We are living in a complex age, one in which children are overusing digital and tech, our definitions of sex and gender are being negotiated in social media, academe, and our schools, violence surrounds us, and teachers and parents feel almost desperate for tools to help the children in their care.

In this dynamic keynote presentation, Dr. Gurian will explore how the minds of boys and girls learn and grow, including brain differences that impact K – 12 education, early childhood, family life, and social emotional development throughout the lifespan.  He will provide insight into best teaching, parenting, counseling, and mentoring practices targeted to sex of the brain. He will emphasize what boys need somewhat more this year as there has been an international awakening on boys’ needs.

Michael’s presentation include PET, SPECT, and MRI scans that display sexual dimorphism (male/female brain differences) as he focuses on educating, raising, and counseling boys, and educating, raising, and counseling girls.  He will also show brain scans that help us understand the whole gender spectrum.

Michael will lead two working lunch discussions, as well.  Michael’s most recent books are Boys, A Rescue Plan, with Sean Kullman, The Storm In My Mother’s Eyes (michaelgurian.substack.com/), and The Minds of Girls.  We hope you will read one or more these books at your convenience.  In these working lunches, we will study and strategize the topics raised in the keynotes, and answer questions participants have from their own educational and community work.

Dr. Gurian’s second keynote continues the work begun in Part I, deepening the focus on trauma-informed education from a brain-based perspective and resilience-building at school, in the home, and in our communities. He will take a deep dive into the healthy and profound differences in the ways females and males tend to practice empathy. He will look at classrooms, playgrounds, and homes from a neurobiological lens, exploring standards of care and evaluation we use that include implicit biases, normally against males, of which we are not aware.

Then Part II will explore what Michael calls the trauma advantage: gender-specific, poverty-sensitive, and trauma-informed strategies for helping children learn resilience. Delving into the importance of trauma as a shaping tool for the brain, Michael’s memoir, The Storm In My Mother’s Eyes:  A Journey of Forgiveness and Resilience, explores the science of trauma and resilience in story form.  Without the journey of resilience and forgiveness interconnected, Michael argues, children and adults lack a primary building block for healing trauma and, thus, for thriving.

A product of significant childhood trauma, Michael scores a 7 out of 10 on the Adverse Childhood Experiences, ACE survey.  The publication of his previous book, The Stone Boys, made public some of that childhood trauma and his memoir continued that exploration with brain science connected to story.  We hope you will read The Stone Boys (available on amazon.com and other outlets) and/or The Storm In My Mother’s Eyes (available at michaelgurian.substack.com/) ahead of time for a deep dive into potential trauma-responses and resilience-development.

Michael’s wife of 37 years, Gail Reid-Gurian, died in 2023 from pancreatic cancer.  Her death further compelled Michael to share the walk of resilience via Michael’s My Darling, You’ve Flown Away available on michaelgurian.substack.com/.  Obstacles are built into life as elemental motivators of maturity.  The latter half of this keynote, focusing on trauma and the development of resilience in children, can help heal adults on their own journey.