Pikler/Lóczy® USA Board of Trustees
FOUNDER OF PIKLER/LÓCZY®
Laura J. Briley
Laura J. Briley believed that children needed and deserved respect, love and attentive care so that they could grow up feeling that they mattered, and therefore have a smile in their hearts and a positive impact in the world. Laura's commitment to improving children's quality of life, and her tireless dedication to her mission of creating Peace in the world one baby at a time will live on.
Laura believed that if we educate ourselves on how to better serve our very young we would succeed in making this world a better place. She encouraged us all and supported us all in many ways to learn as much as we could on how to be respectful and caring with young children. For this reason we are creating an endowment in her loving memory, so we can continue to provide scholarships and carry on with her mission.
Thank you for your love and for keeping her light alive in your hearts. Laura continues to live through us and through each child she ever came in contact with, either directly or indirectly. We are all better better human beings because of Laura.
CEO and TREASURER
Elsa Chahin
Ms. Chahin, an in-demand speaker, writer, educator, and certified mindfulness meditation teacher, has served as a keynote speaker and presenter at more than 200 national and international conferences and seminars on the topic of caring for babies with respect. She co-authored the book, “In Loving Hands”, with Anna Tardos (Dr. Emmi Pikler’s daughter) and is one of only two certified and accredited Pikler®️ Trainers in North America. In addition, Ms. Chahin is President/CEO of the non-profit corporation, Pikler/Lóczy USA, and as a staunch advocate of early childhood education and development, she is a working group leader for World Forum Foundation™️, a RIE®️ Associate, PITC trainer, and UCLA Certified Lactation Educator. Dedicating her career to bettering the lives of children everywhere, Ms. Chahin not only brings passion and commitment to her work but also brings a deep knowledge coupled with both insight and generosity to all that she does.
VICE PRESIDENT
Guillaume Vallee
Guillaume was born in Nantes, France, in a family led by the strong presence and educative influence of his dear maternal grandmother, a former kindergarten teacher.
Getting his first education national certificate at the age of 16 in France, he put aside his passion for early childhood education studying politics and management, obtaining a first master’s degree in those disciplines and pushing forward with a second master’s degree in international management. After moving to China in 2002, he quickly reunited with ECE and discovered what Montessori education was through friendship and mutual care with Dr. Marlene Barron, former AMS President; and whom was to become his wife, Jemina V.Vallee. For the past twenty-five years, Guillaume has dedicated his energy and time to helping teachers, families and young children with the harmonious Montessori Education Philosophy as his magic wand, including his two teenage boys.
Guillaume serves on various Educational Association boards, consults for schools around Asia, sharing experience and knowledge benefiting children across the continent.
Guillaume, that his friends and colleagues call either Gui or G, is eager to support teachers and caregivers through the various projects he is involved with and particularly with MonPik in collaboration with Elsa Chahin.
BOARD MEMBER
Gabrielle Anwar
Born in Berkshire, England, the endearing and accomplished Gabrielle Anwar has over 45 film and television performances to her credit in both Europe and the States. In 2001 Gabrielle discovered the work of Emmi Pikler after the birth of her second child. Her three children were raised within the Pikler method, Gabrielle siting the insightful work as “life-changing.” In 2017 Gabrielle completed a biographic screenplay about Pikler’s life, and hopes to continue working with PLUSA to develop a documentary to bring this same enlightenment to parents globally. An actress, painter, writer and director, Gabrielle has emphatically enthused, “When children are raised without violence, even in it’s most subtle form, they learn not how to harm another, instead with this approach, they learn how to love. Herein lies the key to peace.”
VICE PRESIDENT
Laura Willhoite
Laura Willhoite has more than 14 years of experience working with children, both as a high school English teacher and in early childhood education specializing in literacy, imagination, and play-based learning. She is passionate about respectful care, respecting the whole child, and advocating for the rights of children around the world. After discovering the Pikler® approach, she became a student in the process of becoming a Pedagogue candidate. She serves as a member of the Pikler/Lóczy USA Board of Trustees and as PLUSA’s volunteer Director of Communications and Social Media Coordinator.
SECRETARY
Enid Elliot, Ph.D.
