Teachers Aligned

Dr. Rick Hanson is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. His books have been published in 29 languages and include  Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha’s Brain, Just One Thing, and Mother Nurture – with 900,000 copies in English alone. His newest book is Neurodharma: Science, Wisdom, and Steps to the Highest Happiness will be released May 5, 2020.

Founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, he’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. His work has been featured on the BBC, CBS, and NPR, and 150,000 subscribers receive his free Just One Thing newsletter every week. He has a variety of popular online programs in positive neuroplasticity – with scholarships available for those with financial need.

Dr. Hanson has been a trustee of Saybrook University, served on the board of Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and was president of the board of FamilyWorks, a community agency. He began meditating in 1974, trained in several traditions, and leads a weekly meditation gathering. He and his wife live in northern California and have two adult children. He enjoys being in wilderness and taking a break from emails. Please welcome Dr. Rick Hanson.

Rick's Resources

TRIGGER WARNING - This podcast contains information about suicide which may be upsetting to some people.

Susan Crooks is an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience. She holds a M.Ed. from Clemson University and is a certified trainer and ambassador for The Foundation for Critical Thinking. Ms. Crooks and her son, Walt, worked at the same school for almost 10 years. They have presented their unique theory on the pairing of mindfulness and critical thinking at conferences across the United States. The loss of Walt due to anxiety and depression led Susan to establish Walt’s Waltz.

A driven mother and educator, Susan strives to open conversations and change prevailing perspectives on Mental Health.

Susan's Recommendations

Katy Swift is a certified guidance counselor who spent the last three years working at a low Socioeconomic status, high trauma primary school in Texas. Prior to her time as a counselor, she was a dyslexia interventionist in an elementary school as well as an intervention consultant to several private schools. She received training to practice classroom yoga from Yoga In My School in 2018. Among the many different counseling interventions implemented, yoga was one of the favorites of both staff and students. Recently relocated to Friendswood with her family, she volunteers teaching yoga to pre-k students at the Melinda Webb School, a school for Oral Deaf Education that uses specialized instruction to accelerate students’ development of spoken language. Her spare time is spent with her husband, her dogs and her 10 year old son who will ONLY do yoga with her if it’s Star Wars themed!

Katy's Recommendations:

Books

Taylor Walsh established the Project for Whole Health Learning in K-12 in 2017 as a result of his work as a consultant in integrative medicine and health. Attracted to the patient- and consumer-driven demand for therapies like mind-body medicine and acupuncture, he helped client organizations elevate awareness of the evidence and outcomes for policy makers, patient organizations, healthcare providers and the public.

This work included creating and managing the grass-roots advocacy program CoverMyCare for the Integrative Health Policy Consortium (IHPC), which engaged state-based advocates around provisions of the Affordable Care Act intended to end insurer discrimination against licensed healthcare providers.

He has written for the field’s publication of record, The Integrator Blog, written and edited symposium reports and policy guidebooks and is co-author of the e-book, “The Rise of Integrative Heath & Medicine, The Milestones: 1963 – Present,” which chronicles the notable milestones in the evolution of integrative medicine.

The work in integrative health and wellness builds on Taylor’s experience with new and disruptive enterprises: in daily journalism, personal computing, online information services (pre-web: he was managing editor at The Source, the first national online services built for personal computer owners), the Internet and Web, in local digital information services, and since 2009 in developing the concept of what is now WholeHealthED.

For more than three decades, Dr. Boutte's scholarship, teaching, and service have focused on equity pedagogies and teaching for social justice in Early Childhood Education. She has served as Chair in the Department of Instruction and Teacher Education and held a distinguished endowed chair for four years. She is the author of four books: Educating African American Students: And how are the children; Multicultural Education: Raising Consciousness; Resounding Voices: School Experiences of People From Diverse Ethnic Backgrounds; and African Diaspora Literacy: The Heart of Transformation in K–12 Schools and Teacher Education. She has received more than $1,700,000 in grants and has more than 95 publications.

She has served as a Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Scholar at several universities in the U.S. and abroad. Additionally, she has presented nationally and internationally on curriculum, instruction, and diversity issues.  

She is the founder of the statewide Center of Excellence for the Education and Equity of African American Students (CEEEAAS).  She has presented her work internationally in Colombia, China, Sierra Leone, Ghana, London, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Australia, South America, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, and Canada.

