Sponsors
February 9, 2017
The Simms/Mann Institute Think Tank is unique in its transdisciplinary focus; emphasis on the importance of whole child development; and surprise-and-delight moments that make the day a one-of-a-kind experience.
The Simms/Mann Think Tank is an annual convening of leading neuroscientists from around the world who present to—and engage with—a select group of 500 stakeholders who can directly impact policy and practice in early child development. Researchers showcase cutting-edge science related to children ages 0-3 for leaders from fields including education, medicine, business and philanthropy, who can immediately incorporate the research in their work with children, families and communities.
The Think Tank is also a big stage to recognize and celebrate the outstanding contributions of leaders in the field of 0-3. At the Think Tank, the Institute presents Whole Child Awards to leaders in medicine and education, and introduces the new cohort of Simms/Mann Faculty Fellows.
Stephanie is a Professor at the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota. Prior to this, she was Assistant-to-Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Washington (1998-2007). She also is currently serving as CEO of Reflection Sciences, a company she co-founded with Dr. Phil Zelazo at the University of Minnesota, which provides the Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS) and related services. Dr. Carlson is a developmental psychologist and internationally recognized leader in the measurement of executive function in preschool children. She conducts research on ways to promote the healthy development of EF in children and their caregivers.
Ruth Feldman, PhD, is the Simms-Mann professor of developmental social neuroscience and director of the Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzlia with a joint appointment at Yale University Child Study Center. She is also director of the Irving B. Harris community-based clinic and internship program for young children and their families. Her research focuses on the biological basis of social affiliation, processes of biobehavioral synchrony, longitudinal follow-up of infants at high risk stemming from biological (e.g., prematurity), maternal (e.g., postpartum depression), and contextual (e.g., war-related trauma) risk conditions, the neuroscience of empathy, and the effects of touch-based interventions. Her studies on the role of oxytocin in health and psychopathology have been instrumental for understanding the biological basis of social collaboration in humans. Her research on the maternal and paternal brain, human bond formation, the long-term effects of Kangaroo-Care on premature infants, the brain basis of conflict resolution, and the effects of maternal postpartum depression on children’s brain and behavior received substantial empirical and media attention. Dr. Feldman is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, has been on the editorial board of several high-impact journals, and has published over 300 articles in scientific journals and book chapters.
Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek is the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Temple University, where she serves as Director of the Temple Infant and Child Laboratory. Kathy received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and her Ph.D. at University of Pennsylvania. Her research in the areas of early language development, literacy and infant cognition has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and Human Development and the Department of Education (IES) resulting in 11 books and over 150 publications.
Dr. Patricia K. Kuhl is the Bezos Family Foundation Endowed Chair for Early Childhood Learning, Co-Director of the UW Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, Director of the NSF-funded Science of Learning Center, and Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences. She is internationally recognized for her research on early language and brain development, and studies that show how young children learn. Dr. Kuhl's work has played a major role in demonstrating how early exposure to language alters the brain. It has implications for critical periods in development, for bilingual education and reading readiness, for developmental disabilities involving language, and for research on computer understanding of speech.
Stephanie is a Professor at the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota. Prior to this, she was Assistant-to-Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Washington (1998-2007). She also is currently serving as CEO of Reflection Sciences, a company she co-founded with Dr. Phil Zelazo at the University of Minnesota, which provides the Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS) and related services. Dr. Carlson is a developmental psychologist and internationally recognized leader in the measurement of executive function in preschool children. She conducts research on ways to promote the healthy development of EF in children and their caregivers.
Ruth Feldman, PhD, is the Simms-Mann professor of developmental social neuroscience and director of the Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzlia with a joint appointment at Yale University Child Study Center. She is also director of the Irving B. Harris community-based clinic and internship program for young children and their families. Her research focuses on the biological basis of social affiliation, processes of biobehavioral synchrony, longitudinal follow-up of infants at high risk stemming from biological (e.g., prematurity), maternal (e.g., postpartum depression), and contextual (e.g., war-related trauma) risk conditions, the neuroscience of empathy, and the effects of touch-based interventions. Her studies on the role of oxytocin in health and psychopathology have been instrumental for understanding the biological basis of social collaboration in humans. Her research on the maternal and paternal brain, human bond formation, the long-term effects of Kangaroo-Care on premature infants, the brain basis of conflict resolution, and the effects of maternal postpartum depression on children’s brain and behavior received substantial empirical and media attention. Dr. Feldman is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, has been on the editorial board of several high-impact journals, and has published over 300 articles in scientific journals and book chapters.
Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek is the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Temple University, where she serves as Director of the Temple Infant and Child Laboratory. Kathy received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and her Ph.D. at University of Pennsylvania. Her research in the areas of early language development, literacy and infant cognition has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and Human Development and the Department of Education (IES) resulting in 11 books and over 150 publications.
Dr. Patricia K. Kuhl is the Bezos Family Foundation Endowed Chair for Early Childhood Learning, Co-Director of the UW Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, Director of the NSF-funded Science of Learning Center, and Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences. She is internationally recognized for her research on early language and brain development, and studies that show how young children learn. Dr. Kuhl's work has played a major role in demonstrating how early exposure to language alters the brain. It has implications for critical periods in development, for bilingual education and reading readiness, for developmental disabilities involving language, and for research on computer understanding of speech.
Dr. Andrew N. Meltzoff holds the Job and Gertrud Tamaki Endowed Chair and is the Co-Director of the University of Washington Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences. A graduate of Harvard University, with a PhD from Oxford University, he is an internationally renowned expert on infant and child development. His discoveries about infant imitation have revolutionized our understanding of early cognition, personality, and brain development. His research on social-emotional development and children’s understanding of other people has helped shape policy and practice.
Jonathan Mooney is a dyslexic writer and activist who did not learn to read until he was 12 years old. He is a graduate of Brown University’s class of 2000 and holds an honors degree in English Literature. Jonathan is founder and President of Project Eye-To-Eye, a mentoring and advocacy non-profit organization for students with learning differences. Project Eye-To-Eye currently has 20 chapters, in 13 states working with over 3,000 students, parents and educators nation wide.
Catherine Monk, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, and Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Director for Research at the Women’s Program, Columbia University Medical Center, as well as Co-Director of the Sackler Parent-Infant Project and the Domestic Violence Initiative, and a member of Columbia’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Council. Trained as a clinical psychologist, she spends the majority of her time on research, and a small percent treating patients, most of whom are women experiencing depression or anxiety related to perinatal issues (fetal anomaly, stillbirth, preterm birth, concerns about their own traumatic childhoods in relation to becoming a mother).
Dr. Levitt is the Simms/Mann Chair in Developmental Neurogenetics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the WM Keck Provost Professor of Neurogenetics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. He also serves as the Director of the USC Neuroscience Graduate Program. Dr. Levitt has held chair and institute directorships at the University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University and the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Levitt has been a MERIT awardee from the National Institute of Mental Health and served as a member of the National Advisory Mental Health Council for the National Institute of Mental Health. He is an elected member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Andrew N. Meltzoff holds the Job and Gertrud Tamaki Endowed Chair and is the Co-Director of the University of Washington Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences. A graduate of Harvard University, with a PhD from Oxford University, he is an internationally renowned expert on infant and child development. His discoveries about infant imitation have revolutionized our understanding of early cognition, personality, and brain development. His research on social-emotional development and children’s understanding of other people has helped shape policy and practice.
Jonathan Mooney is a dyslexic writer and activist who did not learn to read until he was 12 years old. He is a graduate of Brown University’s class of 2000 and holds an honors degree in English Literature. Jonathan is founder and President of Project Eye-To-Eye, a mentoring and advocacy non-profit organization for students with learning differences. Project Eye-To-Eye currently has 20 chapters, in 13 states working with over 3,000 students, parents and educators nation wide.
Catherine Monk, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, and Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Director for Research at the Women’s Program, Columbia University Medical Center, as well as Co-Director of the Sackler Parent-Infant Project and the Domestic Violence Initiative, and a member of Columbia’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Council. Trained as a clinical psychologist, she spends the majority of her time on research, and a small percent treating patients, most of whom are women experiencing depression or anxiety related to perinatal issues (fetal anomaly, stillbirth, preterm birth, concerns about their own traumatic childhoods in relation to becoming a mother).
