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Mitch Abblett, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, clinical administrator, supervisor and trainer. He has appeared on local and regional television programs in New England, and has written in professional periodicals regarding children’s mental health needs. Dr. Abblett also serves as the Clinical Director of Judge Baker Children’s Center’s Manville School, a well-established therapeutic day school for special education children with significant learning, emotional and behavior challenges. In addition to his work with emotionally-behaviorally disordered children, Dr. Abblett has also worked with a variety of populations presenting difficult behavior patterns (aggression, trauma reactivity, combat veterans, sexual perpetration, and addiction). Dr. Abblett has conducted numerous trainings regarding clinical work with difficult populations, and is a dynamic, engaging speaker. He is the author or co-author of numerous books, including The Mindfulness Skills Activity Book for Children (PESI, 2018) and The Challenging Child Toolbox (PESI, 2018). Dr. Abblett is also the co-author of the Growing Mindful (PESI, 2015), Growing Mindful 2nd Edition (PESI, 2019), Growing Mindful Spanish Edition (PESI, 2016), Growing Happy (PESI, 2016), Mindful Reminders (PESI, 2016), The Self-Compassion (PESI, 2016) and Anti-Burnout (PESI, 2017) card decks.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Mitch Abblett maintains a private practice and has employment relationships with The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, Hanover Public Schools, and Wareham Public Schools. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Abblett receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Mitch Abblett is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, and the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy.

Tim Desmond, LMFT, is a Buddhist scholar, therapist in private practice, and co-founder of Morning Sun Mindfulness Center in Alstead, NH. He is the author of Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy (W.W. Norton, 2015) and co-author of The Self-Compassion Deck (PESI, 2016) He offers training and consultation to therapists around the world, helping them to integrate mindfulness practices into their work.

Tim has presented at Yale University, the Institute of Meditation and Psychotherapy Colloquium, Greater Oregon Behavioral Health Conference, and the International Society for Ethics in Psychology and Psychiatry. His writings on mindfulness and self-compassion have appeared in the Psychotherapy Networker and the Mindfulness Bell magazines. Tim was interviewed about practices for self-compassion by the Huffington Post, and writes for major mental health websites such as www.Madinamerica.com.

He developed and teaches “dialogue-based mindfulness therapy,” a technique for teaching mindfulness and self-compassion in which the client is guided through a meditation while giving the clinician feedback about their experience in real-time. The clinician uses this feedback to adjust and custom tailor the meditation instructions in order to ensure the client learns the technique effectively.

In 2005, Tim was ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh into the Order of Interbeing after many years of practicing in that tradition. He leads meditation retreats around the U.S. and teaches regularly at Morning Sun Mindfulness Center in NH. In addition to the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, Tim teaches Nonviolent Communication and Positive Psychology.

Speaker Disclosures:

Speaker Disclosures: Financial: Tim Desmond maintains a private practice. He receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.

Non-financial: Tim Desmond has no relevant non-financial relationship to disclose.

Christopher Willard, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist, author and consultant based in Massachusetts. He has spoken in over 31 countries and has presented at two TEDx events. He is the author of 20 books, including Alphabreaths (2019), Growing Up Mindful (2016). and Feelings are Like Farts (2024). His thoughts on mental health have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, mindful.org, cnn.com, and elsewhere. He teaches at Harvard Medical School. Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Christopher Willard maintains a private practice and has employment relationships with Harvard Medical School, Cambridge Health Alliance, and the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Willard receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Christopher Willard is the president and board member of the Mindfulness In Education Network. He is on the advisory boards of Mindfulness First and Peace in Schools. Dr. Willard is a member of Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy.

Lee-Anne Gray, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist, educator, and author. She is certified in EMDR, trauma treatment, as well as a national speaker in self-compassion, mindful awareness, LGBTQ youth, assessment, special education, and gifted individuals.

As the president and CEO of The Connect Group, she serves the global educational community with innovative professional development seminars in empathy, compassion cultivation, Design Thinking, and transformational coaching.

Formerly an instructor of Psychology of Gender in the Department of Psychology/Women’s Studies at UCLA, Dr. Gray has served the LGBTQ community as an ally and through her private practice. She was also forensic expert and independent consultant to the Orange County Public Defender where she evaluated LGBTQ youth in juvenile hall.

Dr. Gray’s latest book, Self-Compassion for Teens: 129 Activities and Practices to Cultivate Kindness (PESI, 2016), is the first of its kind; a collection drawn from her work with teens at The Connect Group. Self-Compassion for Teens is enthusiastically endorsed by Tara Brach, Christopher Germer, Kelly McGonigal, among others. It was the #1 new release on Amazon, in Child Popular Psychology and Emotional Mental Health, and contains a whole chapter focusing on the unique needs of LGBTQ youth. She is also the author of LGBTQ+ Youth: A Guided Workbook to Support Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (PESI, 2018) and the Self-Compassion & Mindfulness for Teens Card Deck: 54 Exercises and Conversation Starters (PESI, 2017).

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Lee-Anne Gray is the President and CEO of The Connect Group and co-founder of The Connect Group School. She is an author for PESI Publishing & Media and receives royalties. Dr. Gray receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.

Non-financial: Lee-Anne Gray writes a blog on Educational Trauma for the Huffington Post.