DVFriends Speaker Series

2026-27 DVFriends Speaker Series Presents:

From Reminding to Independence: Building Executive Function Skills at Home

Kristen Jacobsen, MS, CCC/SLP, is passionate about developing research based executive function programs. She is a trained speech-language pathologist, author and executive function coach who is Co-Director at the Cognitive Connections Executive Function Practice, Ms. Jacobsen graduated from the Speech-Language Pathology program at the MGH Institute of Health Professions where she focused on language, literacy and cognition. As Co-Director at Cognitive Connections for over 30 years, she provides training and coaching for teachers and professionals internationally. She is the co-author of the award-winning 360 Thinking Program, which aims to improve students' executive function skills at school and home.

 

LOVE CHAOS KIN. Spanning 12 years, the 98-minute documentary Love Chaos Kin follows white-presenting Navajo-descent twins and their South Asian adoptive parents navigating complex reckonings of identity, race, and belonging as they help the children reconnect with their birth parents. After the screening, there will be a Q&A with filmmaker Chithra Jeyaram and participants of Love Chaos Kin. Learn more about the film. Website: https://www.lovechaoskinmovie.com/

 

“An opportunity to pause and reconsider how we talk about adoption.” Dr. Maria Cronyn, Adult Adoptee and Expert

 

“Beyond its extraordinary story, the perspectives Jeyaram presents are grounded, timely, and consistently engaging.” Panos Kotzathanasis, Asian Movie Pulse, Critic

 

 

 

 

Six one-hour webinars specifically designed for independent school parents and caregivers. You’re invited to join a vibrant community of independent school families for a series of six engaging evening webinars led by renowned and trusted experts.

 

 

September 29  -- School Readiness: Executive Function Needed to “Do School” with Sarah Ward

 

December 1 --  The Power of Beliefs: How Strengthening Seven Core Beliefs Predicts Greater Success & A Better Life with Shawn Achor

 

January 13 --  The Family Guide to Screen/Life Balance: What to Do About Tech & Kids with Catherine Price

 

February 9 -- Protecting Your Child in the Age of Deepfakes with Evan Harris

 

April 8 -- How Temperament Shapes Who We Become: Why Some Children Need More than Others to Flourish with Aliza Pressman

 

May 4 -- The Power of One with John O’Leary

 

Visit Here for registration instructions.

 

 

About DVFriends Speaker Series

 

DVFriends annual Speaker Series brings experts in the world of learning differences to our community. These speakers and the insights they share provide information and resources to our families, faculty, and staff. We also invite educators, professionals, and families outside of our school community to join these presentations as part of the outreach component of our school’s mission. In order for these sessions to be accessible to all, our speaker series events are always free and open to the public.

Past speakers include:

• Larry Silver, M.D. on Dyslexia and ADHD
• Journey Into Dyslexia film with Alan and Susan Raymond, and panelists: Tracy Johnson, Jeff Adams, Damien Fozard, Mary Katherine Ortale, Bill Keeney
• Nancy Cushen White, Ed.D.
• Drs. Sally and Bennett Shaywitz
• Rosalind Wiseman, Ph.D. on anti-bullying
• Philip Schultz, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author of My Dyslexia
• Screenagers film with panelists: A. Michael Blanche, Bob Sager, Jason Seggern, Julien Crowe, Lisa Adams
• Russell Barkley, Ph.D. on ADHD
• Katherine Dahlsgaard, Ph.D. on student anxiety
• Sarah Ward, MS, CCC/SLP on executive function (2014, 2016, 2021)
• Sam Goldstein, Ph.D. on executive function
• Anne Ford and John Richard Thompson on raising a child with a learning difference
• Toby Tomlinson Baker, Ph. D. on college accommodations for LDs
• Jerome Schultz, Ph.D. on ADHD and anxiety
• Megan Fairchild, CALT on Orton Gillingham language remediation
• Khalil Munir, one man show 1pound, 4Ounces
• Dr. Edward (Ned) Hallowell on Unlocking the Strengths of the ADHD Brain
• PBIDA Experience Dyslexia: A Simulation
• Max Stossel on Social Media and Your Kids
• Elizabeth Hamblet, Preparing Students with Learning Disabilities for Successful College Transition
• Angela Tucker, Closure: Centering Adoptee Voices in Adoption Stories
• Dr. Edward (Ned) Hallowell: ADHD 2.0
• André Bradford, a.k.a. SC Says, Kinsukuroi: Building Empathy
• Tim Odegard, PhD, The New Definition of Dyslexia

For additional information, contact Lisa Howell, Director of Marketing & Communications at [email protected].