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Youth mental health challenges are on the rise. The educator attrition rate is leaving schools scrambling to fill positions. And everyone is on information overload. As a school counselor, Katie Pagnotta saw these statistics in action and was compelled to create a resource that would synthesize best practices in a way that not only eased the role of the educators but ignited joy within the job. And in doing so, educators would be more aptly positioned to support the needs of all students!
Empowered by the Human Design is the culmination of Katie's passion, experience, and research. It takes historically fragmented best-practice initiatives such as social emotional learning, trauma-responsive care, mental health literacy, and equity and integrates them into one framework, Brain- and Body- Aligned Responsive Systems (BBARS) of Excellence.
The BBARS of Excellence framework is grounded in evidence-based approaches and strategies within the fields of education, psychology, and neuroscience. Gathering 18 professionals from these respective fields, the author expertly weaves their interviews throughout the book to showcase a tapestry of collective wisdom. Empowered by the Human Design masterfully highlights the research and science behind the framework and then turns the concepts into simple and practical application strategies that educators can implement immediately.
This book is an educator survival guide to emerge from challenges as a more resilient, joyful teacher who fosters connection, belonging, and engagement for students.
-Dr. Chris Willard,
Harvard Medical School Faculty, Author, Psychologist, and Consultant
Jessica Sinarski,
BraveBrains founder and author of
Your Amazing Brain
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-Leah Kuypers, MA, Ed., OTR/L,
Founder and Creator of The Zones of Regulation, Inc.
-Dr. Steve Baron, Psy. D,
Author of Teaching With A Strength-Based Approach: How To Motivate Students And Build Relationships
-Charles Appelstein, MSW,
Training Specialist & Author of No Such Thing as a Bad Kid - Understanding and Responding to Kids with Emotional & Behavioral Challenges Using a Positive, Strength-Based Approach
-Lucy Canotas,
Director of Elementary Education- Timberlane Regional School District; NHASCD President
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The Interviewees
The vision for Empowered by the Human Design was born out of a desire to create a resource with collective wisdom from a diverse group of professionals within the fields of neuroscience, psychology and education to empower educators with best practice information to support the success of students and themselves. Below is a sample of the interviewees. I am most grateful to their contributions of wisdom and expertise that helped to shape and build this valuable resource! Check out the book to hear from many others!
Mike Anderson
A lifelong educator, educational consultant, speaker, and best-selling author. He was a recipient of the national Milken Educator Award in 2004 and the Outstanding Educational Leader Award from the New Hampshire Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development in 2020.
Jennifer Beaupré
A Métis educator with over 12 years of classroom experience, a curriculum specialist, and a mom of two. She has helped create provincial government education guidelines and has been a guest writer on Indigenous and mental health wellness issues.
Michelle Cottrell-Williams
The 2018 Virginia Teacher of the Year and is a member of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY). She was a high school teacher and instructional coach for 15 years in Arlington Public Schools before transitioning to support equity and cultural responsiveness across the division in Fairfax County Public Schools.
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Aisha Crumbine
Aisha Crumbine has served as a teacher or administrator in a traditional independent school district serving predominantly Black students; the original KIPP Academy charter serving Latinx/Black students; the Kinkaid School, an elite private school serving a wealthy and fairly homogenous student body; and a traditional public school that had a bit of all of the above. In her current professional role, Crumbine is a life and leadership coach who helps people redefine success for themselves and have the clarity, courage, and confidence to create and live their most unleashed, abundant life.
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Dr. Lori Desautels
With a long history of working with children and adolescents as an educator, school counselor, private practice counselor, and behavioral consultant, Dr. Desautels has brought the emergent field of applied educational neuroscience to new heights with her work at Butler University and through her company, Revelations in Education. She keeps her feet on the ground by working in a middle school where she applies the practices of applied educational neuroscience on a weekly basis.
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Lisa Damour, PhD
Recognized as a thought leader by the American Psychological Association, Dr. Lisa Damour cohosts the Ask Lisa podcast, writes about teenagers for The New York Times, appears as a regular contributor to CBS News, and works in collaboration with UNICEF. She is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood and Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls, and the recently published book, The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents. Dr. Damour serves as a senior advisor to the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University, maintains a private practice, and is a prominent speaker.
Sam Drazin
A nationally recognized educator and changemaker, founder and executive director who applies his personal and professional background to lead Changing Perspectives’ mission to strengthen school communities through social-emotional learning, disability awareness, empathy development, and inclusion. Drazin was born with Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare congenital disorder resulting in both facial anomaly and hearing loss. His experiences, both as a student with a disability and as a teacher working in an inclusive classroom, helped him recognize the importance of supporting students in developing the essential life and relationship skills that underpin equity, inclusion, and social change.
Leah Kuypers
As the creator and author of The Zones of Regulation and related storybooks, tool card-decks, games, and apps, she is passionate about supporting regulation and SEL so everyone can live their fullest life. Through her work as an occupational therapist and educator, she developed the Zones of Regulation framework, which has been enthusiastically received by people around the world. To date, over 300,000 copies of The Zones of Regulation book have been sold and the curriculum has been implemented schoolwide in districts and homes around the globe.
Ciara Lowery
As am employee with the Center for Safe Alaskans and the Anchorage Youth Development Coalition it houses from 2014 to 2023, Ciara supported collaborative work to improve the well-being of Alaskans across the lifespan. She has been featured as a presenter on SEL professional learning at numerous convenings held by international leaders, such as American Educational Research Association, CASEL, and Forum for Youth Investment. Lowery has also held educator and manager roles in nonprofit and government organizations, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Caring for Cambodia, Heifer International, and Student Conservation Association.
Lynn Lyons
Lynn Lyons is a psychotherapist, author, and clinical trainer with over 30 years of experience specializing in the treatment of anxiety disorders in adults and children. With a special interest in breaking the generational cycle of worry in families, Lyons is the author/coauthor of several books and articles on anxiety, including Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 7 Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle and Raise Courageous and Independent Children, and The Anxiety Audit. She is the cohost of the popular podcast Flusterclux.
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Dr. Wendy Suzuki
Dr. Wendy Suzuki is dean of the College of Arts and Science and an award-winning professor of neural science and psychology at New York University. She is a much sought after speaker and thought leader in the area of brain plasticity, and the effects of exercise on the brain and anxiety. She is also a best-selling author of two books, Healthy Brain, Happy Life (2015) and Good Anxiety (2021).
Dr. Donna Volpitta
The co-founder of the Mental Health Literacy Collaborative and a founder at Pathways to Empower. She is the author of several books and programs that teach brain-based mental health literacy. Donna is also co-creator of the Nametags Education program, a member of both the Children's Wellness and Mental Wellness Initiatives of the Global Wellness Institute, and an international speaker.
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Laura Wheeler
Working for the past two decades as a school counselor, Laura has specialized in SEL integration and developing MTSS-B support structures. In addition to her work as a school counselor, Wheeler and her golden retriever Winnie have introduced a therapy dog program at their school as well as provided training and support for schools to implement pet therapy initiatives. Wheeler has written several articles for Edutopia related to her passion for SEL, work with therapy dogs, and tiered MTSS-B supports.
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Crystal Williams
Crystal M. Williams is a seventh grade social studies teacher at Belzer Middle School. She began at Belzer in the Alternative to Instruction classroom in 2015 as an instructional assistant. While Williams was an IA, she returned to school to obtain her masters in urban education. She completed the Applied Educational Neuroscience Framework Certification program with Dr. Lori Desautels.