Bridges Parent University

This page features a past event. For more information on the 2024 Bridges Parent University, please head here.

WELCOME SPEAKER BIOS SCHEDULE RSVP

Saturday, November 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., in-person at Bridges Academy.

Keynote

Kent Toussaint is a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed professional clinical counselor. He’s the guy to call when you just don’t know what to do to help your kid and your family communicate and feel better. Kent is the founder & clinical director of Teen Therapy Center in Woodland Hills, where he specializes in helping kids, teens, and families live happier lives. Over the years, Kent has trained many therapists in compassionately and effectively working therapeutically with youth and their parents. He can often be found presenting at local parent organizations in Los Angeles about various parenting topics along with a Facebook Live vlog called Tips on Teens @TeenTherapyCenter where he answers your parenting questions every Wednesday at 12 p.m. You may also recognize Kent from previous monthly TV segments on CBS Morning News called Ask Kent from 2017–2018.

Over the past few years, Kent has successfully launched a non-profit training site for pre-licensed therapists called Child & Teen Counseling, which offers lower-cost treatment to the west San Fernando Valley community. For more information, please visit www.TeenTherapyCenter.com and www.ChildTeenCounseling.org.

Featured Speakers

Susan Baum, Ph.D., is the chancellor of the Bridges Graduate School for Cognitive Diversity in Education and co-director of the 2e Center for Research and Professional Development at Bridges Academy, a school for twice-exceptional students. She is the author of many publications concerning the needs of special populations of gifted students, including the award-winning 3rd edition of her seminal work, To Be Gifted and Learning Disabled... Her research and experience in the field of 2e education have earned her much recognition, including the Distinguished Professional Alumni Award from the Neag School of Education & the Alexinia Baldwin Gifted-And Award from the National Association for Gifted Students.

Dr. Baum served on the NAGC Board of Directors and is past president and co-founder of the Association for the Education of Gifted Underachieving Students. She is recipient of the Weinfeld Group’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in educating the 2e child.

Karen Breslow, a litigation attorney, received her B.A. from Cornell University and her J.D. from Columbia University. She practiced in New York at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; in California at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown; and Irell & Manella, and was vice-president of litigation and assistant general counsel for Sony Pictures. She is married to Robert Schwartz, a partner at Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart, and Sullivan. Their son, Ben, graduated from Bridges in 2017. Karen is a member of the Bridges Board of Trustees.

Marcy Dann, Ed.D., specializes in working with parents, educators, and administrators to create learning profiles that focus on the strengths, talents, and interests of 2e children. Dr. Dann provides consultation at Bridges Academy (2004 - present) and is a board-certified educational therapist in clinical practice (35-plus years). In higher education, Dann was an instructor, supervisor, and coordinator of the master’s and post-master’s educational therapy programs at California State University, Northridge (2004 - 2021). She was president of the Association of Educational Therapists (2010 - 2012) and was honored by AET for her exceptional work performed on behalf of the profession. She is a contributing writer to 2eNews.com and Variations2e magazine.

Learn more at http://www.dannrevolution.com/

Marcie Habell is a professional educational therapist in private practice in Pasadena, California. She provides relationship-based, individualized academic intervention for children in kindergarten through college with learning disabilities, high academic potential in combination with learning disabilities (known as 2E or twice-exceptional), as well as those with co-morbid emotional disturbance. Remediation is provided in the areas of reading, language arts, mathematics, organization and executive function skills. Ms. Habell also consults with families to assist with appropriate school placement and develops individualized academic plans for students wishing to pursue an alternative education option. Many years ago, Ms. Habell developed two primary focuses in her practice: executive function and the impact of emotions on learning. Through her interest in the impact of emotions on learning, Ms. Habell began to study with Dr. Connie Lillas, founder/director of NRF Institute Research to Resilience and co-author of the NRF (Neurorelational Framework). The NRF proposed a new brain theory and way to work with children to support emotional needs and regulation in a bottom-up approach in order to help the child achieve in top-down tasks as required in the academic setting. Ms. Habell continues to participate in Dr. Lillas’ interdisciplinary consultation group. Ms. Habell’s interest in executive function led to her developing her own executive function program known as Skills for Success. Through the lens of metacognition, Ms. Habell has provided academic coaching, strategies, and skill development for many middle, high school, and college students over the years. Ms. Habell has a bachelor’s degree in human development from Pacific Oaks College and a master’s degree in educational therapy from California State University, Northridge.