Currently Enid works at Camosun College educating caregivers who will work with babies and young children. As a college instructor she is interested in encouraging students to be curious about babies’ and toddlers’ explorations and learn to attend to the relationships that they form with babies. As a board member of Pikler USA she has worked on proofreading and editing the videos and text, which will be in English. After working with babies, young mothers and infant toddler caregivers she did a PhD in Early Childhood Education. From her dissertation came the book, We’re not robots, listening to the voices of daycare providers, which examined the experiences of women who worked with babies, and she has written several chapters in books on infant/toddler care.
BOARD MEMBER
Anna Ruth Myers. M.A.
Founded by RIE® Associate and Pikler® Pedagogue candidate, Anna Ruth Myers, The Nurtured Child offers RIE® Certified classes in NYC’s only RIE® dedicated classroom designed specifically to support the competence, autonomy, and integrity of the young child.
Anna Ruth Myers is an infant development specialist with over 15 years of experience supporting families and children. As a certified doula, childbirth and breastfeeding educator, she has supported over 100 families through the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum periods. Anna Ruth is a certified RIE® Associate and highly trained Pikler® infant care specialist who has completed multiple trainings at the Pikler Institute® in Budapest. In addition, Anna Ruth holds diplomas in both Montessori and Waldorf education and has completed 2 study groups in the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education.
BOARD MEMBER
Julia Michelagnoli
Julia Michelagnoli is an educational psychologist and a member of the Asociación Paraguaya Maria Montessori. She is a Montessori Guide by Montessori Institute of San Diego since 2018 and worked in a Montessori forest school. She has further studies in child development by RIE®️ (Resources for infant educators), and is continually training in Pikler pedagogy by the Lóczy Institute of Hungary and the Pikler/Lóczy USA. Fascinated with children’s unfolding potential, she currently offers private consultations and facilitates parent-infant guidance classes based on freedom of movement and play.
BOARD MEMBER
Ms. Vivien Wang, M.B.A.
Ms. Vivien Wang, Chairman and CEO of Etonkids Educational Group, started her career as a lecturer in statistics at Xi'an Jiao-Tong University. She later earned her MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management with a concentration in Marketing, Finance, and Education Management. After Kellogg, Ms. Wang worked as an investment strategist at Merrill Lynch's Wall Street Head Office and has since conducted business seminars at the China Europe International Business School, Peking University, and Tsinghua University. Ms. Wang possesses extensive experience in multinational management and operations, having worked throughout the United States, London, Singapore, and Hong Kong. In 2002, she was elected president of the Kellogg Beijing Alumni Club. In 2006, she successfully organized the first Kellogg Asia Marketing Conference. She currently serves as co-chair and senior consultant for the club.
Ms. Wang founded Etonkids Educational Group in 2002 with collaboration of alumni from Harvard University and Kellogg School of Management as well as American Montessori Society (AMS) experts and quickly built it into China's leading provider of early education. She has received numerous awards for her contribution to education in China, including being named as part of the "Top 100 Educators in China." She is the Vice President of the China Private Education-Early Education Committee as well as a member of the American Montessori Society and National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Ms. Wang authored a parenting book entitled Hey, Do You Know Your Baby? This book encapsulates 10 years of Etonkids' Montessori education practice in China and summarizes the educational experience of tens of thousands of Etonkids students from over 50 campuses covering the past 14 years. The book's central message involves the sharing of valuable and practical information for parents to learn how to evolve their parenting skills and how to help their children to develop into individuals.
BOARD MEMBER
Evelyn Jean-Louis
Evelyn Jean-Louis is a native of the Seychelles Islands. A UCLA alum, she writes/produces films, documentaries, oral history, and literature. She co-founded the Los Angeles-based production company Jet Media Production in 2008. Her producing credits include the documentary films Haiti 16:53 (2010), Jimmy Goes to Nollywood (2015), the feature film Everything But A Man (2018) directed by Nnegest Likke (Phat Girlz), and the neo-noir psychological thriller RattleSnakes (2019). She wrote and produced the short film Fahim (2012) based on her original published short story. She documented an oral history project about Aids in the Black Community (2014).
She founded the non-profit organization Hollywood Unites for Haiti, which brought educational opportunities to children in rural Haiti. HUFH built a school that served grades 5-15 years old. The school provided needed jobs for the rural village. In 2021 HUFH transferred the school to a local non-profit organization in Haiti.
