AASR Live

Please join us for “The Grand Guide: A New Book for Grandparents of Neurodivergent Grandchildren from Sheena Hill.”

Sheena Hill is a trauma-informed, neurobiologically-focused responsive parenting coach who has been in private practice for 16 years. At Parenting Works, she works with families around the world. Sheena provides education and support for parents and professionals who seek to move beyond rewards and consequences to deepen their understanding of development and attachment while masterfully applying concrete skills in emotional intelligence, limit-setting, and using play therapeutically. She is the author of "The Grand Guide: Mindful Tools for Modern Grandparenting," a resource to help families bridge the generational gap about raising children. When she's not helping parents, Sheena loves learning about dinosaurs and visiting national parks. She lives in Baltimore with her spouse, 3 children, and a growing menagerie of pets (including 5 axolotls).

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Please join us for “Rooted in Hope: An Interview with Katie McDonald.”

Katie McDonald is an educator, consultant, and therapist with over 22 years of experience in trauma-responsive schools, neuro-informed teaching/parenting, and emotional well-being. Katie has dedicated her career to empowering educators and families through a deep understanding of resilience, often called the science of hope.

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Please join us for “Leveling the Playing Field in School Safety: Lauren Sukhu Shares What She Learned from Her Honors Thesis Project.”

Lauren Sukhu, from Dallas, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S.A. in biology, a minor in Hindi, and a certificate in evidence and inquiry. A member of the Polymathic Scholars Honors program, she conducted research at Dell Medical School on excessive school discipline practices, including restraint and seclusion, serving as project manager for the restraint and seclusion initiative in the lab of Micky Marinelli. Her honors thesis, “Level the Playing Field in School Safety,” examines inequities in school discipline policies. She was also an intern at the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint. Sukhu was actively involved on campus as a peer mentor in the Bioprospecting stream of the Freshman Research Initiative, a program assistant for Women in STEM, and a volunteer at Dell Children’s Medical Center. She also played viola in the Engineering Chamber Orchestra. Her work earned her the Distinguished College Scholar Award and the College Scholar Award. After graduation, Sukhu will attend Texas A&M College of Medicine to pursue an M.D.

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Please join us for “The Problem with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports” with Rebecca Engle.

Rebecca Engle is an autistic educator, author, and speaker based in Texas. She is the founder of Stitches and Stanzas, where she blends creativity, advocacy, and education to support neurodivergent individuals and the people who teach and love them. Rebecca is an international best-selling author of four books, inspired by her own experiences navigating school as an autistic student.

As a special education teacher and speaker, she is known for challenging traditional behavior systems and advocating for regulation-first, neurodiversity-affirming practices. Rebecca has presented at conferences across the country and serves on the Autism community network Experts by Experience Board. Her work centers on helping others understand the nervous system, rethink compliance-based models, and build spaces where all learners can truly belong.

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Please join us for “Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference: A Discussion with Tracy Leonard.”

Tracy Leonard serves as the Executive Director of the Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN), bringing extensive experience in child advocacy, prevention, and trauma-informed education.

Before stepping into the Executive Director role, Tracy served as ATN’s Board President (2023–2025), helping guide strategic growth while strengthening governance, partnerships, and long-term planning. Her board service gave her a deep understanding of ATN’s mission and the communities it serves.

Tracy’s professional career has focused on equipping adults with the knowledge and tools needed to protect and support children. Through her work with Darkness to Light, she supported and developed a national network of more than 2,000 facilitators and trained thousands of adults to recognize and respond to child sexual abuse using the Stewards of Children® curriculum.

She also brings experience as a school leader and educator, having served as a K–6 site administrator in Mesa, Arizona, where the school improved from a “failing” designation to “performing plus.” Earlier in her career, she taught fine arts and early elementary education.

Tracy is known for her collaborative, strategic, and mission-driven leadership. She is committed to expanding access to trauma-informed, attachment-focused resources that help families, schools, and communities support children impacted by trauma.

She is an Affiliate Member of the Trust & Safety Professionals Association and a member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children.

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Please join us for “Building a Trauma-Informed School: What to do When All Your Students Are Traumatized” with Kathleen Hilchey.

Kathleen Hilchey spent over 10 years in the classroom and 10 more in camping. She is a conflict specialist and a Qualified Mediator. She also founded a trauma-informed student-directed school called The Village School. Most importantly, she is the mom of 3 beautiful kids.

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Please join us for “Multi-tiered Systems of Support for Adults: A Discussion with Dr. Lori Desautels.”

Dr. Lori Desautels began teaching undergraduate and graduate programs in the College of Education at Butler University in 2016. She was previously an Assistant Professor at Marian University in Indianapolis for eight years, where she started the Educational Neuroscience Symposium, which is now in its 15th year and has reached thousands of educators. Dr. Desautels focuses on teaching her students how to apply social and relational neurosciences to education. She does this by incorporating the tier one trauma accommodating Applied Educational Neuroscience framework, along with its learning principles and practices, into her Butler coursework.

The Applied Educational Neuroscience Certification, developed by Lori in 2016, serves educators, counselors, clinicians, and administrators working with children and adolescents who have experienced adversity and trauma. This certification has reached thousands of educators globally. As a course partner at the Polyvagal Institute, Lori collaborates with Dr. Stephen Porges to teach courses integrating polyvagal theory into schools, organizations, and communities for educators and mental health professionals.