Key Presenters

Keri Borzello's career has spanned nearly twenty-five years through various roles in independent schools throughout California, including teacher, coach, admissions director, development officer, marketing director, principal, and head of school. Keri has a B.A. from UCLA and an Ed.M. in school leadership from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. In 2011, she was a graduate of the prestigious National Association of Independent Schools Fellowship Program for Aspiring School Heads. Keri has presented both domestically and internationally on topics including strategies and best practices to help students with learning differences and/or ADHD achieve success, factors affecting special education teachers’ feelings of burnout and perceptions of mindfulness-based practices to build social and emotional competence, the benefit of a multimodal education, and inclusion in faith-based schools. Most recently, Keri was part of a research team at Harvard University, investigating the impact of teacher preparation strategies, and was invited to serve as a facilitator for professional development programs offered by Harvard's Principal Center. Keri is a San Fernando Valley native and outside of school enjoys spending time with her partner, Kristine, their two boys, Ethan and Henry, and their two dogs, Monkey and Pinchy. Keri’s interests also include watching baseball, hiking, and traveling.

Ashley Dates has spent her professional career working with both public and private educational institutions. Ashley has solid experience supporting and serving historically marginalized and underrepresented students. As a "student first" practitioner, Ashley strives to identify and dismantle barriers to educational success. Ashley is passionate about equity work and enjoys being able to teach and create support networks for under-resourced populations. As an articulate communicator, Ashley engages with various groups of people comfortably and is dedicated to developing a classroom climate and culture of equity, justice and inclusion. Ashley is a California native, receiving her B.A. in biology - cell and molecular sciences and M.A. in education - curriculum, teaching and learning from Sonoma State University. In her free time Ashley is a thrill seeker always looking for her next adventure, spends time with her 13-year-old shih tzu/ yorkie and plans summer travels with her partner.

Michael Dennis is the acting director of the Phoenix Program elementary division at Bridges Academy Los Angeles. He has been an educator of 2e students for over ten years. Michael worked as a journalist and film critic before enrolling in the CalState TEACH program to learn more about education, and was a founding Phoenix faculty member at Bridges, teaching humanities. His special areas of interest include project-based learning, interdisciplinary curriculum design, and educational technology.

Off-campus, Michael enjoys art and design, driving, and ice cream.

Max Goldberg is a graduate of Bridges Academy's class of '03 at the original campus in Sherman Oaks after transferring from Beverly Hills High School. He is the only former student on the Bridges Academy Board of Trustees.

After Bridges, Max graduated from Emerson College in Boston, MA. He now works as Senior Manager of e-commerce at Meredith Corporation, a media conglomerate who owns publisher brands like Time Inc, People Magazine, and Sports Illustrated.

He is also an unapologetic Lord of the Rings fan.

Rachel Jackson graduated from Bridges Academy in 2008. She enjoys math, art, creative writing, linguistics, history, sociology, and memorizing things. Upon graduating from Bridges, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to major in, so she went to community college. From there, she transferred into UCLA and got her degree in applied linguistics in 2014. Rachel speaks Japanese, having lived in Japan for seven years. She now serves as the middle school math intern at Bridges Academy and teaches her own math class. She also helps with the film enrichment cluster, and with the middle school’s creative writing lab. Outside of that, Rachel is an animator, a comic book artist, an actress, an activist for the unhoused communities in North Hollywood and Van Nuys, and a wife. Other jobs she has had outside of Bridges include working on the TV show Paw Patrol, being a Halloween Horror Nights monster at the Universal Studios theme park, and being a cashier.

Greg Kaczynski is in his 15th year of work at Bridges Academy. During his time here, he has worn many hats: science class assistant, theater teacher, writing teacher, community event organizer, and counselor. Currently a licensed MFT, and beginning the training to become a registered drama therapist, Greg remains thrilled to be working with these students and this program.

