Martha Staeheli

Director of the New England Mental Health

Martha Staeheli, Ph.D., is a faculty member at the Program for Recovery and Community Health in the Yale School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry. She is currently the Director of the New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center’s School Mental Health Initiative and the Compassionate School Leadership Academy, funded by the US Department of Education. Trained as a secondary English teacher with a Ph.D. in Public Health, her research interests are focused on recovery within substance use and mental health disorders, health disparity and equity issues, and the health and wellness of under-resourced community, clinical and educational environments.

Jennifer Dirga

Executive Director of Open Circle

Jennifer Dirga is the Executive Director of Open Circle, Open Circle:SEL+ where she worked for over 15 years as a Program Director, trainer and coach at Open Circle through the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College. Ms. Dirga was formerly the Director of Social Emotional and Learning at Project Adventure. She is also an instructor for IDEAS: Initiatives for Developing Equity and Achievement for Students through the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents providing professional learning on DEI related topics throughout MA.

Kerryn Hinds

Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Kerryn Hinds M.Ed is the Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at The Chestnut Hill School and consultants for early childhood programs, building effective teams, and equitable classroom practices. As an immigrant, born and raised on the island of Trinidad and Tobago, Kerryn speaks to first gen students and works with teachers to build cultural responsiveness with families who are from different countries. Kerryn is also an IDEAS instructor and enjoys the learning that happens during IDEAS courses. She strongly believes that learning never ends.

Elizabeth Hansen Warner

Co-founder and co-director of the School Culture and Climate Initiative

Liz is the co-founder and co-director of the School Culture and Climate Initiative. The Initiative is based at the Center for Human and Social Development at Saint Elizabeth University and has been supporting schools for the last 14 years. Liz is also a founder and is the current president of SEL4NJ and is also working with SEL4WI.

Savitha Sundar

Occupational Therapist

Savitha is an occupational therapist with nearly two decades of experience serving individuals with diverse needs across the life span. Having worked with children with extensive support needs in schools for the majority of her career, she developed an earnest interest in facilitating social participation and authentic inclusion for those children in segregated settings. She is currently pursuing her doctorate at Texas Women’s University with a focus on occupational justice and social inclusion. Savitha became a member of the Changing Perspectives board in June 2020 and joined the staff as our Partnership Officer in 2023.

Jennifer Miller

Presenter

For nearly thirty years, Jennifer S. Miller, MEd. has worked with educators and families to help them become more effective with children through social and emotional learning (SEL). Through her social mission-driven organization, she authored and illustrated the book “Confident Parents, Confident Kids: Raising Emotional Intelligence In Ourselves and Our Kids” growing an international platform through her blog with more than 24,000 followers in 152 countries world-wide. She is mother to a 16-year-old son.

Janelle Greco

Director of training at Youth Communication

Janelle Greco is the director of training at Youth Communication, a role in which she oversees all professional development services at the organization. Prior to joining Youth Communication, Janelle worked as director of the Pre-College Academic Programming Department at LaGuardia Community College and previously served as director of training and advancement at The Doe Fund–an organization dedicated to providing training and career services to those who have been homeless, in foster care, and previously incarcerated. Janelle has a B.A. in English and secondary education from Springfield College and an M.A. in English from Northeastern University. She lives in Brooklyn, is a creative non-fiction writer, and a firm believer in the power of storytelling and sharing experiences with others.

Kamilah Drummond-Forrester

Founder & Principal Consultant, KDRUMM Consulting

Kamilah Drummond-Forrester, is the founder and principal consultant at KDRUMM Consulting LLC. In this role she leverages her expertise in transformative social and emotional learning (tSEL) and equity to partner with school districts, out of school time organizations, higher education institutions and NGOs to support strategic thinking, program development and implementation. She is nationally recognized as a thought leader, speaker, consultant and workshop presenter on social and emotional learning (SEL) and social justice. She is a board member of the state social and emotional learning advocacy organization, SEL4MA. Kamilah also served as the first board chair for the national organization, SEL Providers Association. In all of her roles, Kamilah is committed to educating others about the inextricable connections between social and emotional learning (SEL) and social justice.

Marcus Penny

STEM Instructional Coach, Boston Public Schools

Marcus Penny has over 10 years of experience leading and learning in large urban school districts across the US. He works with a variety of administrations to recruit, monitor, and maintain educators and staff members of color as well as implement anti-racism strategies throughout school communities. Marcus has been recognized by the US Department of Education for his leadership in implementing culturally relevant, inclusion strategies for diverse groups of learners. He currently serves as STEM Instructional Coach for Boston Public Schools.

Kris Taylor

Director of Educational Leadership and DEI, William James College

Kris Taylor, EdD is the Director of the Graduate Certificate in School Leadership and Director, DEI and Educational Leadership, Behavioral Health, Equity, and Leadership in Schools at William James College.

Justina Schlund

Vice President of Communications, CASEL

Justina Schlund is Vice President of Communications at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL).

Jim Vetter

Executive Director, SEL4US & SEL4MA

Jim Vetter has over 25 years of experience supporting diverse communities domestically and globally in promoting social and emotional health and well-being. As a founder and Executive Director of the Social Emotional Learning Alliance for the United States (SEL4US), Jim works to improve the lives of young people and adults by empowering local champions who connect and organize to promote, support, and advocate high quality, equity-focused social and emotional learning in their schools and communities. Jim is also the Executive Director of the Social-Emotional Learning Alliance for Massachusetts (SEL4MA). In addition, Jim serves as Associate Director of Health and Technology at Education Development Center, where he designs and implements online and in-person training and coaching related to SEL and mental health.