EXPERT SERIES: Goldie Hawn & Bruce Wexler, M.D., Brain-Based Approaches to Optimize Student Outcomes

GOLDIE HAWN AND BRUCE WEXLER, M.D., FACILITATED BY HOLLY MCCORMACK

In this Expert Series session, BrainFutures’ Chief Strategy Officer, Holly McCormack, will interview Goldie Hawn, Founder of the education-focused Goldie Hawn Foundation, and Bruce Wexler, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Senior Research Scientist at Yale University School of Medicine.

Together, these experts will share why, now more than ever, it is essential for families, school leaders, and funders to consider the neuroscience behind executive function skill-building programs, and why such programs should be a universal prevention component to a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) in all schools.

Goldie Hawn is a beloved American actress, producer, philanthropist and educator. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, before going on to receive the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Cactus Flower.

MindUP is the signature program of The Goldie Hawn Foundation, a not-for-profit organization created in response to the global epidemic of childhood aggression, anxiety, depression and suicide. Based firmly in neuroscience, MindUP gives children the knowledge and tools they need to manage stress, regulate emotions and face the challenges of the 21st century with optimism, resilience and compassion.

Dr. Bruce Wexler is a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Senior Research Scientist at Yale School of Medicine. In 35 years of neuroscience research, he has advanced the understanding of brain plasticity and been an international leader in developing computer-presented brain exercises to treat cognitive deficits in people with psychiatric illnesses. His patent-pending innovations led to the development of the ACTIVATE™ cognition cross-training program for children that integrates computer-presented and physical exercises to improve executive function skills essential for learning. For this work, he received an NIH Director’s Award for “high innovation, high impact” research. Dr. Wexler’s book Brain and Culture: Neurobiology, Ideology, and Social Change has received international attention.

Holly McCormack joined BrainFutures in February 2020 as Chief Strategy Officer, overseeing national efforts to advance proven innovations in brain fitness and mental health treatment. She also consults on topics of whole-person education, and in this capacity, was co-author on BrainFutures' 2019 issue brief, Brain Fitness and Executive Function: Evidence-Based Interventions to Improve Student Outcomes and on the Kennedy Forum’s 2015 brief, Promoting Brain Health and Brain Fitness: A National Call for Action.

McCormack co-developed one of the nation’s first college-accredited mindfulness, social and emotional learning (SEL), and yogic-based semesters at Kripalu Center; and later served as Executive Director of The Goldie Hawn Foundation, helping to bring its signature mindfulness and SEL program to some of the largest school districts in the United States. McCormack worked in higher education for twenty years, most recently as Dean for Career Development at Kenyon College.

BrainFutures is a national nonprofit dedicated to improving human outcomes by assessing and advancing the practical applications of new scientific understanding of the brain. As a citizen advocacy organization, we enlist specialists to offer rigorous assessment of—and education about—brain-based interventions that target specific segments of society. By providing objective evidence-based information about what works and clearing policy and practice pathways, we aim to maximize human potential and ameliorate pressing social challenges.

BrainFutures was launched in 2015 by the nation’s second oldest mental health advocacy organization, the Mental Health Association of Maryland (MHAMD). For more than 100 years, MHAMD has addressed the mental health needs of Marylanders of all ages through programs that educate the public, advance public policy, and monitor the quality of mental healthcare services. Building on this success, and bolstered by a cross-disciplinary advisory board of leading experts, BrainFutures brings together diverse stakeholders, policymakers, funders, and influencers to accelerate and scaffold national adoption of effective practices targeting four main areas:

Breakthroughs in our understanding of the brain have the potential to improve learning outcomes for children, optimize functioning at work, enhance treatment for a mental health or substance use problem, and maintain sharp thinking as we age.

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[scottbonnar]

The youth are 100% of our future. Our future is currently being eroded by an old system.
Our future existence is fundamentally based on our capacity to self regulate and implement the executive function.
Critical thinking is the core, Mindup is the answer.
Thank you 🙏🏼
Bruce and Goldie for you life’s work.