BOARD MEMBER
Agnes Szanto-Feder, Ph.D.
Agnes Szanto-Feder had very early contact with Dr Emmi Pikler, since Emmi Pikler was the family pediatrician when she was born. She has been living in France since 1956 where she received Masters Degree and Doctorate in Psychology in the research of the psychomotor development of young children. She has been working since 1973; first as Psychologist in a nursery, later as Professor of Early Childhood at Universities in France, Belgium, Italy, Argentina. Keynote speaker at International Conferences (U.S.A., South America and Europe). She is a founding-member and Vice-President of the Pikler-Lóczy Association of France and of the International Pikler (Lóczy) Association. She has authored several books translated to different languages. She has two daughters.
BOARD MEMBER
Stuart Brown, MD
Trained in general and internal medicine, psychiatry, and clinical research, Dr. Stuart Brown first recognized the importance of play by discovering its absence in the life stories of murders and felony drunken drivers. His years of clinical practice and review of over 6000 personal play histories affirmed the importance and need for healthy play throughout the human life cycle. His independent scholarship and exploration of the evolution and neuroscience of human and animal play have led to the establishment of the National Institute for Play. The Mission of the National Institute for Play (NIFP) is to bring the unrealized knowledge, practices, and benefits of play into public life. Dr. Brown was the instigator and Executive Producer of the three-part PBS series, “The Promise of Play,” and coproduced the BBC-PBS series “Soul of the Universe.” His experience as a medical administrator, producer, and scientific consultant or creator to numerous other productions on Joseph Campbell, Cosmology, Animal Play, and Stress, plus his scientific and popular writings have identified him as the foremost “practical champion of the knowledge of play.” Dr. Brown’s book: Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul has been translated into twelve languages. He co-teaches From Play to Innovation at the Hasso Plattner School of Design at Stanford University and is the “Key Strategist” for the Nevada Medical Center’s Global Play Science Institute. In addition to regular creative scholarly contributions for the PlayCore company, he enjoys other international corporate and academic consulting on play and its many contributions through their engagement with it, as it enhances overall human well-being. As the information base about play grows, it is evident that play is a public health necessity.
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Ken JaffeE, J.D.
Ken founded The International Child Resource Institute in 1981 to improve the lives of children and families. ICRI has established over 500 child and family programs in more than 50 countries. Ken studied child development at the University of Uppsala and UC Berkeley, where he also earned a Masters degree. Additionally, he holds a Juris Doctor degree in law, specializing in juvenile justice and children's rights. Ken has authored two books and numerous articles on ECD. Ken has been a member and chair of ECD Boards, committees and commissions, including the California Governor's Commission and the World Forum on Early Care and Education. He has advised the national governments of Singapore, China, Malaysia, Sweden, Ecuador, Ghana, Bosnia, Croatia, and Nepal.
AD HONOREM BOARD MEMBER
His Excellency Mr. David Nájera, Mexican Ambassador to Hungary
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Beth Salcedo, M.D.
Dr. Salcedo is an adult psychiatrist and the Medical Director of The Ross Center. Dr. Salcedo specializes in treating adults with anxiety and mood disorders, including depression, panic disorder, and struggles during life transitions. She is known for her diagnostic expertise, which enables her to customize a treatment plan that includes the optimal mix of therapy and medication management. She is understanding of the ambivalence many patients have regarding medication, and provides non-medication interventions for those who are reluctant to pursue more intensive treatment. Her goal is to minimize symptoms and maximize quality of life for each patient.
A dynamic leader, Dr. Salcedo serves as the President of the prestigious Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) where she has been an active board member for many years. A Distinguished Fellow with The American Psychiatric Association, she is consistently included in Washingtonian Magazine’s “Top Doctors” ranking. Dr. Salcedo completed her residency in psychiatry at The George Washington University School of Medicine, where she was selected Chief Resident. She was also inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical school honor society and awarded for her medical student teaching. She has served as the Medical Director of The Ross Center since 2002, ensuring that all clinicians are providing the highest quality medical care.
