Chazz Lewis’s mission is to help adults truly See, Guide and Trust children. He is pushing the needle a little closer toward world peace with his approach. He is a consultant, Teacher coach, Parent coach, Conscious Discipline practitioner, Podcaster, and Content Creator. He goes by, “Mr.Chazz” and he even has a song to prove it.

Renée Boynton-Jarrett, MD, ScD, a pediatrician and social epidemiologist, is an associate professor at Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine. She is the founding director of the Vital Village Networks. Vital Village uses a trauma-informed lens to improve community capacity to promote child wellbeing and advance equity through dedicated collaborative partnerships, research, data-sharing, and community leadership development in Boston and nationally through the NOW Forum and CRADLE Lab. Her scholarship has focused on early-life adversities as life course social determinants of health. She has a specific concentration on psychosocial stress and neuroendocrine and reproductive health outcomes, including obesity, puberty, and fertility. She is nationally recognized for work on the intersection of community violence, intimate partner violence, and child abuse and neglect and neighborhood characteristics that influence these patterns.

Frances Carlson worked as an early childhood program administrator for twenty years for a variety of child care programs in the US and abroad: the Department of the Army, Internal Revenue Service, Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo), Sheltering Arms, Turner Broadcasting Systems (via Bright Horizons Family Solutions), and the Technical College System of Georgia/Chattahoochee Technical College. In 2002, she began a career in higher ed.

Carlson recently retired from her position of eight years as Associate Dean of Professional Services & Design at Chattahoochee Technical College in metro Atlanta (Georgia). Prior to that position, Carlson taught Early Childhood Education for fourteen years to associate degree-seeking students.

She has authored two books: Essential Touch (NAEYC, 2006) and Big Body Play (NAEYC, 2011) as well as numerous articles in a variety of ECE publications. She is currently revising Big Body Play for NAEYC with an anticipated publication date of May 2026. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of North Georgia, a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Concordia University – St. Paul, and an Italian language certificate from the Defense Language Institute – Foreign Language Center. In her free time, she loves to camp with her husband and their dog, Freya.

Christy Isbell, PhD OTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist with more than twenty-five years of experience working with young children. She is an Associate Professor and Research Coordinator in the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) where she teaches graduate level child development and pediatric occupational therapy courses. Dr. Isbell maintains her clinical practice and her specialty is early intervention. She has presented nationally and internationally on topics related to sensory integration, autism spectrum disorder, fine motor development, and the design and implementation of inclusive early childhood environments. Dr. Isbell has written books and articles to educate early childhood educators and parents which includes the book, Sensory Integration: A guide for preschool teachers and Mighty Fine Motor Fun.

Lou Lacey is an author, Licensed Professional Counselor, and the Director of Emotional Wellness at Children’s of Alabama. She works to prevent Compassion Fatigue among the medical caregivers at the pediatric hospital by providing individual and group counseling on site. She has a 35-year history of providing therapy for victims of trauma. Lou is the former Director of Rape Response and of CHIPS Center at Children’s (child abuse assessment and treatment clinic.) She has been a speaker and instructor for over 25 years in the areas of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Compassion Fatigue Prevention and Treatment and finding joy in living a life of service to others. Lou believes in the healing power of laughter, connection, and the wearing of weird shoes, all of which are included in her new book, Pickle Jar Diaries.