Dr. Boutte's Recommendations

Dr. Ann Marie Taylor began her college education studying Criminal Justice at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan. She quickly realized that many of her young charges were struggling with special education needs which inspired her to become a special education teacher. She received her master’s degree in special education from Francis Marion University in South Carolina.  Dr. Taylor began teaching in 2000 at McLaurin Elementary School in Florence and while she was working at Pine Tree Hill Elementary in Camden she earned the title of 2008 South Carolina Teacher of the Year – the first special educator to ever receive this honor. In 2008, she became National Board Certified and also received the Woman of Distinction Award from the Girl Scouts of America.  In 2009, she was awarded the Educator Leadership Award from Francis Marion University.  She also received the Service Award from Palmetto State Teacher's Association (PSTA).  She has served as the Director of Exceptional Children in Edgefield County for six years. Taylor is currently the Executive Director at Horse Creek Academy.

Ann Marie's Recommendations

Leigh Brasington has been practicing meditation since 1985 and is the senior American student of the late Ven. Ayya Khayma. He began assisting Ven. Ayya Khemma in 1994, and began teaching retreats on his on in 1997. He is also authorized to teach by Jack Kornfield.

This is a special edition of the Teachers Aligned Podcast. Todd discusses details about the 2020 Teachers Aligned Mindfulness Retreat. 

Dr. Sibinga is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School and the Past-Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Section on Integrative Medicine. Dr. Sibinga is a general academic pediatrician, keenly interested in improving the lives of children and families through the expansion of evidence-based complementary approaches. With funding from foundations and the United States’ National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, she has adapted and evaluated mindfulness instruction (including the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program) for urban children and youth in both clinic- and school-based settings. Dr. Sibinga’s randomized controlled trials have shown that mindfulness instruction for children and youth can reduce psychological symptoms (including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms); improve the stress response, coping, and quality of life; and enhance interpersonal and behavioral outcomes. For youth with HIV, MBSR leads to both psychological benefits and improvements in HIV medication adherence and viral suppression, important outcomes in HIV treatment. Dr. Sibinga’s current work also includes the development and evaluation of mindfulness programming for adults important to children and youth – mothers of infants in the NICU and classroom teachers.

Dr. Sibinga's Recommendations

Chrissie Keillor is a yoga instructor and high school teacher in the Myrtle Beach area. She graduated with a degree in Kinesiology from Illinois State University and began her career as a certified athletic trainer at the high school level. Searching for a more creative outlet, she became a 200 Hour RYT in 2011 and shortly thereafter also acquired her Fitness Nutrition Specialization and Personal Training Certification through NASM. Chrissie started her own yoga business named Subala just a year ago to streamline her vision with athletics, yoga, mindfulness, healthy lifestyle and safer beauty and body products. She currently teaches yoga at New South Brewery, Quigleys Pint and Plate, Twelve 33 and Top Golf. You can follow her on Facebook and Instagram using the handle @Subala843

Chrissie's Recommendations

Danna Thomas is a former Baltimore City Public School teacher turned founder of a global initiative to support the mental health and wellness of educators. Her organization, Happy Teacher Revolution, is on a mission to increase teacher happiness, retention, and professional sustainability by providing educators with the time and space to heal, deal, and be real about the social-emotional demands they face on the job. Danna served as the national spokeswoman for the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Maryland and the “Music for Mental Health” campaign. She is the recipient of the 2019 Johns Hopkins Community Hero Award and the 2019 Winner of the Johns Hopkins Social Innovation Lab. Her favorite forms of self-care include playing backgammon, community hot yoga, and rocking out on the saxophone.

Senator Mike Fanning represents District 17 in South Carolina which includes Chester, Fairfield and York Counties. A military veteran and former high school social studies teacher, Senator Fanning has been a strong advocate for public education in South Carolina. In this episode, he discusses the importance of educators being involved in politics and provides valuable insights on current legislation that will impact the lives of teachers and their students.

Mike's Recommendations

Mathew Portell has dedicated a decade and a half to education in his role as a teacher, instructional coach, teacher mentor, and school administrator. It is through the collaborative team approach and building positive relationships that Portell is leading his school into success. He is currently in his fifth year as principal of Fall-Hamilton Elementary, an internationally recognized innovative model school for trauma-informed practices in Metro Nashville Public Schools. The school’s work has been featured on National Public Radio, the local documentary Enough, PBS, and Edutopia, one of the world’s top educational practices website funded by the George Lucas Foundation which resulted in over 7,000,000 views. 

