Watch the Bright & Quirky Jumpstart Masterclass Series, Featuring the Top Experts

Bright & Quirky expert masterclasses have helped over 40,000 parents, teachers and professionals learn the cutting edge science to help bright and quirky kids thrive. Access some of our favorite talks by clicking below.

About Stuart Shanker, DPhil

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Stuart Shanker, D Phil (Oxon), is a Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Psychology from York University and the CEO of the MEHRIT Centre, Ltd. (www.self-reg.ca). His book, Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (And You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage With Life, has garnered glowing reviews around the world being published in Canada, the US, and the UK, as well as many foreign editions.

About Sarah Ward, MS, CCC/SLP

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Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP has over 25 years of experience in diagnostic evaluations and treatment of executive dysfunction. Ms. Ward holds a faculty appointment at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions. Sarah is an internationally recognized expert on executive function and presents seminars and workshops on the programs and strategies she has developed with her Co-Director Kristen Jacobsen. Their 360 Thinking Executive Function Program received the Innovative Promising Practices Award from the National Organization CHADD. She has presented to and consulted with over 1200 public and private schools in the United States, Canada and Europe.

About Stephen Porges, PhD

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Stephen W. Porges, PhD. is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland. He served as president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. He has published more than 300 peer‐reviewed scientific papers across several disciplines that have been cited in more than 35,000 peer-reviewed papers. He holds several patents involved in monitoring and regulating autonomic state. He is the originator of the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral, mental, and health problems related to traumatic experiences. He is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation (Norton, 2011), The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe, (Norton, 2017) and co-editor of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018). He is the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol ™ , which currently is used by more than 1500 therapists to improve spontaneous social engagement, to reduce hearing sensitivities, and to improve language processing, state regulation, and spontaneous social engagement.

About Debbie Steinberg Kuntz, LMFT

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Debbie is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and founder of Bright & Quirky, an organization helping bright kids thrive, even with learning, social, emotional, and/or behavioral challenges. She specializes in 'twice exceptional (2e)' kids and families, primarily with ADHD, autism, anxiety, and/or learning differences, who have been the focus of her private practice for over a decade. Debbie received her BA from Middlebury College and MA in Child, Couple, and Family Counseling from Antioch University. She enjoys hiking the mountains near Seattle with her husband and two teen boys.