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Tracy Epps, Ph.D
Tracy Epps received her Montessori training from the Montessori Institute of San Diego, at the Assistants to Infancy (0-3) and Primary (3-6) levels. Tracy holds a master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s in Montessori Education from Loyola University of Maryland, and a doctorate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from DePaul University. For eight years she ran a successful home-based, Montessori-inspired school, serving infants through six year olds. Many of her clients shared that they had become better parents while their children were in her care.
Tracy also served as Toddler lead teacher and Head of School for a Wildflower Montessori school in Cambridge, MA. She now resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she is planning to open a Wildflower school in Pittsburg, CA. In a previous life, Tracy served as adjunct faculty in management and psychology, a personal and executive coach, an organizational consultant, and a research psychologist for the U.S. Army. In addition to her work in early childhood education, she now serves as an officer in the US Army Reserve.
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Peter L. Mangione, Ph.D.
Peter L. Mangione, PhD, co-directs WestEd’s Center for Child and Family Studies. Mangione is one of the lead developers of the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC), a national model for training early childhood practitioners. He is one of the principal collaborators in the development of the California Department of Education’s Desired Results Developmental Profile. Mangione has served on advisory groups for the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Zero To Three, and participated in meetings conducted by the National Academy of Sciences. Mr. Mangione serves on the Advisory Board of Pikler/Lóczy USA.
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Natasha Khazanov, Ph.D.
Prof. Natasha Khazanov, Ph.D. presented at our Pikler® USA Conference 2017, and is a neuropsychologist, a psychotherapist, and creator of the SMARTT™ Parenting program. She also is an Associate Clinical Professor au UCSF School of Medicine, where she teaches medical school students and residents. Her deep interest in the neurobiology of trauma led her to forensic field. She served as an expert witness in over eighty criminal (mostly capital) cases. In her SMARTT™ Parenting Program she was able to integrate all she learned in her thirty-year career about the brain, mind and behavior to assist parents and caregivers in raising children who become resilient, responsible and successful adults. Dr. Khazanov believes that, "Dr. Pikler was an intuitive neuroscientist".
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Bonnie Neugebauer
Bonnie Neugebauer is Co-Founder and Director of Program Development for the World Forum Foundation with the mission “of promoting an ongoing global exchange of ideas on the delivery of quality services for young children in diverse settings.” World Forum on Early Care and Education will celebrate its 20 year anniversary in Macao, China, April 6-9, 2019. Bonnie is the recipient of the 2018 Pikler/Lóczy USA Founders Award.
Online, Bonnie curates content for Bonnie’s Global Café — a virtual space that feels like an actual place — inviting people from around the world to share updates and stories and to build connections in order to strengthen this community of advocates for children. Together with her husband Roger Neugebauer, a like-minded risk taker and connection strategist,
Bonnie is also Founding Editor of Exchange Magazine, first published in March of 1978 as a vehicle for exchanging ideas and information among professional advocates in the field of early care and education. Exchange is now in the guiding hands of Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, and Bonnie continues to write her column “Speaking” in each issue and to mentor vision and history.
Bonnie was a Family Child Care Provider, neighborhood play group organizer, high school English teacher. She earned her MS in Education from Wheelock College and was later honored with a Ed.D. (hc) from Wheelock. She and Roger vowed to work together at their wedding (with no idea what that work might be), decided to open a school (but got distracted), and along the way found work to enjoy that required new skills, offered adventures and mission, and created connections with people — remarkable, heart-warming people all over the world.
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Octavio Pescador, Ph.D.
Professor Octavio Pescador, Ph.D. is a political analyst, senior research associate at Juarez & Associates, and founding research associate of the UCLA Paulo Freire Institute in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. He has worked extensively domestically and internationally for over two decades designing and conducting qualitative and quantitative research projects in education, health and political participation. His expertise include developing survey instruments, conducting needs analyses, and evaluating program outcomes. Dr. Pescador serves as a global affairs analyst for electronic and print media and was named UCLA Mortar Board Honor Senior Society Distinguished Faculty in 2009 and UCLA Bruin Democrat Faculty of the year in 2012. He obtained a Ph.D. in Education from UCLA, a M.A. International Development Education from Stanford University and a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA.
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Eszter Neuman, J.D.
