Donna Wilson, PhD, psychologist and author, is an international speaker on developing growth mindsets, supporting social-emotional learning, and teaching practical strategies that are essential for surviving and thriving in the world today. Growing up in rural Oklahoma, Donna was the first in her family to go to college; she went on to become the Chair of Education at the University of Detroit-Mercy and later cofounded and became president of BrainSMART(R), Inc., and the nonprofit Center for Innovative Education and Prevention. With her passion for empowering all learners with the science and strategies for achieving academic and life success, Donna co-developed the world's first graduate degree programs in applied mind, brain, and education science (BrainSMART Programs) and doctoral minor in brain-based leadership. Over the past 20 years, she has shared her work with more than 60,000 participants in live events in Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Europe, Jamaica, and throughout the United States and Canada. She served on the foundation of Carl Albert State College in Oklahoma and on the Advisory Board for Portfolio School in New York City. Donna is the author of 20 books, including Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains (ASCD, 2016), Five Big Ideas for Effective Teaching (Teachers College Press, 2nd edition in press), Positively Smarter (Wiley, 2015), and Introduction to BrainSMART Teaching (HBE, 2018).
