Health. She practices psychotherapy in the South Bay area of Los Angeles and earned her BA in psychology and women’s studies from Boston College and her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania. Visit Katie’s website here. (Speaking December 1, 2020) 

CHRISTINE KOH, PHD

Christine Koh is a music and brain scientist turned multimedia creative who creates content to help people reduce the emotional, physical, and logistical stressors from their lives so they have more room to pursue what they care about and enjoy. She is the co-host of the Edit Your Life podcast, co-author of Minimalist Parenting, founder/editor of BostonMamas.com, designer of Brave New World Designs, and creative director at Women Online. Christine lives in the Boston area with her husband Jonathan, daughters Laurel and Violet, and standard poodle James. Visit Christine’s website here. (Speaking November 24, 2020) 

ROSETTA E LEE

Rosetta Lee serves Seattle Girls’ School as a faculty member and a professional outreach specialist. Since 2004, Rosetta has been a diversity speaker and trainer on topics such as cross cultural communication, identity development, implicit and unconscious bias, gender and sexuality diversity, facilitation skills, and bullying in schools. Rosetta has presented at numerous conferences and nonprofit organizations such as the White Privilege Conference, Junior League, and City Year, and has worked with over 250 K-12 public and independent schools, as well as a number of colleges and universities. She has served on the faculty of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Diversity Leadership Institute, as well as NAIS’ diversity think-tank cadre, Call to Action. Visit Rosetta’s website here. (Speaking December 15, 2020)

CORNELIUS MINOR

Cornelius Minor is a Brooklyn-based educator. He works with teachers, school leaders, and leaders of community-based organizations to support equitable literacy reform in cities (and sometimes villages) across the globe. His latest book, We Got This, explores how creating more equitable school spaces is embedded in our everyday choices—specifically in the choice to really listen to kids. He has been featured in Education Week, Brooklyn Magazine, and Teaching Tolerance Magazine and has spoken at conferences all over the world. More recently he and his partner and wife Kass Minor established The Minor Collective, a community-based movement designed to foster sustainable change in schools.Visit Cornelius’s website here. (Speaking December 15, 2020) 

AUDREY MONKE, MA

Audrey Monke is a mom of five, a summer camp owner and director, an author (Happy Campers: 9 Summer Camp Secrets for Raising Kids Who Become Thriving Adults), a speaker, and the host of the Sunshine Parenting podcast. Audrey shares simple strategies for helping parents raise socially and emotionally intelligent, responsible, thriving kids through creating the connection, social skills, fun, and growth of summer camp at home. Visit Audrey’s website here. (Speaking January 5, 2021)

LAURA VANDERKAM