ECLC Summer Institute: Cultivating Belonging & Resilience in Uncertain Times

Dr. Amy Banks is a psychiatrist, speaker, writer, and educator dedicated to spreading the scientific knowledge that people need healthy human relationships for emotional and physical growth and well being and that promoting a culture of individualism and power over others leads to chronic stress and chronic disease. 

Amy is the first person to bring Relational-Cultural Theory together with interpersonal neurobiology and is the foremost expert in the combined field. She has spoken nationally and internationally on the “neurobiology of relationship” and is a popular interviewee on the topics of loneliness, friendship, and the neuroscience of relationship having been quoted for articles in The New York Times, O Magazine, Health Magazine to name a few. Her blog, “Wired to Love” is published on-line at Psychology Today. 

Amy is the creator of the C.A.R.E. Program (featured in her 2016 book with Leigh Ann Hirschman, “Wired to Connect: The Surprising Link Between Brain Science and Strong Healthy Relationships” an easy to use, practical guide to help clinicians and laypeople assess the quality of their relationships and strengthen their neural pathways for connection. 

Sarah Bartley is Senior Director of Community Impact at United Way where she has the pleasure of fostering collaboration of many kinds.

She is game for any good work -- from building programs to advocating for change to creating space for frontline staff to learn from each other. At United Way, Sarah’s team focuses on the financial wellbeing, housing stability, and educational success of families and children and her most passionate focus is helping schools and community organizations become true partners to address education equity and housing stability as one singular goal. Locally, Sarah serves as a member of the Beverly’s Planning Board and as a congregation coordinator with Family Promise.

Dr. George M. Batsche is a Professor Emeritus and previous Professor and Coordinator of graduate programs in School Psychology at the University of South Florida. 

He was the Co-Director of the Institute for School Reform at USF.  The Institute houses grants and projects totaling $14 million annually and is focused on an integrated service delivery model to improve academic and behavioral/social-emotional outcomes for all students. The Institute houses grant projects that focus on statewide school improvement teams, student support services, Title I, statewide Title I technical assistance centers, HIV/AIDS education,  MTSS and MTSS Technology, 21st Century Community Schools.  

As BRYT School Support Specialist, Mariel works with schools in northeastern Massachusetts and beyond to plan, implement, and continuously improve integrated mental health and academic support interventions modeled on BRYT. 

Mariel was an award-winning special educator in both California and Massachusetts before completing her Master's Degree in Education Policy and Management and joining the BRYT team in 2018.

Bob Cunningham, Ed.M., is the Chief Executive Officer, International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

He also serves as senior advisor on learning and attention issues for Understood. Previously, he was head of school at the Robert Louis Stevenson School, head of school for the Gateway Schools in New York City, and a member of the leadership team at the Purnell School. He has also advised for the venture philanthropy firm New Profit. 

Danique Dolly is an educator who has been on the edge of progressive education throughout his career.

Danique was a founding teacher/advisor at The Met, Big Picture Learning’s first school. In addition to numerous leadership positions with Big Picture Learning, Danique is the founding principal of a City Neighbors High School in Baltimore City as well.

Judy Elliott is the Founder/Principal of EduLead.

She is the former Chief Academic Officer of the Los Angeles Unified School District where she was responsible for curriculum and instruction from early childhood through adult, professional development, innovation, accountability, assessment, afterschool programs, state and federal programs, health and human services, magnet programs language acquisition for both English and Standard English learners, parent outreach, and intervention programs for all students. Before that she was the Chief of Teaching and Learning in the Portland Oregon Public Schools and prior to that an Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services in the Long Beach Unified School District in CA. Judy also worked as a Senior Researcher at the National Center on Educational Outcomes at the University of Minnesota. 

BRYT’s Director since 2016, is a former middle school and K-8 principal and assistant superintendent in the Holyoke Public Schools. 

Prior to working in the K-8 setting Paul worked in adult and family literacy and community health promotion.

Julie LaFontaine is a nonprofit executive, data junkie, beachcomber, genealogist, writer, and passionate advocate who has served the non-profit sector for more than 25 years.

Since she assumed leadership of The Open Door, the organization’s food distribution has grown to 1.7M healthy meals annually through innovative distribution and nutrition programming. Today, TOD is a regionally recognized charitable business with model distribution and nutrition programs that improve the lives and health of more than 8K people each year. Her business acumen has steered the organization’s social enterprise, Second Glance Thrift Store, from a small start-up to a successful operation that provides nearly 40% of TOD’s cash revenues each year. She currently serves as a director at BankGloucester and the Greater Boston Food Bank and is actively involved in her community as a member of the Essex Bicentennial Committee, the Community Benefits Committee of Addison Gilbert Hospital, and the Gloucester Female Charitable Association. She is an engaged member of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and an active Gloucester Rotarian who served as the club president in 2018-2019.

Sarah Link is Vice President of Community Impact at United Way, where she is responsible for delivering on United Way’s mission of uniting to create positive, lasting change for people in need.