He is the founder of the Trauma-Informed Educators Schools Network Group on Facebook which has connected over 20,000 educators in over 100 different countries! In July 2019, he launched the first annual Trauma Informed Educators Network conference which was attended by 150 people from around the world! In September of 2019, he launched the Trauma Informed Educators Network Podcast. Through this podcast he is viewing educators and practitioners from around the globe in which they are sharing their own trauma-informed journeys.

Mathew's Book/Resource Recommendations

Lucy MacGregor leads adventure based programs that empower young women and offers mindfulness workshops, retreats, and communities of practice to educators, parents and families in North Carolina and beyond.  

She holds a degree in Sociology and is an accredited Montessori teacher. She is currently enrolled Antioch University's Masters in Education, Mindfulness for Educators program. She is trained in facilitation through the Genuine Contact Way, and is a Genuine Contact Professional.  She is a certified Children’s Yoga instructor, certified Mindful Schools instructor, and is trained as a Relax Kids Coach. Lucy serves as Mindfulness Consultant for Rainbow Institute, promoting holistic education and is classroom teacher at Rainbow Community School in Asheville.

Erin Fox is originally from Murphy, North Carolina, and she received her BSED in Secondary English Education from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.  She earned her master’s degree in Gifted and Talented Education several years later from Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  Fox was initially hired at Gaffney High School to be an English II teacher. During her seventeen years at Gaffney High she has taught Advanced Drama, Drama I, Introduction to Drama, Theatrical Movement, Academic Assistance, English I, English II, and English III.  She loves the teaching opportunities that exploring literature and English Language Arts provides for her students and herself.  As she works to challenge them, they challenge her as well, and she loves to infuse their work with kinesthetic/tactile lessons and artistic endeavors.  Fox wants to provide students with personal ways to interact with the literature so that it speaks to their individual hearts in very real ways.  She loves working with students in a variety of ways but most especially through the Fit2gether committee, the Miss Cherokeean Pageant, and the Homecoming Committee.  Fox serves as the CCSD Employee Wellness Coordinator and creates and leads twice weekly workouts with faculty and staff members and their families across the district. She is married to her best friend, Danny Fox, and they have two children: a twelve-year old son, Jack, and an eight-year old daughter, Scout.

Erin's Book Recommendations

Techa Smalls-Brown is an artist in every sense of the word. Using her gifts to add beauty wherever she goes, Techa has been an educator for 20+ years with the Charleston County School District. As a teacher she has taught exceptional children, African-American studies at the secondary level, and  Elementary Montessori. She is also endorsed as a Gifted and Talented Teacher and has recently completed the Omega Institute’s Transformative Educational Leadership (TEL) program under the direction of Meena Srinivasan, Daniel Rechtschaffen and Linda Lantieri. As a result of this work, she is equipped to integrate mindfulness-based social-emotional techniques in academics as well as focusing on equity and ethical learning in schools and school systems. Techa is a true visionary. Currently she is working on an M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Trauma and Resilience in  educational settings through Concordia University, Portland. With this degree, Techa seeks to transform the lives of students and educators across the state teaching them about trauma, resilience, self-care as well as how to support students social, emotional, and academic development in education. Techa is married to her soul mate, Michael J. Brown who has been a part of her life for over 23 years.

Techa's Book/Resource Recommendations

Dr. Amy Saltzman is a holistic physician, mindfulness coach, long-time athlete, devoted student of transformation, wife, mother and occasional poet. Her passion is supporting people of all ages in achieving peak performance and finding flow. She is recognized by her peers as a visionary and pioneer in the field of mindfulness for athletes, coaches, and other high performers, as well as for kids, teens, and parents. She offers individual holistic medical care, and both individual and team mindfulness coaching, in person and online, to athletes, coaches, children, adolescents, parents, teachers, therapists, allied professionals, and high tech executives and employees.

Vikas P. Srivastava holds an MA in Education from Harvard (HGSE) in Education and a BA from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in Sociology. Vikas specializes in integrating  mindfulness, nonviolence, creative confidence and an entrepreneurial mindset in educational design.  

Vikas is currently serving as a full time Director of Mindfulness at Legacy Early College k-12 Charter School since 2018. His impact includes every grade level from kindergarten through high school, every department from teachers to counselors to HR to transportation, as well as parent workshops.  

