Strong Relationships

Wellbeing

Independence & Resilience

Jenny Atkinson

Jenny is the bestselling author of ‘High School Rocks’, a speaker, parent and dedicated teacher with over 30 years’ experience. As founder of Sparks Education Australia, she created the ‘Get Set For High School’ and ‘High School Hub’ Programs: a series of workshops, parent talks and online membership that have helped thousands of students, parents and teachers thrive in the challenging transition to high school.

Justine Lamont

Justine is a New Zealand speaker, parenting coach and parent of two young adults. With 18 years experience, and as the founder of Good To Great Parenting, she’s spreading the message to parents and teachers that being enough is good enough! Her upcoming parenting book helps parents to see themselves as the uniquely placed experts on their own children, and gives them the tools to advocate for their child at home, school and in life.

Karen Tui Boyes

Karen Tui Boyes is a champion for Life Long Learning and is on a mission to transform education globally. Described as an educational alchemist, a conscious creator and a playful priestess, she turns research into practical strategies which positively impact teaching and learning. 
A multi-award-winning speaker, educator and businesswoman, Karen is an expert in effective teaching, learning, study skills, motivation and positive thinking. She is the CEO of Spectrum Education, Principal of Spectrum Online Academy and the author of 11 books. She loves empowering teachers, parents and students and is the wife to one and the mother of two young adults (who won’t leave home!) Karen was named the Global Evolutionary Woman of the Year 2022.

Maggie Dent

Commonly known as the ‘queen of common sense’, Maggie Dent has become one of Australia's favourite parenting authors and educators. She has a particular interest in the early years, adolescence and resilience, and is an undisputed 'boy champion'.
Maggie is the author of nine major books, including the bestselling Mothering Our Boys and her 2020 release From Boys to Men. She hosts the Listnr podcast The Good Enough Dad and the award-winning ABC podcast, Parental As Anything and in 2021 released a book of the same name.
In 2022, Maggie released her first book about girls, Girlhood: Raising our little girls to be healthy, happy and heard. Maggie is a dedicated advocate to quietly changing lives in our families and communities. She is the mother of four sons and a very grateful grandmother.

Dayna Abraham

Dayna Abraham, bestselling author of Calm the Chaos: A Fail-Proof Roadmap for Parenting Even the Most Challenging Kids.
As a National Board Certified educator, parent of three neurodivergent children, and an ADHD adult herself, Dayna brings a unique and out-of-the-box perspective to parents raising kids in the modern world.
Through her compassionate framework, Calm the Chaos, she has helped millions of desperate parents around the world, find peace and meet their children where they're at when conventional parenting tools have failed them.
With a weekly reach of more than 1.2 million people on social media, and more than two hundred thousand parents attending her Calm the Chaos free workshop, she has become a proven and trusted leader in the parenting community.

Michelle Mitchell

Michelle Mitchell is an award-winning speaker, and bestselling parenting author. She has been termed ‘the teenage expert’ by the media and is sought after for her compassionate and grounded advice for parenting tweens and teens.
Michelle started her career as a teacher, but soon discovered a special interest in wellbeing. She left teaching in 2000 to found Youth Excel, a ‘boutique’ health promotion charity which delivered tailor made life skills programs and psychological services to thousands of young people and their families.
Today she uses her experience to write and speak in schools, community events and through media.

Dr Vanessa Lapointe

Dr. Vanessa Lapointe is a mom, parenting educator, best-selling author, international speaker, and a regularly invited media guest. She holds a doctoral degree in psychology, and practiced as a psychologist for nearly 20 years, before devoting her full-time energy to connecting with parents and other “big people” around the globe in 2023. Founder of The North Star Developmental Clinic, Dr. Vanessa has long been supporting families and children in her developmental clinic alongside her team, and has previous experience in community mental health and the school system. Dr. Vanessa is known for bringing a sense of nurturing understanding and humanity to all of her work. Her passion is in walking alongside parents, teachers, care providers, and other big people to really see the world through the child’s eyes. She believes that if we can do this, we are beautifully positioned to grow up our children in the best possible way.

Andrew Fuller

Andrew Fuller is a clinical psychologist, family therapist, author, speaker and creator of Learning Strengths ™. He started working in psychiatric crisis teams with people who were at their last hopes and that inspired him to create with people, futures they can fall in love with. His work with over 4,000 schools and communities and with more than 500,000 young people has identified the concept of The Resilient Mindset and also the three main components of resilience- connect, protect and respect (CPR).
Andrew’s research on neuro-developmental differentiation takes the research on resilience and brain sciences back into the classroom where it can make the most difference. His many books include, 'Tricky Teens' and 'Unlocking Your Child's Genius'.