Sarah supports a team of Community Impact staff in program design and implementation, building partnerships, and engaging volunteer leadership. Prior to joining United Way, Sarah’s work in the Out-of-School Time field fostered a passion for school-community partnerships that continues fueling programs such as BoSTEM, North Shore AmeriCorps, and Project RISE, among United Way’s school partnerships. When Sarah is not working, you can find her coaching her daughters’ softball and basketball teams, and serving as the Board Chair for their afterschool program.

Dr. Mageary is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the state of Massachusetts, an experienced educator, and an active musician.

Prior to his appointment as Assistant Professor and Director of Field Training for Counseling and Psychology at Lesley University, Dr. Mageary served as the Director of Emergency Services and Jail Diversion for an eighteen-town catchment area and as the Director of Clinical Services in a therapeutic high school setting. Throughout his career, Dr. Mageary’s clinical work has been rooted in efforts to decrease stigma associated with chronic mental illness through providing community-based, collaborative- and recovery-oriented services. His clinical approach is influenced by tenets of Narrative Therapy, trauma-informed approaches, critical psychology, and brief therapies as well as by transdisciplinary thinkers such as Gregory Bateson and Edgar Morin. 

For over two decades, Paul has provided software development for the financial industry – from small startups to Fortune 500 companies specializing in data analytics.

Three years ago, Paul started focusing on helping school districts to cost effectively analyze their data with the technology available to them in their Google Domain. Paul is currently working with over 20 school districts in Massachusetts – with more in the queue. Learn more about The Analytics Platform by visiting Paul’s website.

Founder and Director, The PEAR Institute: Partnerships in Education and Resilience at McLean Hospital, Associate Professor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Gil Noam is the founder and director of The PEAR Institute, which focuses on two areas of research and practice: social-emotional learning and STEM. Dr. Noam is a clinical and developmental psychologist with a strong interest in translating research and innovation to support youth in educational settings. He has published over 200 papers, articles, and books in the areas of education and child and adolescent development in clinical, school, and afterschool settings. Dr. Noam’s group has developed a comprehensive approach to informing on the quality of students’ STEM learning experiences and providing a common language around STEM outcomes.

Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann, EdD, is Executive Director and Chief Scientist at EdTogether, and an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she teaches the course “Emotion in Learning.”

Over the course of her career, she has built a program of work that bridges research and practice to broaden the participation of vulnerable youth in education. Dr. Rappolt-Schlichtmann’s research and development efforts are focused on the design and study of inclusive learning experiences, how these environments are experienced by students with disabilities, and the relationship to learning, thriving and achievement therein. She is actively engaged in facilitating connections between research and practice both through her design and development efforts for inclusion and direct consultation/coaching to schools on Universal Design for Learning. 

Joe Ristuccia is a certified School Psychologist with over twenty-five years of experience working in public schools.

Over the last twenty years, he has worked with students at risk for failure due to social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. He continues to assist schools and school districts in addressing the needs of these students.

Ristuccia is an Adjunct Professor at Lesley University teaching courses in developing trauma sensitive schoolwide, classroom, and individual interventions to support all students to be successful in the general education curriculum. Ristuccia has served as a consultant on the impact of trauma on student learning to the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative (TLPI) and is a co-author of “Helping Traumatized Children Learn”.

Additionally, he has consulted for the Department of School Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, presented program model research findings at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), presented for the Departments of Education in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Washington, as well as the University of Wisconsin, on topics related to the impact of trauma on learning and on the role of trauma in student behaviors that can lead to punitive discipline and school failure. Ristuccia holds an EdM from Harvard University and a BA from Yale University.

Rick Rogers is the program coordinator for Soul of Leadership.

A leadership coach, as well as a consultant for Research for Better Teaching, he brings 35 years of experience in public education as a teacher and a principal in urban and suburban settings. He has been a facilitator for the National Institute of School Leadership and an adjunct instructor at the UMass Lowell Graduate School of Education. He can be reached at rickrogers409@gmail.com.

Pamela Seigle is Executive Director of Courage & Renewal Northeast at Wellesley College.

She co-developed Leading Together, a program bringing principals and teacher- leaders together to learn reflective and mindfulness practices and build adult relational trust in their schools. Pamela has facilitated Courage to Teach and Courage to Lead programs. She founded Open Circle® at the Wellesley Centers for Women. She has served on many nonprofit boards, including as a Trustee of the Boston Public Library.

Khalilah Imani Tyre is Director of the GREAT Youth and Families Program at Housing Families. 

She holds a masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, as well as a masters in Intercultural Studies. Her clinical areas of expertise include work with children, adolescents, adults, and families who are trauma survivors. She has experience working with individuals, schools, and communities, and conducts trainings on trauma informed care, homelessness and poverty, leadership, and parenting skills. She is committed to continually working towards diversity and inclusion, and advocates for children and their families to have equitable access to resources such as quality mental healthcare, education, and housing.

Maureen Walker is a licensed psychologist with an independent practice in psychotherapy and multicultural consultation in Cambridge, MA.  