Dr. Levitt is the Simms/Mann Chair in Developmental Neurogenetics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the WM Keck Provost Professor of Neurogenetics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. He also serves as the Director of the USC Neuroscience Graduate Program. Dr. Levitt has held chair and institute directorships at the University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University and the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Levitt has been a MERIT awardee from the National Institute of Mental Health and served as a member of the National Advisory Mental Health Council for the National Institute of Mental Health. He is an elected member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Stephanie is a Professor at the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota. Prior to this, she was Assistant-to-Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Washington (1998-2007).
She also is currently serving as CEO of Reflection Sciences, a company she co-founded with Dr. Phil Zelazo at the University of Minnesota, which provides the Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS) and related services.
Dr. Carlson is a developmental psychologist and internationally recognized leader in the measurement of executive function in preschool children. She conducts research on ways to promote the healthy development of EF in children and their caregivers. Her work has received continuous funding since 2002 from federal agencies and non-profit foundations, including the National Institutes of Health, Institute of Education Sciences, John Templeton Foundation, and the Character Lab. Dr. Carlson’s research is highly cited and has been featured in several media outlets, including Time, New York Times Magazine, and National Public Radio.
Education
B.A. (summa cum laude) with Honors in Psychology, Bucknell University (1991)
Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology, University of Oregon (1997)
McDonnell Pew Postdoctoral Trainee, University of Oregon (1997-98)
Organizations & Memberships
Dr. Carlson is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. She has served on several editorial boards, as Vice President of the Jean Piaget Society, and as a member of the Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group (University of Chicago) and the Frontiers of Innovation Pre-k Standards and Assessments Working Group (Harvard Center on the Developing Child and the National Governors’ Association). She is an advisor to the Minnesota Children’s Museum, Sesame Workshop,Playworks.org, and Understood.org. She has been nominated as a “Favorite Professor” by undergraduates and is frequently invited to speak at national and international meetings.
Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek is the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Temple University, where she serves as Director of the Temple Infant and Child Laboratory. Kathy received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and her Ph.D. at University of Pennsylvania. Her research in the areas of early language development, literacy and infant cognition has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and Human Development and the Department of Education (IES) resulting in 11 books and over 150 publications.
With her long time collaborator, Roberta Golinkoff, she is a recipient of The APA Bronfenbrenner Award for lifetime contribution to the science of developmental psychology in the service of science and society and the APA Award for Distinguished Service to Psychological Science. She also received Temple University’s Great Teacher Award and Paul Eberman Research Award. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society, served as the Associate Editor of Child Development and treasurer of the International Association for Infant Studies. She serves on the editorial board of Infancy. Her book, Einstein Never used Flashcards: How children really learn and why they need to play more and memorize less, (Rodale Books) won the prestigious Books for Better Life Award as the best psychology book in 2003. Kathy is deeply invested in bridging the gap between research and practice.
To that end, she was a researcher on the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, co-developed the language and literacy preschool curricula for the State of California, was the co-founder of the Ultimate Block Party and Learn, the Learning Resource Network. She serves on the advisory boards of Disney Junior, Fred Rogers Center, Jumpstart, The New York Hall of Science and the Dupage Children’s Museum and is a regular columnist for the Huffington Post and Psychology Today.
Dr. Patricia K. Kuhl is the Bezos Family Foundation Endowed Chair for Early Childhood Learning, Co-Director of the UW Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, Director of the NSF-funded Science of Learning Center, and Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences. She is internationally recognized for her research on early language and brain development, and studies that show how young children learn. Dr. Kuhl’s work has played a major role in demonstrating how early exposure to language alters the brain. It has implications for critical periods in development, for bilingual education and reading readiness, for developmental disabilities involving language, and for research on computer understanding of speech.
Dr. Kuhl is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Rodin Academy, and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. She was awarded the Silver Medal of the Acoustical Society of America in 1997, and in 2005, the Kenneth Craik Research Award from Cambridge University. She received the University of Washington’s Faculty Lectureship Award in 1998, and in the 2007, Dr. Kuhl was awarded the University of Minnesota’s Outstanding Achievement Award. Dr. Kuhl is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Acoustical Society of America, the Cognitive Science Society and the American Psychological Society. In 2008 Dr. Kuhl was awarded the Gold Medal from Acoustical Society of America for her work on learning and the brain. In 2011 in Paris, she was awarded the IPSEN Fondation’s Jean-Louis Signoret Neuropsychology Prize.
