Featured Speakers

David Yeager

David Yeager, PhD, is a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and the cofounder of the Texas Behavioral Science and Policy Institute. He is best known for his research conducted with Carol Dweck, Angela Duckworth, and Greg Walton on short but powerful interventions that influence adolescent behaviors such as motivation, engagement, healthy eating, bullying, stress, mental health, and more. He has consulted for Google, Microsoft, Disney, and the World Bank, as well as for the White House and the governments in California, Texas, and Norway. His research has been featured in The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, CNN, Fox News, The Guardian, The Atlantic, and more. Clarivate Web of Science ranks Yeager as one of the top 0.1% most-influential psychologists in the world over the past decade. Prior to his career as a scientist, he was a middle school teacher and a basketball coach. He earned his PhD and MA at Stanford University and his BA and MEd at the University of Notre Dame. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and their four children. 

David Yeager's best selling book is 10 TO 25: The Science of Motivating Young People - A Groundbreaking Approach to Leading the Next Generation - And Making Your Own Life Easier. ELMLE and David invite attendees of the ELMLE Prague 2026 conference to purchase a copy and bring it along to enrich their learning experience with David. Here's what leading experts are saying about the book:

• “Required reading for anyone who aspires to be a wise influence on the young people they care about.” — Angela Duckworth

• “One of the most fascinating and important books of the past decade...It will change millions of lives.” — Carol Dweck

• “This engaging, data-driven book is filled with practical insights.” — Adam Grant 

You can also learn with David via the FUSE (Fellowship Using the Science of Engagement) Library of Practices, a bedrock curriculum that you can engage with deeply over a two-year period, and Power of Mindset Masterclass, where you will learn with five leading experts about how a simple perspective shift can transform your career and personal life, one new skill at a time. 

You can connect with David @DavidYeager

Natasha Devon

Natasha Devon MBE is a writer, broadcaster and campaigner. Since 2008, she has visited schools and events throughout the world delivering talks and conducting research on mental health and related issues such as body image and gender equality. She is co-founder of Where’s Your Head At, a campaign to improve workplace mental health outcomes and founder of the Mental Health Media Charter, which scrutinises the way mental health is discussed and portrayed in the news. Natasha has a weekly show on LBC (one of Britain’s most popular speech radio stations) on Saturday 6-9pm. She has had columns in Cosmopolitan (2012-2105), Grazia (2017-2019) and currently a monthly column in Teach Secondary Magazine. She has written a number of fiction and nonfiction books, including A Beginners Guide to Being Mental: An A-Z (2018, Pan Macmillan, shortlisted for the Hearst Big Book Award) and Clicks: How to Be Your Best Self Online (Macmillan Kids, 2023). Her debut novel Toxic was shortlisted in the Diverse Book Awards 2023. Natasha is an ambassador for Glitch UK, a charity who advocate for improved experiences for marginalised communities online, particularly Black women. She is also a patron for No Panic, a charity who supports people who struggle with their experiences of anxiety. She has been awarded an MBE for her services to young people and is a Fellow of the University of Wales: Aberystwyth.

You can connect with Natasha @natashadevon

Website: Natasha Devon

Aaron Moniz

Aaron Moniz is the Co-Founder and Director of Inspire Citizens.  Aaron helps schools around the world to develop whole school implementation programs for service learning and education for sustainable development as a means of developing global citizens. 

Aaron uses the Inspire Citizens’ Global Impact Schools Self Discovery Tool and Whole School Global Citizenship Roadmap to conduct strategic visioning and goal setting to articulate best practice professional learning approaches and personalize them to the unique context of each school.  Aaron also uses the Inspire Citizens Empathy to Impact Approach to enhance curriculum at any grade level or subject area, and he helps schools to design K-12 scope and sequences, scaffolding the development of service learning and active global citizenship. 

Alongside the Inspire Citizens team members, Aaron also helps to develop student leadership programs, and supports the Inspire Citizens Global Citizenship Certificate; an online professional development program for global educators. Aaron is also the Director of the Inspire Citizens Foundation.  Aaron believes that schools can become centers for community impact and strives to help schools see the large-scale impact that they can have by slightly optimizing their existing systems and centering on global citizenship education. 

You can connect with Aaron @inspirecitizen2 

Website: Inspire Citizens

Angeline Aow

Angeline Aow is an international educator, author, consultant and pedagogical leader. She has undertaken multiple roles within schools, as a teacher, curriculum coordinator, accreditation coordinator and professional learning and development coordinator. Angeline leverages these experiences to support collaborative learning communities with enhancing inclusive mindsets and systems, designing humanising pedagogical approaches and achieving shared inclusion and intercultural goals. Angeline is an advocate of intersectional inclusivity, coaching, concept-driven learning and teaching and contributes as an active citizen on social justice issues through her role as a country network leader of @WomenEdDE and work with the Council of International Schools.  Her co-authored book, Becoming a Totally Inclusive School: a Guide for Teachers and School Leaders was published by Routledge in November, 2022.

You can connect with Angeline @Angeline Aow

Website: Angeline Aow

Jeff Utecht

Jeff Utecht is a lifelong educator, innovator, and global thought leader in modern learning. The child of two educators, Jeff’s journey began in Spokane, where his passion for authentic learning first took root. From volunteering as a teacher at 17 to receiving a Bill and Melinda Gates Technology Grant in 2001, Jeff has continually pushed the boundaries of education by exploring technology’s transformative power in the classroom. 

With over 75,000 educators upskilled worldwide, keynote addresses spanning the globe, and a reputation for creating sustainable change in schools, Jeff remains driven by a singular mission: to ensure we prepare students for their future, not our past. Today, he shares insights drawn from decades of experience as a teacher, leader, and consultant, inspiring audiences to reimagine what’s possible in education

You can connect with Jeff @jutecht

Website: Jeff Utecht 

Stephanie Simpson

Stephanie Simpson is the Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE), the premier membership organization helping middle school educators cultivate the potential and possibilities of young adolescents. Stephanie is a seasoned professional association leader. She began her career as a policy analyst at the American Medical Association after earning a J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and B.A. in International Studies and Information Technology from DePaul University. 

You can connect with Stephanie @steph_auditore

Website: AMLE.org