She is a faculty member and Founding Scholar of the International Center for Growth in Connection, Inc., formerly known as the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute, a legacy project of Wellesley College Centers for Women. For twenty-five years (1991- 2016), she worked at Harvard Business School (HBS) providing counseling and mental health support to students in the graduate management program.  After retiring from her role as the Director of Student Support Services, she has maintained her affiliation with HBS through clinical consultation services.

Jane Feinberg is the founder and principal of Full Frame Communications, LLC, a Boston area-based consulting practice that supports mission-driven organizations in developing their communications, engagement, and leadership capacities as a foundation for driving meaningful and sustained social change.

She provides key leadership and strategic overall project direction for the ECLC, and leads the Executive Planning Team. Feinberg is an award-winning communications and community engagement professional with several decades of experience in television broadcasting, as well as the non-profit, education, and public sectors. Feinberg has consulted to numerous non-profits, K-12 school districts, and governmental organizations. 

Diana M. Lebeaux provides a host of project management, coaching, design, and supervisory expertise to ECLC as the primary staff leader at Center for Collaborative Education (CCE).

CCE is a Boston-based non-profit organization that works to transform schools to ensure that all students succeed, and is Full Frame Communications' implementation partner on ECLC. Lebeaux helps to lead the ECLC's Executive Planning Team and Project Management Team.

Allison is Office Manager at CCE and provides administrative and technical support.

Prior to joining CCE, she was an office manager for an employee benefits consulting firm. Allison has also worked in administrative roles in multiple architecture firms and as a substitute elementary music and classroom teacher in New York State. She is a member of a small choral group that brings diverse music to the community and is a Notary Public for Massachusetts. Allison earned a B.S. in Communications with a major in Public Relations from Boston University.  

 

Soraya works with the QPA team helping build capacity in schools and districts to design and implement equity based quality performance assessments.

Before joining CCE, she served as an elementary school teacher in Chicago Public Schools working in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood, a primarily Latinx community in the Northwest side of the city. As a 4th grade teacher she merged her passion for social justice with her teaching practice by designing lessons around topics like immigration and world politics.

Oscar leads CCE’s program and strategic development, operations activities, district leader and superintendent communications, and the organization’s learning and culture.

A passion for social change drives his work within the organization to help schools and districts embrace educational equity and transformation through entrepreneurship and innovation. 

Dawn Shearer-Coren, Ed.M. provides coaching, design, and facilitation expertise to ECLC and serves as a member of the ECLC Project Management Team.

As a Senior Associate of District and School Design at CCE, she provides coaching, technical assistance, and professional development to schools and districts pursing personalized learning, competency-based instruction, and school redesign. Shearer-Coren's expertise in cultural proficiency, developing awareness of the significance of racial differences in schools and classrooms, and identity development are an asset to CCE as an equity minded organization, and to the ECLC.

Laura Tota, Ed.M. provides coaching, design, and facilitation expertise to ECLC and serves as a member of the ECLC Project Management Team. 

At CCE, Tota is a senior associate on the District and School Design team, coordinating program work with the Essential Personalized Learning (EPL) cohort and network schools. Her work includes collaboration in planning, coaching, and facilitation of professional development. Tota also coordinates the documentation and codification of coaching kits and EPL resource kits, and she creates and maintains EPL's online learning platform. 

Dr. Emily J. Wilson is a public health practitioner, trainer, researcher, and certified health education specialist (CHES) with over ten years of experience working at the intersection of trauma, resilience, health, and learning.

As ECLC Project Manager, her portfolio includes professional development (PD) planning and design, communications, operations/logistics, development, and strategic planning; she helps to lead the Executive Planning and the Project Management Teams. Dr. Wilson completed her Ph.D.  in Health Professions Education at Simmons University, where she was a Hazel Dick Leonard Interdisciplinary Research Fellow on Gender and conducted her dissertation on trauma-informed teaching in Massachusetts. In recognition of this research, Dr. Wilson received a grant from the Northern New England Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (NNETESOL) to develop a trauma-informed ESOL teacher PD curriculum.  

Antje Duvekot has solidified her reputation as one of Boston's top singer songwriters with "Big Dream Boulevard" her debut studio release and "the Near Demise of the Highwire Dancer" and "New Siberia" her follow-up albums. The debut CD was produced by Seamus Egan, founder of the Irish super group, SOLAS and the project was released on songwriter Ellis Paul's label and quickly attracted international attention for Antje. It was voted "#1 Folk Release of 2006" by the Boston Globe and was named to the "Top10 Releases of the Year" by National Public Radio's, Folk Alley.  

Raymond Gonzalez is a composer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist. A professional guitarist since the age of 16, he has traveled extensively throughout the US performing on concert stages, festivals, radio, TV, coffeehouses, house concerts, and most things in between. Classical, celtic, jazz, folk, blues, rock and the avant-garde are all in Raymond’s arsenal of musical styles. 

Grace Givertz is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, and harmonica--in addition to vocals. Born and raised in Jupiter, Florida, Grace has been writing songs and performing since she was eleven years old.

ArtsBoston named Grace as one of “10 Local Black Musicians You Should Know,” describing her in this way: “Grace has a style that melds the sounds of whimsical folk guitar with a passionate, powerful voice that can uplift spirits and break hearts in the same phrase."