Kirrilie Smout

Kirrilie has worked as a psychologist for 25 years, predominantly with children, teens and families.  She is the director of Developing Minds Psychology and provides supervision to the team of child and adolescent psychologists who work with her there. She also provides seminars and training for young people, teachers, health professionals and schools around Australia (and has presented to over 50,000 families over the last two decades).  Kirrilie has received state and national awards, grants and prizes for her speaking, research and consultancy work, and for the work conducted by Developing Minds. She is regularly consulted by print, radio and TV media in relation to psychological issues and has numerous articles published in newspapers and journals. She has written three books about and for young people, and is the developer of the online program Calm Kid Central.

Brett Lee

Brett Lee, Founder of Internet Safe Education, is a leading former detective. His 20+ years of working and training in cyber crime helps parents, educators, and the general public to understand how to protect themselves and, most importantly, their children online. He’s worked on high-profile crimes for the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, and as a detective in the Australian Police Force.
Brett’s experience in cyber crime is unparalleled and has led him to be a sought-after speaker, media commentator and thought leader in Australia and internationally. He believes that by empowering the community with the right knowledge at the right time, every person can be safe online. Brett has spoken to over 1 million audience members. His engaging approach leaves audiences with a sense of safety and empowered to make the right choices at the right time.

Mandy Beverley

Mandy Beverley defines a mindset relevant in today's world as one that is resilient, resourceful, and transformative. She is expert at helping others use life's events and surprises as momentum for continual growth and transformation. Specialising in human behaviour, she helps her clients create exponential shifts in their perceptions, decisions, and actions. Mandy started her career as a Registered Nurse, and for the last 13 years has been a Certified Demartini Method® Facilitator. She has seen how powerfully we can let past experiences influence our future relationships, and ability to move forward. Mandy’s work helps to shift minds and bridge the strategy and mindset gap of people and organisations through consults, workshops and speaking events. Mandy coaches mindset and personal development to a national businesswomen’s network focused on women's growth and potential in business. She’s also an author and host of the Remarkable Women Radio Podcast. Mandy is a mother to three daughters, and is a proud new grandmother.

Daniel Merza

Daniel’s inspires others to break free from self-doubt, overcome obstacles, and unleash their true potential. Through his book, 'Get the Monkeys Off Your Back' and his presentations to students, parents, educators and business/corporate professionals, Daniel empowers people to live a life of purpose, resilience, and limitless possibilities. Having worn the “underdog” cap growing up, Daniel’s story can be summed up in three words – “Defying the odds”. Bullied for a decade, diagnosed with a mental illness aged 13, and labelled as a student with “no hope”, Daniel faced up to his tormentors at 16 and turned his life around. He's featured on radio, in newspapers and media, and his work has been acknowledged in NSW parliament. In 2022, Daniel led Professional Speakers Australia (NSW Chapter) as President. He lives in Sydney with his wife and daughter – they are without a doubt his greatest achievement and a boundless source of joy.

Kaz Parrott

Kaz is Mama to two sweethearts, a passionate teacher and children’s wellbeing advocate.  She understands and supports sensitive kids with the gentle guidance they need to feel happy, calm & confident to be who they are.  She believes children possesses an innate potential to shine and when their one-of-a-kind uniqueness is encouraged, they become the best version of themselves and feel proud to be their true self. Kaz teaches skills & strategies to nurture a child’s emotional well-being, so they blossom into confident, compassionate humans who make your family unit – and the world around them – a happier, brighter place.. Having a sensitive child is a special privilege, but it can be hard to navigate when it comes to parenting. Kaz is the sensitive child's cheerleader and a valued support person for their parents.

Paul Dillon

Paul Dillon has been working in the area of drug education for almost 30 years. Through his own business, Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA) he has been contracted by many organisations to provide updates on current drug trends, as well as advice on alcohol and other drug issues. He continues to work with many school communities across the country to ensure they have access to quality information and best practice drug education.
In 2009 his best-selling book 'Teenagers, Alcohol and Drugs' was published and this has since been released internationally. Paul writes a blog for parents and caregivers, as well as another for young people, and both of these have recently been released in a podcast format.

Dr Claire Kelly

Dr Claire Kelly is Director of International Programs at Mental Health First Aid Australia. Claire has been involved as a doctor, researcher and program developer at Mental Health First Aid Australia. She speaks regularly on mental health issues in the media and has many years of service in the work, supporting our young adults in a variety of ways to support their wellbeing. Claire has produced a PhD thesis, which was written all about mental health literacy of Australian adolescents. Her passion is about mental health problems and how this can impact development, educational outcomes, and long-term functioning of our young people. 

Calm Connected Summit - Tweens & Teens (co-hosts)

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