Eszter Neuman moved to the United States from Budapest when she was five years old. She watched her parents learn how to speak English and adjust to life, including raising a child, stateside. While she and her parents enjoyed new and wonderful opportunities, she also came to appreciate many of the parenting and family-centered approaches her parents and family back in Hungary practiced. Today, Eszter is a wife, mother, and lawyer. She and her family live in Los Angeles where she practices healthcare law. She is excited to continue the Pikler pedagogy and hopes her advocacy experience can be of meaningful use and benefit to the organization.
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Angyal Till
Angyal has been a teacher and caregiver for forty two years. Presently she is a preschool teacher and mentor with the Catholic Charities head start organization in Phoenix Arizona. She prepares disadvantaged children for school by maximizing their potential for social and emotional competence resulting in an easier transition to kindergarten. Angyal follows the Reggio Emilia philosophical approach to children aged four and five with education provided through a holistic approach by working with the family.
She worked in the Pikler House “Loczy” between 1978 and 1983 where she provided love, attention and care to promote normal physical and mental development for newborns through six years old.
While working at the Pikler house she graduated in 1982 at the Health Care and Medical Nursing School in Budapest Hungary and became a registered Hungarian General Pediatric nurse and infant caregiver.
Angyal then worked in a daycare in Gyula Hungary until 2003 when she moved to Canada.
While working as a YWCA Daycare supervisor in Regina Saskatchewan Canada from 2005 through 2011 she earned her Early Childhood Bachelor’s Degree from SIAST, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology.
Angyal moved to Arizona in 2011 and has completed multiple child development trainings including children with special needs and Reggio Emilia (R.I.S.E.) Reggio Inspired Spaces That Empower.
HONORARY BOARD OF EXPERTS
Linda Hinrichs, M.A.
Linda Hinrichs is the Director of The Children’s Corner Play Center, which she founded in 1980. Linda consults with parents and offers parent education evenings at her center. Linda met and began her studies with Magda Gerber in 1979. Through Gerber, she was introduced to Dr. Emmi Pikler and traveled to Budapest, Hungary to attend the first English study tour at Lóczy in 1986. She has returned to Budapest numerous times to study and has participated in all of the Pikler/Lóczy USA Intensives. Linda is currently completing her training as a Pikler® Pedagogue. A RIE® Associate, she continues to learn, grow, and share her love of RIE® and Pikler® through her work and collaboration with others in the field.
CO-CHAIR OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH COMMITTEE
Debbie Laurin, Ph.D
Dr. Laurin, Ph.D. is an early childhood consultant, mentor, and codirector with the West Coast Institute Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher Training in British Columbia, Canada. She serves on the scientific committee with Pikler®USA. Learning about the remarkable work of Dr. Emmi Pikler and observing the caregivers at Loczy became the catalyst to study infant and toddler diapering care. Her visits to Loczy in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2022 and participation in Pikler® USA and Budapest trainings inspired an empirical study on caregiver interactions and child wellbeing and involvement during diapering practices in infant and toddler group care published in Infant Mental Health Journal (2020). Dr. Laurin was invited to present her study June 2022 at the Pikler® House Advanced Care2 training. She presented at the World Association Infant Mental Health Conference (WAIMH) 2016, 2018, at the European Early Childhood Education Research Association Conference (EECERA) 2018, and the Pikler®USA Conference 2017 and is published in several journals. Crucially, at the heart of her work is advocacy for children’s rights - exploring how participation with caregivers is vital to the emerging sense of self.
CO-CHAIR OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH COMMITTEE
Katherine Bussey, PhD
Dr Katherine Bussey, PhD, MEd, PG Dip Child Advocacy, BEd ECE Teaching, is a passionate infant and toddler specialist and Pikler® Pedagogue originally from New Zealand living in Melbourne, Australia working as a Research Fellow at Deakin University. She has spent the last 22 years actively learning about, and developing practice in early childhood education strongly influenced by the Pikler® approach. She is the chairperson for ITANA http://www.itana.org.au and is working on the process of becoming a Pikler® trainer. Katherine mentors and provides professional learning and development for educators, engaging in inspiring critical reflection, learning and growth in infant, toddler and early childhood teams.
HONORARY BOARD OF EXPERTS
Susan Patrick, Ph.D.