Dr. Kuhl was one of six scientists invited to the White House in 1997 to make a presentation at President and Mrs. Clinton’s Conference on “Early Learning and the Brain.” In 2001, she was invited to make a presentation at President and Mrs. Bush’s White House Summit on “Early Cognitive Development: Ready to Read, Ready to Learn.” In 2000, she co-authored The Scientist in the Crib: Minds, Brains, and How Children Learn (Morrow Press).
Dr. Kuhl’s work has been widely covered by the media. She has appeared in the Discovery television series “The Baby Human”; the NOVA series “The Mind”; the “The Power of Ideas” on PBS; and “The Secret Life of the Brain,” also on PBS. She has discussed her research findings on early learning and the brain at NBC’s Education Nation, and on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, NHK, CNN, and in The New York Times, Time, and Newsweek.
Dr. Andrew N. Meltzoff holds the Job and Gertrud Tamaki Endowed Chair and is the Co-Director of the University of Washington Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences. A graduate of Harvard University, with a PhD from Oxford University, he is an internationally renowned expert on infant and child development. His discoveries about infant imitation have revolutionized our understanding of early cognition, personality, and brain development. His research on social-emotional development and children’s understanding of other people has helped shape policy and practice.
Dr. Meltzoff’s 20 years of research on young children has had far-reaching implications for cognitive science, especially for ideas about memory and its development; for brain science, especially for ideas about common coding and shared neural circuits for perception and action; and for early education and parenting, particularly for ideas about the importance of role models, both adults and peers, in child development.
He is the co-author of two books about early learning and the brain: The Scientist in the Crib: What Early Learning Tells Us about the Mind (Morrow Press, 2000) and Words, Thoughts and Theories (MIT Press, 1997). He is also co-editor of The Imitative Mind: Development, Evolution and Brain Bases (Cambridge University Press, 2002), a unique, multidisciplinary volume combining brain science, evolutionary theory, and developmental psychology.
Dr. Meltzoff is the recipient of a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health. In 2005, he was the recipient of an award for outstanding research from the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and the Kenneth Craik Award in Psychology, Cambridge University, England. Dr. Meltzoff is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychological Society. He has been inducted into the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and is the recipient of the James McKeen Cattell Sabbatical Award.
Dr. Meltzoff is active in volunteer work concerning children, having served on the board of directors of the Foundation for Early Learning, the board of directors of the University Child Development School, the National Advisory Committee for Grants of the March of Dimes Foundation, and the national advisory board of Parents Magazine.
Dr. Meltzoff has appeared on the PBS programs Scientific American Frontiers and NOVA, on ABC’s World News Now, NBC’s Today Show, the CBC Discovery series, and in numerous other media outlets. He is married to Dr. Patricia K. Kuhl, and they have one daughter.
Jonathan Mooney is a dyslexic writer and activist who did not learn to read until he was 12 years old. He is a graduate of Brown University’s class of 2000 and holds an honors degree in English Literature. Jonathan is founder and President of Project Eye-To-Eye, a mentoring and advocacy non-profit organization for students with learning differences. Project Eye-To-Eye currently has 20 chapters, in 13 states working with over 3,000 students, parents and educators nation wide.
A winner of the prestigious Truman Scholarship for graduate studies in disability studies and social change, Jonathan was also a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. With the publication of Learning Outside the Lines (now in its 14th printing) when he was 23, Jonathan has established himself as one of the foremost leaders in LD/ADHD, disabilities, and alternative education. His second book, The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal, is a memoir, published by Henry Holt in June, 2007. Lauded as “a heartfelt rebuke to the rigid definitions of normality,” by Kirkus Review, the book is Jonathan’s journey across the United States, in a converted short school bus, as he seeks to celebrate cognitive and physical diversity through profiles of people who have been labeled abnormal their entire lives. His work on behalf of students with disabilities was recognized by the LD Access Foundation in 2003 when he was awarded the Golden Advocacy award. Previous honorees include David Boies, Judith Rodin, former President of The University of Pennsylvania, and The Honorable Thomas H. Kean, former governor of New Jersey.
