2009 Summer Retreat
Lost Pines Resort
Lost Pines, Texas
July 19 –22, 2009

Sharon Begley
Author, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain
Sharon Begley, widely known for her ability to break down complex scientific theories and write about them in simple prose, returned to Newsweek in March 2007 from the Wall Street Journal, where she wrote the “Science Journal” column for five years. In her new capacity at Newsweek, she writes a bi-weekly column, essays and cover stories as well as contributing stories and the Lab Notes science blog to Newsweek.com.

Before leaving Newsweek, Begley had been a senior editor since December 1996 and a senior writer for Newsweek’s science coverage since January 1990. She joined the magazine as an editorial assistant in Science in 1977, and was promoted to assistant editor in January 1979, associate editor in 1980 and then general editor in 1983. During her career at Newsweek, Begley wrote a myriad of cover stories. In her first two months back, she wrote two more, “The Evolution Revolution” (3/19/07) and “The Anatomy of Violence” (4/30/07).

Begley has received numerous awards for her work. In 2006, she won the American Aging Association Media Award for a series of columns on Alzheimer’s disease; in 2005, she won the Public Understanding of Science Award from the Exploratorium, the science museum in San Francisco and a Clarion Award from the Association for Women in Communications for her “Science Journal” column. In 2004, Begley received a Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters for Contributions to the public understanding of science from the University of North Carolina and she won the 2002 and 2000 Front Page Award from the Newswomen’s Club of New York for (respectively) best newspaper column and best feature reporting in a magazine and the 2002 Outstanding Media Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

Begley earned a B.A. from Yale University. She is the co-author of the 2002 book, The Mind and the Brain, and the author of the 2007 book Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain. She and her husband live in Pelham, New York, with their two children.

Bruce Wexler
Author, Brain and Culture
Dr. Wexler is a Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. He received his BA degree Magna Cum Laude from Harvard College in 1969 with a concentration in Government, completed medical training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, an internship in Medicine at Bronx Municipal Medical Center, and Psychiatry training at Yale. He also studied psychiatry at Anna Freud's clinic in Hampstead and neurology at the Institute of Neurology, Queen's Square, London. He has published over 100 scientific research papers, serves on the editorial boards of professional journals and is a member of expert panels and grant review committees for the National Institute of Mental Health.

Dr. Wexler's book Brain and Culture; Neurobiology, Ideology and Social Change presents new ideas about the relationship between people and their social and cultural environments (MIT Press, 2006). In Brain and Culture, Professor Wexler describes how these relationships change as a result of changes in neuroplasticity during the lifespan. He reviews extensive research in neurobiology, psychology and anthropology. Based on ideas in this book, Professor Wexler and Ambassador Andrew Young founded the non-profit organization A Different Future in an effort to reclaim the public idea space from extremists with regard to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Professor Wexler serves as a facilitator for ongoing discussions among the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leadership of the Israeli and Palestinian communities. He is currently preparing a study of the portrayal of the "other" in Israeli and Palestinian school books on behalf of the religious leaders.

Professor Wexler has taught seminars for psychiatry residents for the past 25 years. He lectures regularly in courses for Yale College undergraduates and for Yale Medical students. He has given multiple visiting lectures at universities across North America, Asia and Europe. He was a visiting professor teaching undergraduates at Peking University, the premiere university in China, in 2008.

Dr. Wexler's scientific research is supported by a prestigious Research Scientist Award from the National Institute of Mental Health, and by research project grants from the government and private foundations totaling over $7 million. In one component of his scientific research, Professor Wexler uses brain imaging and measures of cognition to identify pathophysiologically distinct subtypes of schizophrenia. In the other component, he has been a world leader in developing computerized brain "exercises" to treat the cognitive dysfunctions associated with schizophrenia by promoting activity-dependent enhancement of underfunctioning neurocognitive systems.

Helen Sung
Pianist & Composer
Jazz pianist Helen Sung has been called “one of the brightest emerging stars in jazz today.”  Breaking stereotypes as an Asian-American female jazz pianist and composer, Helen’s experience in classical, jazz, & popular music gives her a compelling, unique voice. Her CD Helenistique was praised as “…one of the year’s most exciting listens.” (JazzTimes), and her latest CD Sungbird after Albéniz, a jazz-classical adventure, is being hailed “a real winner” (All About Jazz – Los Angeles), a “seamless recording in which one composer’s contributions complement the other’s.” (BillBoard). A graduate of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, she has gone on to work with such masters as Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, and Wayne Shorter; and with luminaries including Steve Turre, T.S.Monk, and Regina Carter.  She is also a busy bandleader performing extensively in the US and abroad, and remains involved with music education through workshops and residencies.  Most recently, her project NuGenerations was selected as a 2009 US State Department-Rhythm Road ensemble and will tour as American musical ambassadors.

Annette Goodman
The Arrowsmith School
Annette Goodman is masters-trained in Industrial Psychology. She is currently the Chief Education Officer of the Arrowsmith Program. While working at the Arrowsmith Program as a graduate student seventeen years ago, Annette was extraordinarily impressed by the progress she saw students make in the program. After spending 10 years working as a community activist, Annette spearheaded a grassroots, parent-driven effort to bring the Arrowsmith Program to the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach in NY for her children and others in the community. Currently, Annette is involved in research, development and training with the Arrowsmith Program. In addition, she meets with public and private school boards across North America to inform them about the scientific principles applied in the Arrowsmith Program.

Christine Drew
President and COO, Syfr Corporation
Christine Drew, President and COO of Syfr Corporation started her career in education as a middle school teacher in Illinois and Iowa. After creating a design for an instructional management system in the early 80's, she approached schools to implement and test the design as a consultant. While consulting for Alabama school districts, Christine met Richard Erdmann, who hired her as Vice President of Development for Teacher Technology Systems, Inc. (TTS), where they would take the TTS IMS concept from design to market. Her work there included developing and managing professional development for the product line. The company was sold in 2000, and Christine began to work specifically on assessment content as Chief Academic Officer for an online assessment and reporting company in Oklahoma. Subsequently, Christine became the Editor of Testing and Assessment for New Century Education Corporation in Piscataway, New Jersey. Joining Syfr in 2008, Christine brings a grounded history in teaching, learning and assessment as well as staff training to the company. Christine is also an experienced presenter in both national and international settings.

Richard Erdmann
President and Founder, Syfr Corporation
Richard Erdmann founded Syfr to stimulate creative problem solving in education, primarily through conferences and professional development. Throughout his 35 year career in education, he pioneered the integration of technology, teaching and learning. In the early1970s, he began his career as a performance-based contractor – an education supplier paid on the basis of improving student performance - a management technique suggestive of today’s NCLB. In the 1980s and 1990s, his innovative software companies established many “firsts” in education technology, while simultaneously embracing the role of the teacher in the classroom. These include the first educational networked products, the use of recorded audio to improve fluency, and bridging state standards and teacher-created lesson plans through online testing products. He has always been a part of an education family with his wife currently serving as a principal, his mother and sister were teachers and his father worked as an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin.

His view of American education is based on a life-long commitment to understanding the many forces that impact our schools, including history, race, class, culture, and economics to name just a few. His Syfr events consistently address issues at the leading edge of educational debate and change, such as the globalization and technology in the labor market and its meaning for educational reform and politics or the improvement of educational leadership through an expansion of the pool of potential leaders by focusing on women in education. His Syfr events tend to re-frame educational issues to create inquiry and dialogue among participants in order to bring meaningful change to our schools.