Susan Patrick plays an active role as Assistant Treasurer and the shipping manager for Pikler/Lóczy USA’s on-line bookstore. She worked closely with fellow board member, Beverly Kovach and late Pikler/Lóczy USA founder, Laura Briley to produce the book Being with Infants and Toddlers: A Curriculum that Works for Caregivers. Susan is an assistant professor at Northeastern State University and is the lead faculty for a recently initiated Early Care - Birth to Three Bachelor's Degree Program. She teaches undergraduate courses related to early care and development and maintains a research focus on the relationships and organizational structures that best support the caregivers of infants and toddlers. Susan lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma and enjoys collaborating with others who are inspired by the Pikler® approach.
HONORARY BOARD OF EXPERTS
Johanna Herwitz, Ph.D.
Johanna Herwitz has completed three Intensive Pikler trainings in the United States. She holds a PhD. in Clinical Psychology and has a private practice treating adults in New York City. She is a RIE Mentor and teaches Certified RIE Parent Infant Guidance Classes for parents of children from four to twenty four months-old in Manhattan. She also works privately with parents, helping them to implement Piklerian principles in their homes to create a peaceful environment for the entire family.
HONORARY BOARD OF EXPERTS
Denise A. Da Ros-Voseles, Ph.D.
Denise Da Ros-Voseles is a professor at Northeastern State University. She teaches graduate and undergraduate infant and toddler development courses and is the co-author of Being with Babies; Understanding and Responding to the Infants in Your Care.
HONORARY BOARD OF EXPERTS
Beverly Kovach, M.S.
Beverly A. Kovach, MN began her early childhood profession upon founding Little Learners Lodge in 1977. She eventually transitioned from her family therapy work to train and consult with early childhood centers full time. Beverly currently serves as Vice President of Pikler Fund USA and is endorsed by Anna Tardos to train in the Piklerain Approach. She also serves as teacher trainer for Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) Associate and Montessori (0-3). Beverly has authored several books relating to infant and toddler care including BEING WITH BABIES and BEING WITH BABIES AND TODDLERS. Her specialty involves consulting and mentoring Infant and Toddler caregivers who work in center.
HONORARY BOARD OF EXPERTS
Steven Rhodes
Steven Rhodes has been interested in creative activity, education and child development since his own childhood. A high school teacher after college, his passion for music led to a career as a music recording engineer. As his career progressed, he worked at Microsoft for a few years. Later relocating to Los Angeles, he continued recording work working alongside the best in the business – emerging artists as well as heroes and legends – and became a producer of commercial and philanthropic concerts and events at a performance venue in Los Angeles. Since 2013, Steven has been a full-time caregiver to his daughter. He had a strong conviction that something different and deeper than conventional practices was possible for both parent and child. Auspiciously he found the RIE® approach and the work of Dr. Pikler and her institute at Lóczy. These not only gave the support that he and his family sought, but also the desire to help other families. Assisting two wonderful mentors in weekly parent/child classes for the last three years, he leads his own classes and connects with new parents and their children. Steven is a Pikler Pedagogue candidate furthering his own understanding, while continuing to learn how to share the ideas, practices and research that need to have a greater place in the world. As a Sensory Awareness practitioner, he has mentored with Ute Strub, Stefan Laeng, and Lee Kingler Lesser.
RESEARCH ATTACHÉ
Ronald Ssentuuwa
Ronald Ssentuuwa is a Programme Development Specialist with interests in childcare and development. He has worked for over 15 years in Africa, with governments, and International agencies, such as Save the Children, Children International, and SOS Children Villages International, in the field of childcare. Mr. Ssentuuwa grew up in the rural communities in Uganda; this sparked off his interests in ensuring that every child is supported to develop to their fullest, becoming contributing members of society. He believes that every child has the potential and requires a nurturing environment together with caregivers to support their wellbeing. Mr. Ssentuuwa is interested in further research in south in field of childcare and development to bridge the knowledge gap between the north and south given the social, economic and cultural context of these communities. He has so far authored articles in Exchange Magazine and two book chapters. Mr. Ssentuuwa is also a Global Leader for young children under the World Forum Foundation (WFF), member of the WFF, and member of the Working Group of Children Living in Children’s Homes, in the same forum. He is current a Pikler® pedagogy learner. Mr. Ssentuuwa holds a Master’s degree in International Child Development from the University of Haifa, Israel, and MSc. Information Science from Makerere University Kampala.