Jonathan is a highly sought-after speaker and has lectured in 43 states and three countries. He has lectured at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, Brown University, the University of Wisconsin School of Education, New York University Medical School’s Grand Rounds, Teachers College Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Vassar College, and many other institutions of higher education. Jonathan has also given keynote addresses at most major national education conferences and speaks frequently to students of all ages.
Jonathan has been featured and quoted in The New York Times, USA Today, NPR, ABC News, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and numerous other local and regional papers in the cities, states, and countries where Jonathan has traveled.
Catherine Monk, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, and Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Director for Research at the Women’s Program, Columbia University Medical Center, as well as Co-Director of the Sackler Parent-Infant Project and the Domestic Violence Initiative, and a member of Columbia’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Council. Trained as a clinical psychologist, she spends the majority of her time on research, and a small percent treating patients, most of whom are women experiencing depression or anxiety related to perinatal issues (fetal anomaly, stillbirth, preterm birth, concerns about their own traumatic childhoods in relation to becoming a mother). Dr. Monk’s research brings together the fields of psychopathology, developmental psychobiology, and perinatal psychiatry to focus on the earliest influences on children’s developmental trajectories—those that happen in utero—and how to intervene early to prevent mental health problems. She collaborates with colleagues to include biological and psychological processes in her research, e.g., using MRI techniques to study variation in brain development related to prenatal maternal factors such as distress and poor nutrition, examining gene expression in placentas related to similar maternal variables. Several of these projects are funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health, as is an intervention study titled ‘Behavioral Change in the Mother/Infant Dyad: Preventing Postpartum Depression’
Dr. Levitt is the Simms/Mann Chair in Developmental Neurogenetics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the WM Keck Provost Professor of Neurogenetics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. He also serves as the Director of the USC Neuroscience Graduate Program. Dr. Levitt has held chair and institute directorships at the University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University and the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Levitt has been a MERIT awardee from the National Institute of Mental Health and served as a member of the National Advisory Mental Health Council for the National Institute of Mental Health. He is an elected member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Levitt is a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University, and serves as Scientific Director of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, a policy council that brings the best research from child development and neuroscience to assist state and federal policy makers and private sector business leaders in making wise decisions regarding program investment. He has spoken on this topic in over 30 states.
Dr. Levitt’s research focuses on the development of circuitry that controls learning, emotional and social behavior. The laboratory performs studies on genetic and environment factors that influence circuit formation and the underlying influence of individual differences (heterogeneity) in complex behaviors. Studies also identify factors that increase risk for neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. His clinical research addresses disorder heterogeneity by studying children with neurodevelopmental disorders who also have co-occurring medical conditions, and children exposed to toxic stress (neglect, abuse) early in life that may impact mental and physical health short- and long-term. The studies have a goal of developing better diagnostic criteria and personalized treatments. He has published over 265 scientific papers.
The Simms/Mann Institute is proud to announce the 2017 Whole Child Awards to honor leaders who pursue a whole child approach in their work. This year, the Simms Mann Institute is expanding the Whole Child Award to honor extraordinary individuals from a variety of sectors. Specifically, we are looking for individuals who have made a significant impact in the zero to three space as medical clinicians (OB/GYNs, pediatricians, or nurses), nonprofit/community leaders, or educational champions. Each winner will receive a $25,000 award and recognition at the Simms Mann Institute Think Tank.
Held in Santa Barbara, CA with featured keynote speakers Drs. Patricia Kuhl and Andrew Meltzoff, internationally recognized researchers from the University of Washington.
Go to ProjectHeld in Santa Barbara, CA with featured keynote speakers Dr. Ruth Feldman from Bar-Ilan University and Yale University Child Study Center and Dr. Kyle Pruett from Yale University Child Study Center.
Go to ProjectOn November 3, 2015, the Simms/Mann Institute convened a group of 500 stakeholders from fields including education, business, philanthropy and medicine who directly impact policy and practice in early child development for its annual Think Tank.
Go to Project