Vikas has worked as a professional educator since 1997.  His roles have included counselor, teacher, administrator, consultant and public speaker. He has worked with the extremes of affluent and poor communities, as well as high and low achieving students (including special education). His experience ranges from outdoor classrooms, preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school and college.  School sites include district, charter and private schools. 

Vikas first presented Mindfulness based school design in 1999. However, it was a retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh in 2004 that served as the inspiration to commit to the practice and path of Mindfulness. As a full time classroom teacher from 2005 to 2013, he integrated Mindfulness into the culture of his classes.  In 2013, he accepted a position as a school administrator and began integrating mindfulness schoolwide including administration, culture and curriculum. A breakthrough experience in 2016 at a Vippassana retreat in the spirit of S.N. Goenka significantly impacted his practice and framework in addition to the continued influence of Thich Nhat Hanh. ​

Vikas's Book Recommendations

Jed Dearybury began his education career in 2001. During his 13 year early childhood classroom tenure, he received numerous awards. He was featured in GQ Magazine as Male Leader of the Year, met President Obama as the SC winner of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, and was named as a top 5 finalist for South Carolina Teacher of the Year. Since 2015, he has become an educational leader by providing quality, hands-on, engaging learning experiences for students and teachers across the country.

Dr. Frank Morgan retired in 2018 after 43 years working in public education in Virginia and South Carolina. 

He holds degrees from The College of Wooster in Ohio, Virginia Commonwealth University, and The College of William and Mary. 

During his career, Dr. Morgan served as a teacher, coach, department chair, Director of Instruction,  Assistant Superintendent, and Superintendent.  His last position was Superintendent of the Kershaw County School District here in South Carolina from 2007-2018.

Dr. Morgan’s wife, Jean, is a retired teacher an his son, Mike, is a special education teacher in Lancaster County.

Dr. Morgan’s strongest belief about education is that all students can learn at a high level given adequate time and resources.

Dr. Bhagat received his doctorate in Educational Leadership from VCU, where he specialized in a regional approach to school diversity. His post-doctoral work is in the areas of Restorative Justice in Education, Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience, Social Emotional Learning, and Culturally Responsive Mindfulness practices. He fulfilled the requirements for his MEd in School and Community Counseling from Virginia State University, where he concentrated in group counseling, with a keen focus on African American males affected by gun violence. Ram received Bachelor of Science degrees in Microbiology from Virginia State University and Science Education from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Dr. Bhagat is currently serving as Manager of School Climate and Culture Strategy for Richmond Public Schools. His primary role is to envision, design, and connect trauma informed practices and restorative practices to schools and communities throughout the district. He intends to help lead RPS and its partners in the creation of a sustainable and transformative paradigm of equitable and just learning environments for all students.

Dr. Bhagat is an adjunct faculty member at Eastern Mennonite University’s Graduate Teacher Education program and certified trainer of Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) for the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. Dr. Bhagat’s unique approach to Trauma Sensitive Restorative Practices, called Massive Resilience, is rooted in the science of yoga and de-colonized mindfulness practices.

Dr. Bhagat is actively involved in healing the effects of racial trauma within communities of color, as a leader of Emotional Emancipation Circles in Virginia. 

In the early 1990s, Ram co-founded Drums No Guns (DNG) world percussion ensemble to engage youth in “healing community with rhythm.” More than two decades later, the Drums No Guns, Foundation continues to work around the country with youth traumatized by gun violence, using drumming, dance, drama, and culturally responsive contemplative practices.

Dr. Emily Whitecotton is a fifth grade teacher at the Center for Inquiry in Richland School District Two. Emily has earned a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education, a Masters in Language and Literacy, and a PhD in Language and Literacy from the University of South Carolina. She has implemented a mindfulness program in her classroom and regularly advocates for mindfulness in public schools.

On this episode of Teachers Aligned, we examine how to start a mindfulness practice.

Lisa Ellis is the founder of SC for Ed, a teacher advocacy group whose goal is to place an extraordinary teacher in every classroom in South Carolina. Born and raised in South Carolina, Lisa Ellis’ path follows the quote “Not all who wander are lost.” Lisa earned a bachelor’s degree in English from College of Charleston, a master’s in Forest Resources Management from Clemson University, and another master’s in Organizational Leadership from Columbia College. During her educational career, she has taught English, Leadership, been a Director of Student Activities, and an Instructional Coach in 4 schools and 3 school districts. She will enter her 19th year of teaching as a journalism teacher at Blythewood High School. Lisa created the SC for Ed Facebook closed group as a community for SC educators to create a collective voice.