HONORARY BOARD OF EXPERTS
Janet Gonzalez-Mena, M.A.
Janet Gonzalez-Mena (Fairfield, California) became interested in work with babies when she first met Magda Gerber in 1976. At the time Janet was teaching a child development course at a community college and also directing a program of child care services for a counseling agency. Based on what she learned from Magda, she became part of an effort to open an infant-toddler center for the agency where she worked. About that same time she published a book called Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers based on what she learned from Magda Gerber about the care and education of children 0-3 years of age. The book included information from Magda about the Pikler approach and research, but it wasnt until Janet met Elsa Chahin that she actually went to Budapest to see for herself! That's where she met Anna Tardos, director of the Pikler Institute and daughter of Dr. Emmi Pikler. That first trip to the Pikler Institute to observe and learn was followed by 4 more trips for classes, observation, a conference, plus a Pikler study tour and International conference. The Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers book now in 10th edition reflects the latest from the Pikler Institute in Budapest. The study tour was organized by Laura Briley (late beloved president of the Pikler/Lóczy Fund USA.) Laura had been to Budapest long before Janet got there and after she founded the PLUSA organization she began bringing Anna Tardos over the USA to train. Janet attended the first Pikler training in Tulsa Oklahoma and became one of the assistants to Anna in the second training a year later. Janet is a strong advocate for creating quality in infant-toddler care in the USA. Today Janet is on the faculty for the WestEd Program for Infant-Toddler Caregiver Training of Trainers' Institutes. She retired as a community college teacher from Napa Valley College in California and now conducts seminars and workshops in the USA and internationally. On a personal note, Janet is mother of 5 and grandmother of 5. She lives out in the country with her husband, Frank and a cat named Pebbles.
HONORARY BOARD
Larissa Nielson J.D.
Author, infant/toddler specialist, CEO and Founder of Riesers Inc., Dr. Neilson is a Pikler® Pedagogue candidate, who has studied under the tutelage of Anna Tardos (Dr. Pikler's daughter) at the Pikler® House in Budapest, Hungary.
A RIE® Associate, Dr. Neilson is also the author of "The L.A. Nanny Book", a comprehensive book that includes practical information to anyone interested in working as a professional child care provider. Dr. Nielson has cared for children ages zero to three for the past 17 years. In addition, Dr. Neilson has presented at various national conferences, including National Nanny Training Day, INA - International Nanny Association Conference, as well as the Annual RIE® Conference. Her work involves consulting privately with parents and professionals, speaking at events, and spending time with her daughter Esther.
OFFICIAL TRANSLATOR AND ADMINISTRATIVE ATTACHÉ
Eileen Díaz-Ordaz
Eileen Díaz-Ordaz, born in Mexico City, enjoys helping companies to plan, thrive, and execute according to their timelines. She holds a Master’s degree in Marketing and Advertising. Ms. Diaz-Ordaz worked in an International telecommunication company for several years in the USA and Mexico. In addition, Ms. Diaz-Ordaz works privately with small companies to create process and organizational details.
Her family is her driving force.
HONORARY BOARD OF EXPERTS
Dr. Fernando Trueba
HONORARY BOARD OF EXPERTS
Liz Hagerman, MA
Liz, as she is lovingly called, is a Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist with a Master’s degree in Dance/Movement Therapy, and a Bachelors in Psychology from the University of Montana. She is a Waldorf birth to three specialist and a Pikler Professional with an interest in the use of what Emmi Pikler called ‘observational attitude’ when working with children. Currently, Liz is a therapist working with children and their families at The Center For Family Well Being in Washington DC. She also continues to lead parent-infant/toddler groups at a Waldorf school outside Washington DC—a program she developed in 2007 inspired by her studies at the Pikler House. She teaches in the Sophia’s Hearth Birth to Three Waldorf Teacher Training program and is on the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America birth to three advisory circles. Liz is also on the faculty of the Infant Observation certificate program at the Washington School of Psychiatry. She has a keen interest in motor development and its relationship to the development of a sense of self. Liz is dedicated to helping parents of little ones to navigate the emotional ups and downs of early parenthood.