Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her clinical psychology Ph.D. from University of California Berkeley. She then went on to continue her specialization in trauma and ethnic minority mental health through internship and postdoctoral work at University of California San Francisco/San Francisco General Hospital.
She has combined her love of teaching and advocacy by serving as a professor, by directing mental health programs for children experiencing trauma, homelessness or foster care and developing her own consultancy. Much of her work has been with schools, higher ed, philanthropy and health care organizations, as a clinician, consultant and trainer. She also provides training and consultation to organizations and systems determined to create spaces of healing and belonging. The opportunities for her to serve have included everything from consulting with children’s media to providing coaching to executives in large organizations.
She currently serves as the Diversity Lead of Student Life at the University of Washington, as the founder and principal of Soft River Consultation and as a Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center where she focuses on developing and implementing the science of bridging (connecting across our differences).
Julia Levy is the executive director of Sparkler Learning, a family engagement organization that is leading the Big Heart World social and emotional learning initiative in collaboration with Noggin and 30+ organizational partners. Julia has worked for 15+ years at the crossroads of education, policy, and technology. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and an AB from Dartmouth College.
Makeda Mays Green is Senior Vice President, Digital and Cultural Consumer Insights at Nickelodeon. In her role, she evaluates the most effective ways to reach diverse target audiences through innovative research methodologies across Nickelodeon’s platforms.
Previously, she served as the Director of Education & Research, Digital Media at Sesame Workshop (the creators of Sesame Street), where she examined the potential of current and emerging digital media platforms to provide quality educational material to children and families.
She has delivered several keynote addresses and guest lectured at Harvard University, New York University and Temple University. She is the author of Makeda: Moving Up in Media and has appeared on The Learning Channel, CNN.com, MSNBC.com and Good Morning America Now.
Green is also a proud advisory board member of Raising Good Gamers, an initiative developed to create positive change in the culture and climate of online video gaming for youth; and Determined to Educate, a non-profit designed to support underserved youth through mentoring programs. She holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a M.A. and Ed.M in Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and resides in Stamford, CT., with her husband and three children.
Brittany Sommer Katzin, Ed.M. is Director of Learning and Impact at Noggin, Nickelodeon’s direct-to-consumer interactive learning platform for young children. At Noggin, Brittany leads family engagement efforts and initiatives focused on social and emotional learning. Previously, Brittany was Senior Director of Family Empowerment & Community Partnerships at the NYC Department of Education’s Division of Early Childhood Education. She led the development of culturally relevant family resources and programs and guided community engagement and partnership strategies. Brittany spent 5 years at Sesame Workshop, where she developed content and curricula for TV and digital assets, as well as produced multimedia outreach initiatives, including projects addressing resilience, the needs of military families, children of incarcerated parents, and healthy habits. Brittany has also spent time as an Education and Informal Learning Consultant with organizations such as The New York Hall of Science, Fred Rogers Productions, PBS, Google, and Sesame Workshop. Brittany holds an Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Child Development from Tufts University. She currently lives in Brooklyn and is the proud mom of Brooke and Max.
