Michael Thompson
New York Times Bestselling Author and International Speaker
Michael G. Thompson, Ph.D. is a consultant, author and psychologist specializing in children and families. He is the supervising psychologist for the Belmont Hill School and has worked in more than seven hundred schools across the United States, as well as in international schools in Central America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
He and his co-author, Dan Kindlon, wrote the New York Times best-selling book, Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys (Ballantine Books, 1999). He is the author of Speaking of Boys: Answers to the Most-Asked Questions about Raising Sons (Ballantine, 2000), and co-author (with Catherine O'Neill Grace and Larry Cohen, Ph.D.) of Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children (Ballantine, 2001) and Mom, They're Teasing Me: Helping Your Child Solve Social Problems (Ballantine, 2002.) About Best Friends, Worst Enemies the Publishers Weekly review declared, "Not since Dr. Spock and Penelope Leach has there been such a sensitive and practical guide to raising healthy children. The Pressured Child: Helping Your Child Achieve Success in School and in Life (with Teresa Barker, Ballantine, 2004) was written to help parents understand the complex journey of children through school, from Kindergarten through senior year. His third book on the psychology of boys, entitled, It's a Boy!: Understanding Your Son's Development from Birth to Eighteen, was published in 2008. It focuses on the importance of undirected, free play in the lives of boys. Dr. Thompson’s newest book, Homesick and Happy: How Time Away From Parents Can Help a Child Grow, was published by Ballantine Books in May of 2012.
A dedicated speaker and traveler, Michael Thompson has appeared on The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC 20/20, CBS 60 Minutes, The Early Show and Good Morning America. He has been quoted in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Time and U.S. News and World Report and has been a guest on NPR's "Morning Edition" with Susan Stamberg, "Talk of the Nation" with Ray Suarez and the Diane Rhem Show. He wrote, narrated and hosted a two-hour PBS documentary entitled "Raising Cain" that was broadcast nationally in 2006.
Dr. Thompson is a past member of the American Camping Association and is on the Advisory Board of Parent Magazine. Dr. Thompson lives in Arlington, Massachusetts. He is married to Dr. Theresa McNally, a psychotherapist is the father of two grown children and the grandfather to Aubrey, Brynlee and Kalen.
Sponsored by 
Julie Jungalwala & Julie Stern
Founder and Executive Director of The Institute for the Future of Learning
Educator, Bestselling Author, and Global consultant
Julie Jungalwala (formerly Wilson) is the Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for the Future of Learning, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping transform the factory model of education. The Institute works with a diverse range of clients, including public schools, Independent schools, public charter schools and educational philanthropic organizations. She is the author of highly acclaimed The Human Side of Changing Education, a chapter of which appeared in the Winter 2021 issue of the EARCOS Tri-Journal. In addition to helping schools and communities lead sustainable change, Julie highlightsgreat pra ctice and share reflections on curriculum, pedagogy, and change at www.the-IFL.org. She holds a graduate degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education technolgy, innovation and education and undergraduate degrees in French and Business Administration from Queens University in Belfast. During her time as a staff member at Harvard, Julie was the recipient of the Harvard Hero Award for outstanding contributions to the university.
Visit http://www.the-ifl.org/
Julie Stern has nearly two decades experience facilitating adult learning, and feels lucky to partner with educators to take their practice to the next level. She is passionate about synthesizing the best of education research into practical tools that support educators in breaking free of the industrial model of schooling and moving toward teaching and learning that promotes sustainability, equity, and well-being. She is a four-time, best-selling author of Learning that Transfers, Visible Learning for Social Studies, The On-Your-Feet-Guide to Learning Transfer and Tools for Teaching Conceptual Understanding, Elementary and Secondary. She is a certified trainer in Visible Learning Plus and Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction. She is a James Madison Constitutional Fellow and taught social studies for many years in Washington, DC and her native Louisiana. Julie moves internationally every few years with her husband, a US diplomat, and her two children.
Sponsored by 
Tim Jarvis
Explorer/Environmentalist
Tim’s childhood love of the outdoors has led to his career as an environmental scientist and in leading expeditions to some of the world’s most remote places. With more than 25 years of experience in both disciplines, Tim has a wealth of knowledge about what it takes to lead teams to perform at the highest level – knowledge he regularly shares with corporate and academic audiences around the world.
Tim’s sustainability beliefs, like his approach to expeditions, are based around a pragmatic optimism – understanding the scale of the task ahead and prevailing through a combination of outcome-focused goal-setting, adaptability, resilience and good teamwork.
He also understands that there is no single solution to achieving sustainability outcomes. This is reflected in the wide range of initiatives he supports and works on, including environmental advocacy work with conservation charities WWF and FFI, his recent four years of patronage of Nature Play SA whose goal is to encourage children to spend more time in nature, and five years’ service on the board of Zoos SA – leaders in endangered species conservation.
Tim’s roles with partner organisations include advising on technological and social solutions to sustainability issues for global engineering firm Arup, provision of climate change and sustainability advice to Australia’s largest insurance broker Steadfast, his position as Global Brand Ambassador for leading outdoor apparel manufacturer Kathmandu for whom sustainability and brand quality are top priorities, and head of the adventure advisory panel and on the advisory board of the Australian Geographic Society.
Tim holds Masters degrees in environmental science and environmental law. He was conferred a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to environment, community and exploration in the 2010 Australian honours list and was voted Conservationist of the Year in 2016 by the Australian Geographic Society.
visit https://www.timjarvis.org/about/
Sponsored by 
Homa Tavangar
Co-Founder of the Big Questions Institute
For over three decades, Homa Sabet Tavangar’s work has addressed themes of culture, innovation, leadership, global citizenship and global competence, and deep diversity, equity, belonging and inclusion. She connects timely topics of the moment with the timeless desire to work with purpose and make a difference – whatever one’s circumstances.
Homa’s clients range from Fortune 50 corporations to public, international and independent K-12 schools around the world; from an Ivy League university to Disney Channel and numerous not-for-profit public and multilateral organizations and professional associations. Co-founding the Big Questions Institute represents a natural extension of her work, especially during a time of unprecedented global challenges.
Homa is the author of widely-acclaimed Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World (Random House, 2009), Global Kids (Barefoot, 2019); The Global Education Toolkit for Elementary Learners (Sage/Corwin, 2014), contributor to Mastering Global Literacy, Heidi Hayes-Jacobs, ed. (Solution Tree, Nov. 2013) and the 3-book Take-Action Guide to World-Class Learners (Corwin, 2016) series with Professor Yong Zhao. Growing Up Global was the inspiration behind NBC-Universal’s animated series Nina’s World, starring Rita Moreno, and has been hailed by international education and business leaders and media ranging from Dr. Jane Goodall to the BBC, NPR, NBC, ABC, Washington Post.com, Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times, Boston Globe, PBS, Scholastic, Parents Magazine, Rodale, and many more.
Homa has lived on four continents, has heritage in four world religions, and is the mother of three daughters. She and her husband live just outside Philadelphia.
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