SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING RETREAT 

Nick Haisman-Smith

Nick is an education leader and researcher whose work in the field of SEL reflects passion to support the wellbeing and success of young people, teachers and schools worldwide.

His work at IFSEL builds on fifteen years experience as an educator and non-profit leader in the US, UK and South Africa. As an educator, Nick specialised in teaching SEL in upper elementary, middle and high schools. He has been an Advisor and Advisory Coordinator and is rarely happier than when working to build engaging and sustainable Advisory Programs with schools.

His work includes the development of new SEL curricula including themes such as self-advocacy, growth mindset, media, digital citizenship, the adolescent brain, and the introversion/extraversion spectrum. Nick is passionate about issues of equity and inclusion with a particular focus on the LGBTQ+ community.

As a teacher-educator and speaker, Nick has given workshops and presentations at The Sunday Times Festival of Education, Talks at Google, the launch of the OECD Pisa Report on Student Wellbeing, and Ambition School Leadership. Nick has also led professional development workshops for over 4000 educators, and lectured at some of the UK and US’s top teacher training colleges.

As a non-profit leader in the UK, Nick was the CEO of Family Links, one of the UK’s leading emotional health charities. While at Family Links, Nick had the privilege of working with colleagues at Canterbury Christ Church University to co-create one of the UK’s first Post-Graduate Certificates in Social and Emotional Learning.

Joseph Tchen

For over a decade,  Joe Tchen worked in myriad educational spaces, from high school AP Language classes, to 4th grade drama spaces, with a focus on middle school humanities, all while catalyzing learning and connection through Social and Emotional Learning (both in his professional and personal practices). Joe launched the intermediate drama program at Seattle Country Day School, developed the middle school schedule and individual electives schedule, and coached the cross country and track teams to regional championships. At Seattle Country Day School, Joe crafted, curated, and co-chaired Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives while also serving on the North West Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS) Student Diversity Leadership Retreat (SDLR) committee. A multi-year attendee at the People of Color Conference (PoCC), Joe served on the local committee for Seattle in 2019. A Klingenstien Summer Institute (KSI) and Diversity Leadership Institute (DLI) alum, Joe takes every opportunity he can to find and amplify the intersection of both SEL and DEIB.