Jessica Sinarski, LPCMH is an award-winning author, dynamic speaker, and the founder of BraveBrains. She has spent her entire career working with children who have challenging behaviors and the caring adults in their lives. She is the author of the award-winning Riley the Brave series, Your Magic Backpack series, Your Amazing Brain, and Light Up the Learning Brain. She loves spicy food, Diet Coke, and her sweet, silly family…not in that order.
Jessica has worked with thousands of teachers, counselors, and administrators to get to the root of problematic student (and staff) behavior. She translates neuroscience into action steps through comprehensive professional development, diverse books, and practical tools for the classroom and beyond. Learn more at BraveBrains.com.
With everything on your plate, it’s easy to lose sight of the inherent hope that education provides. We can get stuck in spirals of disruptive behavior, disconnection, and even despair. Luckily, that’s not the end of the story. This uplifting keynote will help you interrupt these negative cycles. Equal parts heartwarming and empowering, discover how small shifts can lead to big changes for you and the future world-changers in your school.
This lively session will take a fresh look at the root of “bad behavior”—in students AND staff—and the brain processes involved. Your school days don’t have to be an endless cycle of frustration and dysregulation. Discover new tools based on the latest neuroscience to reduce negative behavior, build self-regulation, and light up the learning brain!
Stress and intense emotions like anxiety, anger, and shame weigh on students and staff alike. Plus, many students seem to be lacking the frustration tolerance needed for academic success. While there are no quick fixes for life’s complex challenges, this hands-on workshop will provide an SEL toolbox refill…with a few takeaways for the child inside us all.
Tired of hearing “trauma informed” without knowing how to apply it? This session translates complex neuroscience into simple, practical tools ready for the classroom. With fresh insights on how to improve behavior, you’ll walk away with confidence, renewed hope, and strategies that truly make a difference.
The human brain processes 11 million bits of information every second, which come in through our eight (not five) senses. Neurodivergence and trauma can bias the brain toward quick, defensive reactions to all that sensory input, leading to frustrating behaviors and learning disruptions. This workshop makes sensory science practical and easy to use. You’ll leave with whole-class and individualized strategies to enhance focus, reduce stress, and help your students build their self-regulation “muscles” in the process.
As a school counselor, you already see the connection between understanding the brain and making sense of student behavior. The challenge? Getting staff to see it too. Join Light Up the Learning Brain author Jessica Sinarski as she shares simple, effective ways to spark aha moments and make behavior change a team effort.