Lori’s articles are published in Edutopia, Brain Bulletin, and Mind Body Spirit international magazine. She was also published in the Brain Research Journal for her work in the fifth-grade classrooms during a course release position with Washington Township Schools. Lori continues her work co-teaching in the K-12 schools integrating her applied research into classroom procedures and transition, preparing the nervous system for learning and felt safety. Her third book, Connections over Compliance: Rewiring our Perceptions of Discipline, was released in late 2020, and Intentional Neuroplasticity: Moving Our Nervous Systems and Educational System Toward Post-Traumatic Growth, her fourth book, was released in January 2023. Her new book/manual titled Body and Brain Brilliance: A Manual to cultivate awareness and Practices for our Nervous System was published in 2024. Lori’s work, presentation videos and latest research can also be found on her website www.revelationsineducation.com.

Lori lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her husband, Michael, and two rescue pets. They have three adult children, Andrew, Sarah, and Regan, and a new grandchild, Miles Desautels Dorsey.

Lori has met with well over 200 school districts across the country, in Canada, Costa Rica, Australia, Scotland, England, and Dubai, equating to more than 150,000 educators with much more work to be done!

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Please join us for “Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: A Discussion with Jenn Wisdahl and Kristen Eriksen.”

Jenn Wisdahl leads strategy and operations at FASD United, the national organization supporting people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and promoting healthy pregnancies. With FASD impacting 1 in 20 Americans, a critical part of her role involves the national legislative and policy agenda for this highly prevalent and under-recognized disability. Using a data-driven strategy that keeps people at the forefront, Jenn has supported substantial growth at FASD United, supporting the Family Navigator Program, National FASD Impact Week, and the return of the International FASD Research Conferences, which have moved from Canada to a permanent home in the United States.

Kristen Eriksen serves as an FASD United Family Navigator, as well as Caregiver Navigator at MassFASD, and is a nurse with over 35 years of varied experience, including pediatric and obstetrical nursing, early intervention developmental services, with a recent focus on school nursing. Her personal history of raising twins with FASD since infancy has led to a new and different career path.

After adopting infant twins in 2007, her entire life trajectory changed. Starting in 2010, she began a long, slow educational process to learn more about the challenges that the twins faced. When they were finally diagnosed with FASD at age 9, her deep dive into FASD began. She began working with MassFASD and began working as a Family Navigator at FASD United in 2022

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Please join us for “The Early Years Guidebook: A Discussion with Emily Read Daniels and Chrissy Dagostino.”

Emily Read Daniels is the author and creator of The Regulated Classroom™. Daniels is an internationally recognized trainer and has served thousands through in-person and virtual professional development training, workshops, conferences, webinars, and keynote addresses.

Daniels and her work have been featured in the Associated Press, Fox News, ABC News, Los Angeles Times, and NPR.

Daniels holds an M.Ed. in School Counseling, an MBA in Organizational and Environmental Sustainability, and is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) through NBCC (National Board of Certified Counselors). She continually refines her understanding of the applied science of stress and trauma through training in varied modalities, including Somatic Experiencing, SMART (Sensory-Motor Arousal Therapy), trauma-informed sensory modulation, Reiki, and mindfulness-based stress reduction.

Emily is very proud to have once been a school counselor. She resides in New Hampshire with her husband, enjoys spending time outdoors, loves being with her two teenagers when they are feeling chatty, plans and enjoys lots of time with the girls, and dotes on her fur baby, Maple, a golden retriever mix.

Chrissy Dagostino is an experienced educational consultant and trainer with expertise in early childhood, special education, and educational neuroscience.
She holds a Master’s degree from San Francisco State University in both Early Childhood and Special Education, and has extensive experience in applying neuroscience-based approaches to education.

With advanced training and certifications from The International Council on Development and Learning (ICDL), The Brazelton Touchpoints Center, The MEHRIT Centre, Ltd, and as a certified Powerfully You Self-Regulation Curriculum provider, Chrissy integrates cutting-edge research into her work. She holds a certification in Applied Educational Neuroscience from Butler University and has completed coursework at both the Mindsight Institute and the Polyvagal Institute.

In her private practice, Chrissy provides educational consultation to schools, coaching and professional development for educators, and teaches parent education workshops online. Her work is deeply rooted in relational neuroscience, the science of the nervous system, and Polyvagal Theory, equipping educators and parents with research-based strategies to support children's development and well-being

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Please join us for “Applied Self-Reg for Education Assistants: A New Book by Susan Hopkins and Kristin Wiens.”

Susan Hopkins is Executive Director of The MEHRIT Centre, Dr. Stuart Shanker’s organization and the home of the Self-Reg framework. An international leader in Self-Reg, she co-creates online courses with Dr. Shanker that have reached thousands of educators worldwide. With more than 25 years of experience across Canada and internationally, Susan works across early childhood, K–12, and the systems that support children and youth. She has led in school administration, inclusion, and the early years, and has delivered hundreds of presentations to educators, leaders, and communities. Her work brings brain-body science and co-regulation to life in real-world contexts. Susan is co-author of Restoring Resilience (2025), Self-Reg Schools (2019), and Applied Self-Reg for Educational Assistants (2026). Known for her engaging storytelling and practical insight, she helps educators and leaders reframe behaviour and create the conditions for well-being, connection, and learning.

Kristin Wiens is an educator and illustrator whose work focuses on Self-Reg and relational approaches to supporting all students. With a background as an Education Assistant, she developed an EA training program that she has taught for over a decade. She also co-created the Mehrit Centre online course Self-Reg for EAs with Susan Hopkins, based on the book they co-authored. Her writing and illustrations support educators in shifting from compliance-based approaches toward a regulation-focused lens grounded in stress awareness, connection, and compassion. She lives on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

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