Dafna Kaiserman joined Bridges Academy in 2015 as the counselor for the Phoenix Division. She earned teaching credentials in both multiple subjects and special education. Prior to joining Bridges, Dafna was a special education teacher with LAUSD for 16 years, specializing in behavioral and social challenges. The small class sizes enabled her to develop an excellent rapport with each child on an individual basis with the ability to meet each of their very unique needs. Dafna believes in allowing students the opportunity to explore their own interests in order to optimize their personal strengths and build self-confidence skills. As a certified yoga instructor, she teaches students how to manage their own frustration, anxiety, and stress with movement and breath. Using her theatre and dance background, students learn appropriate social skills through role play activities and games. In addition, Dafna uses animals to teach social skills to students who have difficulty developing and maintaining relationships with people. Dafna’s previous dog, Alice, began attending Bridges as the emotional support dog in 2016. After witnessing the benefit dogs have on students’ well-being, seeing dogs on campus became a regular routine. Gilligan, Dafna’s current dog, can be seen on campus several days a week providing social-emotional support for students in the community.

Anna Schaerf is the assistant high school director and director of counseling services at Bridges Academy. She has been a part of the Bridges family since 1999 in a variety of teaching and administrative roles. Her longevity has been vital in maintaining relationships with alumni and staying connected with other constituent groups over the years. Anna holds a master's degree in counseling from Cal State University, Northridge.

Carmen Sevilla has worked in the field of education for over twenty years and for the past ten years, has been the head of middle school at Bridges Academy in Studio City, CA. As a child, she enjoyed starting neighborhood businesses and dissecting electronics. A five-sport scholar-athlete in high school, she enjoyed both team and individual sports and learned the importance of leadership, teamwork, and compassion through athletics. It is no surprise her passion for technology and athletics led to an undergraduate experience involving both strength areas. She graduated from Occidental College with a degree in economics, a minor in Spanish literature, and a four-year varsity letter in softball. Carmen worked in the field of engineering where she was the VP of operations at a small firm before deciding to share her love of athletics and technology with children. She holds a master's in educational technology and is currently pursuing her Ed.D. in cognitive diversity. Professionally, Carmen enjoys leading thought-provoking discussions and providing professional development on topics ranging from supporting the social-emotional needs of students through technology and sports to creating an inclusive, strength-based classroom environment for the twice-exceptional. Carmen is the proud mother of three sons and is on the Board of Trustees at their school in West Hills, CA.

Kayla Steinke graduated from the Occidental Department of Chemistry with a bachelor of arts in chemistry in May 2020. Prior to Bridges Academy Kayla was a senior research assistant and lab tech at a startup biotech company located in DTLA. After gaining experience in industrial production chemistry she began seeking opportunities to build a career at the intersection of program development and scientific education. Kayla has four years of experience working at a mission-driven, non-profit summer camp that focused on fostering confidence, courage, compassion, and community.

Scott Swick is an East Coast transplant now in his second year as the Bridges middle school counselor. He has been working with neurodivergent and twice-exceptional students for nearly twenty years, working in and out of schools as a 1:1 support, theater specialist, and camp director, spending the last seven years as a lead teacher in a school for twice-exceptional students. Scott has spent the last 10 years using games and gaming (card, board, and tabletop role playing) to introduce and reinforce social skills curriculum within the structured framework of a game.

Support Staff

Maham Ali graduated from Cal State University, Northridge with a bachelor's degree in sociology. She joined Bridges this year as the middle school administrative assistant. In her free time, she loves anything that's outdoors, reading, and baking. In the future, Maham plans to continue her studies at the graduate level on her path to becoming a school counselor.

Doug Lenzini has been admissions director at Bridges Academy since 2001. He also has extensive experience in journalism and the entertainment industry.

Mya Rosett joined Bridges Academy in the fall of 2022 as the middle school learning specialist. She earned her master of social work degree from the University of Southern California in 2002. Mya worked for several years as a social worker, providing strength-based wraparound services to children and families. She has also taught yoga as a certified yoga teacher, and mindfulness and leadership to elementary and middle school aged children. Mya is the proud mother of three children (and two dogs). She currently serves on the Board of Trustees at her children's former elementary school and volunteers at her children's current schools and in the community.

Carl Sabatino has served as the Head of School at Bridges since 2005. Prior to that, Carl was Head of the Upper School at Lawrence Woodmere Academy.

Kim Vargas is the admissions director for the Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education and the Bridges Academy Online High School. She is a trained facilitator of SENG Model Parent Groups for parents of twice-exceptional children. Kim holds a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Southern California, a masters degree in special education for the gifted and talented, and a California teaching credential in mild/moderate learning disabilities. Kim’s teaching career spanned 26 years in public schools, including Grades 1-12. Kim is currently in her final year of the doctoral program at the Bridges Graduate School. Her son, Douglas, graduated from Bridges in 2011.